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Wife defends UNESCO prize winner, Cuban
dissident Raul Rivero
HAVANA, 24 (AFP) - The wife of dissident
poet and jou7rnalist Raul Rivero, held in
a Cuban prison on treason charges, defended
her husband after UNESCO awarded him its
25,000 dollar press-freedom prize.
"Raul is a journalist and a poet unjustly
imprisoned and not a mercenary at the service
of imperialism" as the Cuban state
accuses, Blanca Reyes said in an interview
at her central Havana apartment.
Rivero, 58, accused of having assailed
Cuba's "independence and integrity",
is a renowned writer and one of 75 Cuban
dissidents jailed in March in the worst
crackdown by the regime of President Fidel
Castro in recent years.
Sentenced to 20 years' jail, he is being
held at the high security prison in Canaleta,
Ciego de Avila province, some 500 kilometers
(300 miles) from Havana.
Reyes, his wife, has embarked on a high-profile
campaign to get him freed. Several groups
have recently been set up to support Rivero,
a number of them in Europe.
Rivero has lost more than 30 kilos (66
pounds) in weight since his arrest, and
is currently staying at Ciego de Avila provincial
hospital where he has tested negative for
tuberculosis, according to Reyes.
Forbes estimates Cuban President Fidel
Castro worth 150 million dollars
NEW YORK, 27 (AFP) - Fidel Castro is worth
150 million dollars, according to Forbes
magazine, which included the Cuban president
in its annual compilation of the planet's
richest people.
Although Castro was not one of the 587
people on the Forbes billionaires list,
he was included in a special box for kings
and governing classes.
The weekly financial magazine's description
of the communist leader and the sources
of his wealth was less than flattering.
"The fatigues-fitted Cuban leader
has lorded over an impoverished nation of
11 million people for the last 45 years,"
said the Forbes website.
"El Lider is believed to have several
lavish homes throughout Cuba. He travels
exclusively in a convoy of black Mercedes-Benzes.
"Deals struck with European companies
- such as the reported 50-million-dollar
sale of Havana Club rum to French liquor
company Pernod Ricard in 1993 - line Castro's
coffers with some 20 million dollars a year.
"Concerns about his health persist,"
Forbes said of Castro. "He has reportedly
named brother Raul as his successor."
Bush seeks to place more restrictions
on vessels in Cuban waters
WASHINGTON, 27 (AFP) - President George
W. Bush announced he intends to toughen
controls on vessels heading to Cuba, citing
moves by Havana in the past year to increase
tension with the United States.
Bush instructed Homeland Security Secretary
Tom Ridge to apply even stricter measures
to those decreed in 1996 by his predecessor
Bill Clinton on controls over shipping heading
toward Cuban territorial waters.
The measure was passed after two planes
flown by leaders of opponents to the Fidel
Castro (news - web sites) regime were shot
down by Cuban fighters in February 1996.
In his proclamation, Bush said his decision
was taken "in light of steps taken
over the past year by the Cuban government
to worsen the threat to United States international
relations."
Bush cited Cuba's threats to repeal migration
accords, close the US Interests Section
in Havana, as well as statements by Cuban
officials that the United States was preparing
to invade Cuba.
US and foreign shipping found in US territorial
waters heading towards Cuba may also be
boarded and checked by the US Navy and Coast
Guard if their activities are deemed contrary
to US security.
U.S. Coast Guard Returns 36 Cubans
MIAMI. 27 - Thirty-six Cubans - including
22 in a speedboat racing toward Florida
- were returned to Cuba this week after
separate interdictions at sea, the Coast
Guard said Friday.
The larger group was spotted in the speedboat
Sunday about 10 miles east of Key Largo
by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
aircraft, according to a Coast Guard news
release.
Twenty-one were repatriated and one, a
suspected smuggler, was turned over to federal
law enforcement.
Under U.S. immigration law, Cubans intercepted
at sea are generally returned to the island
nation, while those who reach shore are
usually allowed to remain in the United
States.
On Feb. 16, another 20 Cubans were rescued
by a Good Samaritan from a sinking vessel
273 miles west of Key West, according to
the news release.
That group was transferred to a Coast Guard
cutter, where a 6-year-old diabetic girl
was treated at sea and then transferred
with her parents to a hospital. Two more
migrants from the group of 20 were transferred
to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. The other 15 were repatriated.
Cubans found at sea who demonstrate a credible
fear of persecution are taken to Guantanamo
for additional processing.
Cuban scientist slams US barring of
scientific articles from countries under
embargo
HAVANA, 27 (AFP) - Cuban scientist Agustin
Lage Davila said the US ban on scientific
articles from Cuba, Iran, Libya and Sudan
is "medieval and fascist" and
violates the US right to free speech.
"We thought mankind had left behind
eras like Hitler's when only Aryan science
was recognized as valid, and everything
else was disregarded. It is a medieval and
fascist measure," Lage, the chief of
the Molecular Immunology Center and brother
of Vice President Carlos Lage, told the
Communist Party weekly Granma Internacional.
The US Treasury Department banned US publication
of scientific articles from the four countries
under US sanctions regimes.
"We know the US scientific community
will not allow it to be implemented and
will fight it legally," Lage added.
The United States has had a full sanctions
regime clamped on Cuba, the only one-party
Communist regime in the Americas, for four
decades.
US says human rights get worse in China,
Cuba, Iran and Myanmar
WASHINGTON, 26 (AFP) - Human rights conditions
worsened last year in China, Cuba, Iran
and Myanmar according to a keynote annual
US government report released Wednesday
which also cast an unfavourable spotlight
on some Washington allies.
The annual US State Department human rights
report also criticised Saudi Arabia and
Israel, as well as Russian President Vladimir
Putin's consolidation of power, and rebuked
Haiti's President Jean Bertrand Aristide.
The report also accused the UN Commission
of Human Rights (UNCHR) of delinquency in
its mission, citing commission members China,
Cuba, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe as
having failed "to protect their own
citizens' rights."
The US State Department's annual human
rights report released Wednesday called
for reinforcement of the presence of democratic
countries on the UNCHR.
"With Libya in the Chair and such
countries as Zimbabwe, Cuba, Sudan, China
and Syria, which fail to protect their own
citizens' rights, as members, the 2003 session
of the UNCHR fell short in several respects,"
said the report.
"Resolutions on the human rights situations
in Zimbabwe, Sudan and Chechnya were defeated,"
it said.
"The United States continued to emphasize
the need to improve the functioning of the
commission, primarily by supporting the
membership of countries with positive human
rights records.
"We began to discuss the formation
of a democracy caucus with interested governments,"
said the report. "We envision this
as a group of like-minded countries that
would coordinate more closely in multilateral
settings to advance goals consistent with
democratic values."
Libya's decision to dismantle its weapons
of mass destruction was applauded, but the
north African state was reproached for its
poor rights record, while improvements were
reported in Afghanistan, despite the persistence
of serious abuses.
The review of global rights for 2003 underlined
that the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein
last year had revealed "unimaginable"
abuses carried out under his rule.
"Saddam Hussein's torture chambers
have been put out of business, mass graves
no longer await his victims," Secretary
of State Colin Powell said in a presentation
of the report.
China, the world's most populous state,
drew fire for its "backsliding on key
human rights issues," according to
the report which cited arrests of pro-democracy
activists, and religious repression in Tibet.
North Korea was labelled "one of the
most inhuman regimes in the world."
The State Department said: "Rigid
controls over information, which limit the
extent of our report, reflect the totalitarian
repression of North Korean society. Basic
freedoms are unheard of, and the regime
committed widespread abuses of human rights."
Elsewhere in Asia, Myanmar's "highly
authoritarian regime" had overseen
"numerous, serious human rights abuses."
Rights advances had been notched up in
Afghanistan, but improvements were patchy,
particularly outside Kabul where local security
forces contined to commit abuses.
In the Middle East, the report made a bleak
assessement of Iran's rights record, amid
a "pursuit of numerous violations,"
against fundamental rights, that notably
targetted government opponents in politics
and the media.
In Saudi Arabia, the report cited "credible
information" detailing torture, mistreatment
of prisoners and arbitrary arrests citing
a general lack of political and religious
freedoms.
Syria and Egypt were also underlined as
countries were abuses had occurred.
Israel came in for criticism, as Washington
deplored "the use of excessive force,"
in the occupied territories, and in particular
the destruction of Palestinian homes by
the Israeli army.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and members
of the Palestinian security forces were
implicated and involved in offering support
to individuals and extremist gorups who
have attacked Israel, said the US report.
Russia was criticised for manipulating
elections in Chechnya and for an aggressive
clampdown in the separatist republic. Washington
also cited political pressure on the country's
media and the controversial use of security
agents to support state power.
In Africa, Robert Mugabe's government in
Zimbabwe was highlighted. Mugabe was accused
of presiding over a "concerted campaign
of violence, repression and intimidation."
The government of Libyan leader Moamer
Kadhafi meanwhile continued to preside over
instances of torture and arbitrary arrests,
it said.
"Libya, despite welcome cooperation
in reducing weapons of mass destruction,
continued to deprive citizens of the right
to be secure in their home or their person."
Closer to home, the report said rights
in Cuba had been "dramatically"
abused, with increased arrests and jailing
of dissidents.
About 75 Cuban dissidents were jailed for
up to 28 years last April after being found
guilty of state security offences.
In Haiti, groups linked to President Aristide
were accused of murdering the political
opponents and of conducting violence against
protestors.
On the other side of the coin, the report
said rights were improving in many parts
of the world, and that progress had been
noted in Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Jordan and
Morocco.
It said "positive signs" of progress
had also been observed in Kenya, Rwanda,
Burundi, Madagascar and Liberia.
'Havana's' hot-cha-cha
Alex Romanelli. Wed Feb
25, 7:00 PM ET
(Variety) Latin heartthrob Diego Luna avoided
showing off his dirty dance moves at Lions
Gate's salsa-flavored after-bash for "Havana
Nights" Tuesday at the Hollywood Athletic
Club.
"I'm not dancing again for 15 years!"
Luna said. "Five months of dancing
every day for eight hours a day is enough
to last a lifetime."
Besides, he 'fessed up to remembering very
few of the dance steps learned during 10
weeks of intense rehearsal with co-producer
and choreographer JoAnn Jansen, on whose
life story this "Dirty Dancing"
sequel is based. At first glance, dance-inspired
period pic seemed to rep a marked departure
for producer Lawrence Bender, who made his
name overseeing "Pulp Fiction."
But then again, Bender used to be a ballet
dancer.
"I always wanted to make a film like
this," Bender told Variety. "Now
I've come full circle."
Also seen cutting a rug at the preem were
pic's Patrick Swayze, Sela Ward and Bender
pal Arianna Huffington.
Leslie Leads U.S. Women Over Cuba
HAVANA, 25 - Lisa Leslie scored 19 points
to lead the United States past the Cuban
national team 73-37 in a tuneup for the
Athens Olympics.
Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks was backed
by Swin Cash of the Detroit Shock with 12
points and seven rebounds and Tina Thompson
of the Houston Comets with 11 points, seven
rebounds and eight steals.
The game Tuesday night was the first of
three this week between the teams.
The U.S. team, coached by Van Chancellor
of the Houston Comets, shot 68 percent in
taking a 44-21 halftime lead. Cuba was led
by Yuliseny Soria, who finished with 10
points.
10 Cuban Migrants Make It To Shore In
Key West
WPLG Click10.com. February
25, 2004.
Ten Cuban migrants swam a short distance
to shore near Key West's Southernmost Point
early Wednesday morning.
Key West police said nine men and one woman
jumped off a homemade 15-foot boat close
to shore after a rough three-day journey
from Cuba.
Three of them were found at a Duval Street
convenience store, one at the Southernmost
Point at the foot of Duval Street and the
rest were found by military police at the
Southard Street gate to the Navy's Truman
Annex property.
They left Pinar del Rio on Monday, the
U. S. Border Patrol said.
A police aid said the immigrants all appeared
to be very happy and in good health, although
they told her they were seasick and dizzy
much of the trip and they ran out of gas
for the outboard motor the last day and
had to row. They apparently were wearing
life jackets when they swam in from the
boat. One of them pulled the boat in and
up onto the shore.
Key West police took them to the Monroe
County Detention Center where the U. S.
Border Patrol later picked them up for processing.
Repsol YPF to explore for oil in Cuba,
Equatorial Guinea
Madrid, Feb 24, 2004 (EFE via COMTEX) --
Spanish-Argentine oil firm Repsol YPF will
carry out exploration activities in Cuba
and Equatorial Guinea this year and begin
operations in Mexico, CEO Alfonso Cortina
said Tuesday.
After presenting the company's results
for 2003, Cortina said Repsol would open
a gas lquefaction plant in Mexico designed
to process gas imported from Bolivia.
Repsol will also begin test drilling in
Spain's Canary Islands, increase explorations
in Libya and begin operations in Saudi Arabia.
Oil probes in Cuba, Equatorial Guinea and
the Canary Islands are 'high risk,'but have
the potential of being highly profitable,
Cortina said.
The first test drilling in Cuba will occur
in March or April and results will be available
by the end of June, he noted.
The oil giant has already conducted seismic
testing in five off-shore natural gas blocks
of the Caribbean country, where the company
acquired exploration rights.
Repsol has also already begun seismic testing
in the Canary Islands even though Morocco
has questioned the sovereignty of the waters
comprising the designated blocks.
Cortina said the Spanish and Moroccan governments
would have to resolve the dispute.
Another project will probe Mexico's Reynosa
Monterrey block, in the Burgos basin.
The new liquefaction plant is to be erected
in the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, on the Pacific
Coast. The plant is linked to a plan to
export Bolivian natural gas that is headed
by the consortium Pacific LNG.
Cortina said Repsol may seek new partners
for the Lazaro Cardenas project or even
sell it 'with added value'if the Bolivia
project does not materialize.
Four multinationals have already contacted
Repsol YPF expressing interest in the liquefaction
plant project, he said.
Regarding the status of the Bolivian project,
Cortina said it depended on the result of
a referendum on the export of natural gas
expected to be held in April, as well as
the Bolivian legislature's decision on a
new hydrocarbons law.
In addition, Repsol acquired the exploitation
rights for a 51,400 square-kilometer (19,846
square-mile) block in Saudi Arabia, along
with the Italian company ENI.
The firm is also looking at other projects,
such as expanding liquefaction operations
in Trinidad and Tobago, building a new plant
in the Persian Gulf and investing in two
new tankers.
mam/kb/mc
Copyright (c) 2004. Agencia
EFE S.A.
In Havana, hundreds roll in for cigar
festival
Posted on Wed, Feb. 25,
2004
HAVANA - (AP) -- With fireworks exploding
over an old Spanish fort on Havana Bay,
Cuba's Habanos Festival opened this week,
drawing hundreds of foreigners for the annual
tribute to the island's world famous cigars.
Several hundred people gathered Monday
night on the grounds of La Cabana fort,
where they were invited to try a special
San Cristobal brand cigar made for the sixth
annual Habanos Festival.
About 500 cigar merchants and other foreigners
were expected at the event running through
Friday, said Miguel Campoy, an executive
of Habanos S.A., the Cuban-Spanish firm
that markets the island's cigars abroad
and the festival organizer.
Cigar smoke filled the air over the fort
as diners were entertained by salsa music
and tropical dancers. Classic Harley-Davidson
motorcycles from the 1950s were on display.
Unlike past years, no foreign celebrities
or high-ranking government officials were
seen at the opening event.
Probably the most recognizable person seen
Monday was President Fidel Castro's son,
Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, who sat
at a table close to the stage. The younger
Castro plays no role in the island's communist
government.
Foreigners were paying $1,200 each for
the five-day program, which includes visits
to tobacco fields and factories, and a final
elegant ''Cigar Dinner'' Friday night, traditionally
attended by Fidel Castro.
The dinner will be followed by an auction
of elaborate humidors fashioned of mahogany
and other hardwoods and autographed by Castro.
Although the bearded revolutionary gave
up cigars decades ago, he continues to champion
one of Cuba's most important exports.
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