August 30

FROM CUBA
Near riot during blackout in Placetas
Several groups of residents of Placetas, in Villa Clara province, either enraged or taking advantage of a blackout in the early morning of Sunday, August 22, staged a near riot in the streets, yelling anti-government slogans and breaking glass doors in several government stores.
PLACETAS

FROM CUBA
Roof collapses as Havana building is painted
The roof of a building collapsed at about 10 am, August 10, as painters were working on the façade. No injuries were reported.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Storm knocks out power in eastern Cuba
Heavy rains and winds of up to 60 miles per hour left most of the city of Camagüey without power August 22. An estimated 310,000 people were affected by the power failure.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Doctor fined $70,000 for buying Cuban dolphins
• Exile foe of Castro being sought in Honduras
• Cuban who arrived in crate released
• FBI speaks to pardoned Cuban exiles
• President visits Miami, promises to push for democracy in Cuba
• Bush: Kerry soft on Cuba
• Journey to Cuba, through its music
• Elián González affair shows up in mayor race

Yahoo! News
• Cuba's Menendez Wins Women's Javelin
• Cuba's Fonte Wins Heavyweight Gold
• Master Kindelan gives Kid Khan a lesson
• Kazakh welter Artayev snares Cuban world champion Aragon

External links

In Cuban fishing village, recovery slow after storm
Two weeks after a hurricane ripped though this fishing village, residents are still picking though the rubble to salvage whatever they can while the government hustles to restore electricity and other services to the devastated community. Cuban officials say Hurricane Charley caused more than $1 billion in damage as it struck this island nation early on Aug. 13 before moving into Florida.
Chicago Tribune, IL.

Mets sign Cuban defector
The Mets signed Cuban defector Alay Soler on Friday, giving the pitcher a three-year deal worth $2.8 million. Soler, 24, was an ace for the Cuban national team last year, going 10-4 with a 2.01 ERA in 18 games. He defected last November with three other players.
Chicago Tribune, IL.

Where Cuba meets the Strip
Wayne Newton's "MacArthur Park" curtain of rain pours down in the middle of "Havana Night Club," and that's not the only touch of Vegas you feel in a show straight from Cuba.
Review-Journal.

August 27

Cuba Severs Diplomatic Ties With Panama
Cuba severed diplomatic ties with Panama on Thursday, retaliating within hours for the president's pardoning four Cuban emigres accused of trying to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro.
AP, Yahoo! News

FROM CUBA
Doctor shortage closes dispensaries in Cuba
Most medical dispensaries in the area served by the Antonio Maceo polyclinic in El Cerro are closed or operate only a few hours a week due to the shortage of doctors.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Shooter kills two, wounds a third in Cuba
A 24-year-old man, whose name was only given as Liván, was arrested as the prime suspect in a shooting spree inside a home that left two dead and a third wounded.
PINAR DEL RÍO

The Miami Herald
• Pardoned exile trio back home
• 'Rafter mail' raises terror concerns
• Storm deals economic blow to Cuba: $1 billion
• Maradona seeks release
• A romp to remember as Cuba wins baseball gold

Yahoo! News
• Cubans Land in U.S. After Months on Boat
• China ends Cuba's 12-year Olympic reign as Russia stays alive
• Cuba regain Olympic baseball title

External links

Cuba still drying out from Hurricane Charleyn
Two weeks after Hurricane Charley nearly wiped this small fishing village off the map, Manuel Camacho was still trying to salvage a few of his meager possessions. After unearthing his bed from under a fallen royal palm tree, he carefully arranged his mattress stuffing on a cracked bedframe lying under Cuba's broiling August sun.
NBC News.

USA'S Dirrell defeats Cuban
Inspired and prepared, middleweight Andre Dirrell won a tough, cautious 12-11 decision over Cuba's Yordani Despaigne. It guaranteed the U.S. two medals of some variety in this boxing competition.
Contra Costa Times (subs), CA.

Remembering Celia
The high-energy performances of the late Cuban entertainer Celia Cruz influenced and inspired music lovers from the four corners of the Earth. Cruz, who died last year, built a legacy around her exciting rhythms and heart-pumping, feel-good tunes.
U Music, CA.

Cuba policies a divisive issue
Humberto Martínez is no apologist for Cuban leader Fidel Castro, but that won't stop him from switching his vote in the U.S. presidential election.
Dallas Morning News (subscription), TX .

Chavez the Cheat
To be fair, credit for Chavez's August 15 victory has to be shared with Fidel Castro. Not only did the Cuban leader add hundreds of security and secret police cadres to Chavez's own, he also provided essential advice
FrontPageMagazine.com.

August 25

FROM CUBA
Cuban ag workers not paid in three months
The workers of the Armando Mestre Credit and Service Coop, in Bayamo, Granma province, complained Monday that they haven't received their salaries for more than three months.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Two years in jail for voicing dissent in Cuba
Cándido Terry decided to yell "Down with Fidel. Liberty for political prisoners," a little over two years ago in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución. As a result, he became a political prisoner himself. He has just been freed after serving a two year sentence.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• Woman Apparently From Cuba Found Alive In Crate Shipped To Miami
• Panama Asks Cuba to Remove Ambassador
• Cuban exile groups welcome TV Marti broadcasts from US aircraft
• Oliver Stone documentary on Castro screens at Spanish film festival
• US confirms airborne broadcasts of Radio and TV Marti to Cuba
• Canada loses baseball heartbreaker to Cuba; will play Japan for bronze
• Cuba stages comeback to book semi-final berth against China

The Miami Herald
• Panama leader may pardon 4 Castro foes to spite Cuba
• Bill punishes Cuba travelers
• Stung by Cuba's charges, Panama pulls ambassador
• Cuba's gold-medal shoppers

External links

Policy Met Politics in Cuba Rules
Early last year, Otto Reich shopped a new project to his boss, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. A Havana-born hard-liner with a habit of picking verbal fights with Cuban President Fidel Castro, Reich believed the United States was unprepared for Castro's fall and needed a transition strategy.
The Washington Post, DC.

Sysco's Cuba deal hits snag
On Aug. 11, a Sysco subsidiary in Alabama signed a letter of intent with Cuba to increase food sales, but it has since been retracted because it contained language conflicting with corporate policy, company spokeswoman Toni Spiegelmyer said.
Houston Chronicle, TX.

Panama-Cuba 'pardon' row worsens
Panama has recalled its ambassador from Havana after Cuba threatened to sever diplomatic ties over a possible pardon for jailed anti-Castro activists.
BBC, UK.

Maradona cries for Cuba
Former Argentina football icon, Diego Maradona broke into tears while declaring his frustration caused by his treatment for cocaine.
SBS, Australia.

August 23

FROM CUBA
Thirsty Havana residents hijack water truck
A number of thirsty residents in Old Havana forcibly took over a water truck and distributed the water to neighbors. The truck had been sent to supply a bakery operated by a government agency.Water has been in short supply since hurricane Charley downed power lines.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Restaurant workers' salaries docked
The employees of the La Cocinita restaurant in Santiago de Cuba say their salaries have been reduced by 10% because the restaurant doesn't meet its revenue quotas and call the measure unfair, since they say it is beyond their power to address the shortcomings.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Panama Recalls Ambassador From Cuba
• Cuba Rejects U.S. Hurricane Aid Offer
• Volleyballers Beat Cuba, Land in Quarters
• American Annia Hatch Wins Silver in Vault

The Miami Herald
• Hungering for trade with Cuba
• Sysco in talks with Cuba
• Cuba rejects post-hurricane aid offered by U.S. government
• Rafters helped open entry door
• U.S. military aircraft transmit Radio and TV Martí to Cuba

External links

Helping bridge the gap to Cuba
His tiny South Florida company has managed to obtain agreements to work with both the United States and Cuba legally, despite political differences and an economic embargo that have separated the two nations.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Concert in Cuba still her dream
Gloria Estefan still has one dream that she hasn't fulfilled. She'd love to play in Cuba, where she was born and where her music is rooted. She hopes someday the Castro regime is out of power and she's allowed to do it.
Rocky Mountain News.

Trinidad PM has pacemaker installed in Cuba
Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning had a pacemaker installed in Cuba and will return home on Thursday, government officials say.
The Jamaca Observer.

Set on smoking Cuba
It's Cuba. Thirty-two wins and two losses at the Olympics Games. And that's the team Canada wants to play? "It looks like time for a change,'' said Stubby Clapp of choosing their poison to play the top team in international baseball over the years.
The Calgary Sun, Canada.

Cuba keep on rolling
Friday was another good day for Cuba as their boxers won three more fights to improve their Athens record to 14-1.
BBC, UK.

Cuban Pupils Still Salute Che Guevara
Nearly 37 years after Che Guevara's death, Cuban grammar school students still salute the flag every morning and recite: "Pioneers for communism, we will be like Che."
Scotsman.

Even our man in Havana was charmed by Ché
Three weeks before his execution in the Bolivian jungle in October 1967, Ché Guevara was already being glamorised as a revolutionary icon by British diplomats in Cuba. The charisma was put down to his "Irish charm".
The Guardian, UK.

Panama-Cuba 'pardon' row worsens
Panama has recalled its ambassador from Havana after Cuba threatened to sever diplomatic ties over a possible pardon for jailed anti-Castro activists.
BBC, UK.

Venezuela's Press Faces Harsher Future After Chávez Win
Vicenzino also believes the press will face continuing violence from the so-called Bolivarian Circles, the neighborhood vigilante groups modeled on Cuba's Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. The groups act as he wants them to, he said: "A lot of times he has quote-unquote 'indirect' control of them. There are ambiguous links, and he puts enough middle men between him and the Circles so that he cannot be held directly responsible."
Editor and Publisher, USA.

August 20

FROM CUBA
Water prices up in Cuba five days after hurricane
The façade of a building collapsed in Old Havana at around noon on August 11, killing a passerby and damaging a fruit peddler's truck. The three-story building had been condemned two years ago.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Missing signals mean chaos to Havana traffic
Traffic authorities in Havana have identified a number of dangerous intersections, defined as those in which three or more accidents have occurred, calling them "black spots."
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Outcasts.com
The marginal neighborhoods of this city have their own life. Their inhabitants show their faces and you realize how desperate they are. Those faces are like a sign of the life their owners have been forced to lead.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• Latin American nations fail to reach an agreement on Cuba
• Cuban fighters win some more in Olympic boxing
• Mexican newspaper publishes photos of Maradona allegedly snorting cocaine in rehab'
• Siegfried and Roy Present "Havana Night Club-The Show''
• 14 Cuban migrants arrive on Puerto Rican island
• Cuba Tops China in Women's Volleyball

The Miami Herald
• Cuba still needs help from storm, groups say
• Fourteen Cuban migrants arrive on Puerto Rican island

External links

Cuban Rastafarians struggle with discrimination, meet clandestinely
Past the potholes and puddles, the skinny dogs and scampering children, a stone stairway snaked its way through an ancient apartment building. Near the top, a woman sat in her living room collecting the cover charge: 19 cents for Cuban women, 38 cents for men, $1 for foreigners.
Pioneer Press.

Guevara 'second only to Castro'
Revolutionary "Che Guevara" was viewed by British officials as the second most important figure in Cuba after Fidel Castro, newly released documents show.
BBC, UK.

Edwards Promises Aid to U.S. Farmers
John Edwards visited a family farm outside Springfield, Mo., on Monday to assure rural voters of the Democratic presidential ticket's plans to assist farmers, but that does not mean allowing grain exports to Cuba, as some U.S. farmers have sought.
The Washington Post.

Makarenko ends Cuban run
Cuba's 100% record in the ring has ended after Yoan Hernandez was out-pointed by Russia's Evgeny Makarenko in their light heavyweight contest.
BBC.

Cuban exhibit at Weisman canceled
Ater four years of working on a new exhibit at the University's Weisman Art Museum, director Lyndel King had to cancel it. The exhibit, scheduled to open in early 2005, would have showcased Cuban art.
The Minnesota Daily.

Adrian has a mind to trek across rural Cuba
Adrian Pitt, 24, will set off next February from Havana. Travelling with 60 others, including his sister and a friend, they will take in mountain ranges, canyons and forests before finishing in El Cubano.
Cambridge Evening News, UK.

Cuba Holiday Death: Family Pays Tribute
The family of a woman who died after a car hit the rickshaw-style taxi she was travelling in while on holiday in Cuba tonight paid tribute to the "amazing" mother who "lived for her family". Gillian Owen, 45, from Warrington, Cheshire suffered fatal injuries after a car ploughed into the three-wheeled vehicle while she was on holiday with her family.
The Scotsman, UK.

August 18

FROM CUBA
Dysentery outbreak among medical graduates
At about six in the morning August 10, a special train arrived at the Santa Clara station with an unusual load: medical sciences graduates from the eastern provinces, all suffering from acute diarrhea.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
A Sunday outing to the beach
The children almost demand a Sunday outing to the beach, so Jacinto, a school teacher enjoying summer vacation, decided to take them, transportation crisis or not.
SANTA CLARA

The Miami Herald
• In Bolivia, push for Che tourism follows locals' reverence

Yahoo! News
• Matsuzaka leads Japan to 6-3 win over Cuba

August 16

Cuban capital remains without power after hurricane
Hurricane Charley became the most destructive tropical storm to hit Cuba's western Havana Province since 1915, killing four, damaging 11,000 homes and knocking down hundreds of power line polls, Civil Defense officials said Saturday.
TerraDaily.

The Miami Herald
• Four die in hard-hit Havana area
• Rejected by Cuba, gymnast gets her chance competing for the U.S.
• Cuba, Japan Win in Olympic Baseball

Yahoo! News
• DeLay: Castro's 78th Not So Happy for Cubans; Another Year of Thugocracy, Kleptocracy

External links

Cuba policy under review
Treasury Secretary John Snow said Friday that his department was in the process of reviewing the many comments it had received over its new, tighter policy on Cuba travel.
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL.

Cuban Rastas gather surreptitiously
Past the potholes and puddles, the skinny dogs and scampering children, a stone stairway snaked its way through an ancient apartment building. Near the top, a woman sat in her living room collecting the cover charge: 19 cents for Cuban women, 38 cents for men, $1 for foreigners.
Dallas Morning News (subs), TX .

Cuba beats Australia in baseball
Cuba opened its campaign for an Olympic gold medal in baseball Sunday with a 4-1 victory over Australia. Michel Enriquez and Osmani Urrutia belted solo homers and knocked in two runs apiece for Cuba, which won a silver medal at the Sydney Games in 2000 after losing to the United States in the gold medal game.
Sports Network.

Germany stun Olympic champions Cuba
Olympic champions Cuba slumped to a surprise defeat against Germany as the women's volleyball tournament began with a big upset at the Athens Games overnight. Germany stormed back from two sets down to triumph 20-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 17-15 in their Pool B opener after Cuba failed to return an Angelina Grun serve on match point.
ABC Online, Australia.

Cuba Cop First Olympic Medals For Region
Cuba's Yordanis Arencibia and Amarilys Savon, have become the first two Cubans and Caribbean nationals to cop Olympic medals at the 28th Olympiad. Arencibia and Savon won bronze medals in the men's 66-kg judo and the women's 52-kg, respectively.
Hardbeatnews.com, NY.

10 years ago, thousands left Cuba by raft
A fisherman floats on a raft off the beach where the first wave of tens of thousands of people set sail a decade ago and launched an exodus that eventually pushed the United States to curtail sharply its welcome for Cuba's boat people.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN.

Women: Cuba wins crucial battle against Italy
Cuba's Tamara LARREA PERAZA and Dalixia FERNANDEZ GRASSET won a hard-fought battle to edge Italy's Lucilla PERROTTA and Daniela GATTELLI 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 15-10) in Pool B action of the Women's Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournament.
Athens2004, Greece.

GOP bastions in Deep South buck Bush's Cuba policy
President Bush promised Florida's Cuban American voters a fortified American trade embargo against Cuban dictator Fidel Castro by cutting what U.S. tourists can spend in Cuba from $167 to $50 daily. But Southern states solidly in Bush's electoral camp have been rejoicing over multimillion-dollar Cuban trade contracts for the past three years.
Biloxi Sun Herald, MS.

WSU baseball won't take fall trip to Cuba
Wichita State's baseball trip to Cuba will not happen at least until 2005.That's because of an NCAA rule that prohibits teams from playing an exempt tournament and a foreign tour in the same school year.
Kansas.com, KS.

Cuban pitchers dominate
In the last two years, Cuban pitcher Adiel Palma has found religion, started a new family and quit drinking. When you combine that with what was one of the best arms in Cuba anyway, the 34-year-old is simply devastating, as he proved Sunday in a 4-1 victory over Australia in the Olympics baseball tournament opener for both teams.
San Antonio Express (subs), TX.

Imagine Fidel Castro with oil
There's no telling what Castro's political plans for Venezuela might be. Chavez already has stated his desire to unite Latin America in a Castro-inspired campaign against U.S. policies. And U.S. officials have expressed concern that Chavez's government is supporting the Colombian narcoterrorist FARC rebels.
New York Post, NY.

Ketchup Queen Aiding Castro?
Given the possible role of First Lady should hubby John win the presidential election come fall, the multi-million dollar foundations, charities and related do-gooder groups Mrs. Heinz funds probably should be fully vetted -- and in public -- before the dynamic duo get further along in the quest for the presidential honeymoon suite.
Insight on the News, Washington DC.

August 13

Yahoo! News
• US offers disaster aid to Cuba after hurricane
• Hurricane Charley Claims 3 Lives in Cuba
• Hurricane Charley cuts power, damages homes in Cuba

FROM CUBA
Businesses close during "electrical emergency" in Cuba
Employees of several hotels, restaurants and other businesses in Guanabo, a beach resort town east of Havana, have been sent home on full pay during the ongoing "electrical emergency," the shutdown for repairs of the largest power plant in the country.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Crowd of hundreds dispersed around U. S. Interests Section in Havana
According to eyewitnesses, the crowd had congregated upon hearing a rumor that the U. S. diplomatic office was going to issue visas in commemoration of Fidel Castro's birthday August 13.
HAVANA

External links

Maradona insiste ante la Justicia para ir a Cuba
El abogado del ex jugador presentó ante un juzgado de Familia de Morón una solicitud para que le permitan seguir su tratamiento en la isla caribeña y no en Suiza, como lo sostiene su médico personal Alfredo Cahe.
Infoabe, Argentina.

Cuba no podrá vengar el revés ante EU
Antonio Scull tiene el corazón atrapado entre la ansiedad de recuperar el título olímpico en el béisbol y un hilo de frustración por no poder tomar revancha contra Estados Unidos, su acérrimo rival, que no se clasificó a los Juegos de Atenas.
Univisión.

Cuba pursues a 120-year-old future
Not many people would consider Cuba an ideal place to grow old. Cuba had an estimated per capita gross domestic product of $2,800 in 2003, compared with $37,800 for the USA. The elegant buildings that made the island a tourist mecca until Castro's communists took over in 1959 are crumbling.
USA TODAY.

Feds sent letter after returned from Havana rap festival
A local rap artist could be indicted by the federal government for attending an international rap convention in Havana, Cuba a year ago. Minneapolis rapper Brock Satter received a letter of inquiry from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which enforces the Cuban embargo, regarding his trip.
Pulse of the Twin Cities, MN.

Hurricane Charley pummels Cuba, disrupting high tourist season
Old Havana's cobble-stoned streets and arched courtyards were transformed from a tourist haven into a near ghost town Thursday as the capital city and this island nation of 8 million felt the lash of Hurricane Charley.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

August 11

FROM CUBA
New requirements for self-employed carpenters in Cuba
Inspectors from the National Tax Office have been making the rounds of self-employed carpenters with news of a new requirement to be met: working hours must now be approved by the carpenters' neighbors and interested organizations and be endorsed by the municipal social security and labor ministry offices.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Blackouts in Cuba "planned," says official
Daily blackouts of up to 12 hours a day "are planned," said an official of the provincial power authority in Santa Clara.
SANTA CLARA

August 9

FROM CUBA
Cuba tourism workers complain about political training
All those employed in the tourism sector in Ciego de Ávila province will now have to take 30-day training courses which workers complain are mostly political.
CIEGO DE ÁVILA

FROM CUBA
Shoddy construction in newly-opened polyclinic in Cuba
The "Mario Muñoz Monroy" polyclinic in Guanabo, east of Havana just opened in May and already it is showing serious problems resulting from shoddy construction.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Exiles strike back at Moore's writings
• East Cuba drought worst in 40 years
• Castro is called 'no longer invincible'
• Perspectives on Cuban exiles and Michael Moore

Yahoo! News
• Drought-Stricken Cubans Getting By
• Profile: Nethercutt's persistence pays off for Cuba trade
• Cuban Dissident Has Heart Attack
• Contreras off to a strong start
• Duque zeros in for Yanks
• Cuba's Olympic hopes still alive
• Havana Night Performers On Stage At Stardust

External links

In Havana, Their Man Is John Kerry
At first glance, it wouldn't seem that Reynaldo Palaso's fortunes would be tied up with the U.S. presidential election.
Los Angeles Times (sub). CA.

SIU loses research rights in Cuba
It could have been a historic event, one that might have ended generations of tense international relations and Cold War fears. SIU could have then played a part in the episode.
The Southern, IL.

Cuban Slugger Is Eligible for The Majors
Cuban slugger Kendry Morales obtained residency in the Dominican Republic, making him eligible to negotiate a free agent contract with a major league team, he said Thursday. Morales, a 21-year-old switch-hitting outfielder and first baseman, left Cuba in June on a boat with 18 others, a few weeks before the wife of White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras defected.
The New York Times.

Japan poised for showdown with Cuba
With or without baseball icon Shigeo Nagashima in the dugout, Japan will have to outshine its Cuban rivals in order to win its first-ever gold medal in Olympic baseball.
Japan Today, Japan.

Setting a legal precedent
Back in high school, Aldo Dominguez used to be quite a baseball player. He received scholarship offers from some major college programs, including Kansas State University. In fact, when he was 18, he was asked to try out with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds.
Joplin Globe, MO.

Cuban Overkill
The ghosts of Jesse Helms' anti-Castro policy continue to haunt U.S.-Cuban relations, but this time the former senator's Cuban-American friends consider themselves the victims.
Winston Salem Journal, NC.

CDC gave Saddam West Nile samples
While health officials reported this week West Nile virus has sickened 108 people in 10 states this summer, they continue to withhold opinions on how, where and why the mosquito-born disease originated.
WorldNetDaily, OR.

Havana Night Performers On Stage At Stardust
The first contingent of the Havana Night Club performers arrived Saturday in Las Vegas and hit the stage of the Stardust. Star dancer Liliam Ferrer Cobas burst onto the stage with a leap and her Latin flair ignited the enthusiasm shown by fellow four troupe members.
PR Newswire.

Canadian baseball team beats Cuba
Mike Johnson of Edmonton tossed six innings and allowed just three hits while Calgary's Ryan Radmanovich drove in two runs and scored twice as the Canadian Olympic baseball team defeated Cuba 9-1 Sunday in a pre-Olympic tournament.
Canadian Press.

Cuba travel restrictions continue to spark protests
More than a month after the Bush administration implemented more stringent rules on family travel to Cuba and packages sent to the island, Cuban-Americans on both sides of the issue are increasingly making their feelings known.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

August 5

FROM CUBA
Fire at Cuban telephone central station puts out four exchanges
A fire of unknown origin at the Lawton central telephone station put four exchanges out of service, according to government television reports. The company's repair number, 114, is out of service for all of the metropolitan area.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Hundreds out of jobs at dollar stores in Cuba
Hundreds of workers have been laid off by the Caribe chain of dollar stores, said Jorge Eulalio Santana, a former doorman who lost his job. The Caribe stores are owned and operated directly by the Cuban armed forces as a hard currency cow.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• 'Fahrenheit 9/11' won't be disqualified from Oscars despite unauthorized Cuban airing
• Moore's Cuban Oscar Crisis?

The Miami Herald
• Trinidad prime minister visits Cuba for medical checkup

External links

Cuba set for record U.S. food purchases
Despite U.S. efforts to strangle the flow of dollars to Cuba and fresh exchanges of acrimony between Presidents George Bush and Fidel Castro, the cash-strapped Cuban government intends to make record U.S. food purchases this year, according to its chief international shopper.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cubans find new way to US
More Cuban immigrants now look to the road than to the sea to reunite with relatives. More newcomers are walking across the Mexican border. Fewer are floating across the Florida Straits.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

10 years after riots, Old Havana neighborhood is quiet
Frustrated and angry, Cubans took to the streets 10 years ago today, breaking windows and looting stores in the worst civil disturbances the island had seen since the 1959 revolution. In the weeks that followed, thousands of Cubans climbed onto flimsy rafts bound for Florida, triggering another crisis in U.S.-Cuban relations.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Honduras a popular way station
When Honduran Unity announced Friday that six Cubans had been found recovering from a perilous boat ride to Honduras, more than 60 calls poured into the group's Little Havana office.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuba first foreign team on the track
Cuba's track cyclists became the first foreign team to train at the Olympic Velodrome this morning. After arriving on Monday, the three men/one woman team warmed up on the road yesterday before completing today's session at the Olympic Velodrome.
Athènes 2004.

Foreign Policy: Cuba
It's getting harder to escape the conclusion U.S. policy toward Cuba is more a matter of electoral politics than serious foreign policy. That was glaringly obvious last weekend as new travel and aid restrictions advanced by the Bush administration took effect.
Minnesota Daily, MN.

Gloria Estefan's still got it
After eight long years, Latin superstar Gloria Estefan is back on tour. And with her two-hour set Tuesday night at the Don Haskins Center, the Miami performer proved she's still got that rhythmic Latin beat, charisma and sense of fun.
El Paso Times, TX.

Post-9/11 U.S. policy perceives mass immigration as security threat
If thousands of Cubans again took to the seas as they did in the summer of 1994, they probably would not come straight to the United States.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Fahrenheit clear of Oscar threat
A suspected pirate version of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 shown in Cuba on Thursday will not make the film ineligible for next year's Oscars.
BBC News, UK.

August 3

FROM CUBA
Tax authorities impose further restrictions on self-employed
At first glance, the most onerous of the new regulations seems to be a new requirement that all self-employed hold down a job with the State and only practice the trade or business for which they are licensed after working hours.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Cuba economy hinges on Chávez vote
• Edwards meets with Cuban Americans in Miami
• Cuba's natural treasures facing man-made problems
• Six Cubans missing since July 6 departure
• Cuban: U.S. is wrong about 2 exiles
• Mayor: I don't belong in jail

Yahoo! News
• Oscar braces for Cuban missile

External links

Looking back at Cuba, Castro and capitalism
A decade ago, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba embarked on economic reforms -- desperate for cash to offset the loss of up to $6 billion a year in Soviet largesse. Havana allowed U.S. dollars to circulate in 1993, legalized farmers markets in 1994 and authorized family-run businesses and other small enterprises in 1995.
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL.

US policy limits Cuba study abroad
A new federal government regulation could eliminate all University of Illinois study-abroad programs to Cuba. This summer, the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a rule that prohibits students from studying abroad in the communist country for fewer than 10 weeks.
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette, IL.

Pedraza, from Cuba to US, still swimming
Joey Pedraza, who grew up in Cuba, knows what it takes to be an elite swimmer. At age 5 he got his first taste of the training in a government-funded sports school where athletes are tested and placed into a sport where they show the most aptitude. He learned to swim at 2.
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL.

Despite repeated failed tries, twin brothers keep charting escape from Cuba
On a white wall above his bedside table, Dennis Perez Lorente has sketched out a rough nautical map he hopes will one day lead to a new life across the Florida Straits. Penciled, swirling lines indicate currents, which loop up from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexico before washing out into the straits above Cuba.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Man and his mannequins entertain audiences for a decade
The Cuban-born Morto arrived in Miami in 1987 after seven years as a political prisoner in his home country. Despite sporadic television appearances and shots at the big time in South Florida and in Havana, he has always made his living dancing in the streets. He's been tapping since age 10.
Naples Daily News, FL.