Cuba designates new protected areas

HAVANA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Cuba has designated 144 new protected areas as the government strives to conserve the island's natural habitats and biodiversity, local media said Wednesday.

Approved by Cuba's Council of Ministers, the newly added protected areas cover more than 20 percent of the inland bodies of water and over 15 percent of the national territory, according to local newspaper Juventud Rebelde.