HAVANA

Rare protest rallies neighbors during eviction

Scores of residents staged a rare protest Friday in a Havana neighborhood when police arrived to evict a family that had built a home on a vacant lot without the government’s permission.

“Down with the eviction!” the neighbors shouted during the protest in western Havana.

The eviction, coming amid a crackdown on illegally constructed or modified dwellings, was another reminder of the severe housing crisis in this capital of more than 2 million people.

“My son who lives in Russia sent us money to build this four-room house,” said Hilda Machado, who was evicted by uniformed officers along with her four grown children and other relatives.

Such spontaneous protests are rare in Cuba, where most public gatherings are organized by the communist government.

Nepal

At least 13 rebels killed on second day of strike

The army killed at least 13 Maoist rebels in fighting near a mountainous village Friday as a rebel-backed strike left schools and businesses closed and highways deserted throughout Nepal for a second day.

Friday’s fighting came only two days after soldiers killed 45 guerrillas near Bhawang village, about 250 miles west of Katmandu, in the biggest battle since peace talks collapsed last month, the military said. At least six soldiers were also killed in that clash.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry said the 13 rebel fighters were killed in a raid near Karki village, about 375 miles east of the capital, Katmandu. The army reported no casualties. Soldiers also recovered some explosives and guns.