March 31

FROM CUBA
Changes in law restrict inheritance rights in Cuba
The changes provide that inheritors who are not directly related to the deceased have to solicit an opinion from the municipal housing authorities as to whether the house they have inherited should become the property of the community.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
80 new bus inspectors will be deployed in Havana
Havana's city bus officials have announced that starting April 1, 80 new inspectors will take to the streets in order to stem losses due to pilfered revenue by bus crews.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Theft leaves beach-goers unprotected
A foreign tourist had his belongings stolen at an east Havana beach March 21 and police, who detained all lifeguards for questioning, left bathers at the beach unprotected for the rest of the afternoon.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Mexican Businessman in Scandal Arrested
• Migrant Released From Hospital

The Miami Herald
• Cuba a bioweapons 'threat,' U.S. says
• Jose Maria Mijares
• Bacardi files suit to win brand battle

External links

Washed-Up Body May Be Cuban Migrant
Authorities believe a body that washed ashore near St. Lucie may be one of several migrants missing from a group trying to reach the United States from Cuba on inner tubes.
WPBF Channel.com, FL .

Florida-to-Cuba cattle shipment upped
Naples-based J.P. Wright & Co. has reached an agreement with Alimport, Cuba's agency responsible for imports, to add 50 Florida cattle to its existing 250-head deal. This will be the first shipment of Florida cattle to Cuba in more than 40 years.
Naples Daily News, FL.

Fake cigars get rolled in Cuba case
Capitalism has its advantages, comrade. A federal judge in Manhattan yesterday said American trademark law protects Cuba's premium Cohiba brand of cigars and ordered a New York company to quit selling stogies under that name.
New York Post, NY.

Cuba remains 'terrorist threat' to U.S., administration official says
Repeating and strengthening previous allegations about Cuba's alleged weapons of mass destruction program, a Bush administration official Tuesday told Congress in written testimony that the island "remains a terrorist and (biological weapons) threat to the United States."
Biloxi Sun Herald, MS.

Ramapo College sending students to Cuba for arts study
If all goes as planned, Joshua Knoblick will spend a few weeks this spring attending theater performances in Havana, drinking mojitos on a Cuban beach and (legally) smoking a few Cuban cigars.
New Jersey Journal, NJ.

Chávez links with Cuba fuel US fight
Venezuelan opponents of Hugo Chávez think they have found a new ally in their struggle to oust the country's president - Florida's politically powerful Cuban-American community. Cuban-Americans have their own reason for disliking Mr Chávez: the 53,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil that flow to Cuba daily, which Cuba analysts call a "lifeline" for Mr Castro.
Financial Times, UK.

Mexico to Seek Extradition of Ahumada After Arrest in Cuba
Carlos Ahumada, an Argentine-born businessman with companies in Mexico, was arrested in Cuba at Mexico's request, as authorities seek his extradition on face fraud charges, the Mexican Attorney General's Office said.
Bloomberg.com .

Cuba's Cigar Company Wins Order Blocking U.S. Cohiba
Cuba's state-run tobacco company won a U.S. court order blocking General Cigar Holdings Inc. from selling cigars in the U.S. under the Cohiba brand favored by Fidel Castro.
Bloomberg.com .

March 29

FROM CUBA
Cuban police arrest three who filmed them beating a man in Havana's Central Park
Police arrested three who filmed them as they beat a young man in Havana's Central Park, and fined about 20 others who berated them as they beat their handcuffed victim.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Student knives another at technical school
William Vel, 16, was stabbed twice by Yosangri Matos, 15. Both were students at the "René Ramos Latour" technical school, and the fight took place near the school shortly after classes.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• 2 groups differ on Cuba but not on use of power
• Havana Club moves up the rum ranks
• Virgin Atlantic adds flights
• Hundreds rally against 'tyrants' Castro and Chávez
• State looks at tightening rules on travel to Cuba
• Dissidents' kin lament TV encounter
• 3 Cubans survive a deadly journey

Yahoo! News
• Survivors See Each For First Time Since High-Seas Voyage
• Cubans Recall Harrowing Voyage to Fla.

Examining Cuba's human-rights record
Cuba's representative last week unleashed a vituperative attack on diplomat Christine Chanet of France for meekly observing that Cuban human-rights activists were suffering from ''an unprecedented wave of oppression'' from the Castro government. This is a reference to the 75 activists who received obscene prison sentences last year for the crime of dissent.
The Miami Herald.

Semper Fidel
The controversy might lead viewers to conclude that while Stone has done a valuable job in Comandante in revealing Fidel, the man, he never comes close to capturing a greater quarry, the dictator, Fidel Castro.
The Globe and Mail. Canada.

External links

Venezuelans, Cubans demand democracy in their homelands at Miami march
Calling for greater international attention to the political crisis in their homeland, former Venezuelan opposition leaders Carlos Fernandez and Carlos Ortega marched together Saturday for the first time since both men fled their country.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuban Refugees' Boat For Sale On eBay
A unique item is up for auction on eBay: a boat used by Cuban refugees to try and reach the United States. The item, described as a "conversation piece," was posted on the popular Web site under the description: "Cuban Refugee Escape Boat - Authentic Collectible Vessel" by a seller in Margararitaville in the Florida Keys.
WPBF Channel.com, FL.

Herbie Hancock at jam session in Havana
Internationally-renowned jazz musician Herbie Hancock (Herbert Jeffrey) was seen jamming at the National Union of Cuban Artists and Writers (UNEAC) with Cuban musicians Chucho Valdés, Tata Guines and Pancho Quinto.
ShortNews.com.

To Cuba With Love
On Thursday mornings, Jose Rangel hops in a van loaded with parcels and begins a five-hour trek to Miami, where the packages eventually will be stowed aboard an airplane bound for Cuba.
Tampa Tribune, FL.

United Nations ponders Net's future
Cuba's delegate, Juan Fernandez, was busy lobbying for help with the so-called interconnection problem. Mr. Fernandez, from Cuba's Ministry of Informatics and Communications, complained that it was unfair for poorer countries to have to pay such high Internet bills - currently, whoever connects pays for the traffic, and more Cubans browse American websites than the other way around.
Globe and Mail, Canada.

March 26

FROM CUBA
Cellular phones in Cuba to become available with monthly payments in pesos
The Cuban Telephone Company plans to offer cellular telephone service later this year with payments made in pesos rather than dollars, as has been the policy to date.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Water service interrupted in San Antonio de los Baños
Residents of San Antonio de los Baños had to make do without running water for over two days at the beginning of the month when the service was shut off for repairs to the almost 100-year-old aqueduct.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuba Says Prisoners Weren't Mistreated
• Three Cubans Pulled to Safety Off Florida
• Cuban Ministry Protests UNESCO Award
• Castro is slave of the people in "up close" documentary

The Miami Herald
• U.S. antidrug report gets Cuban backlash
• U.S. to bar Cubans who aided dissident 'show trials'
• Cuban defector pursues dream

External links

Cuba's Spring
The failure of the international community to hold Mr. Castro accountable for his crimes against some of Cuba's best writers, journalists and teachers means that that spring probably will not arrive this year. But even Mr. Castro, feebly clinging to his failed ideology at age 77, must know in his heart that it is coming.
The Washington Post..

Mr. Castro's Prisoners
Adolfo Fernández Saínz, 56, is a translator, journalist and democracy advocate in Cuba. His current address is a cell in Holguín prison, nearly 500 miles from his family, which is permitted a two-hour visit every three months. Mr. Fernández Saínz shares his cell with 47 common prisoners, one of whom beat him into unconsciousness in December.
The New York Times.

A "Cuban Spring"
The atrocious conditions under which these prisoners of conscience serve their sentences illustrate Fidel Castro's disregard for human rights. They are subjected to contaminated water, rancid food, poor hygiene, and little or no access to medical services. Prisoners tell of rat and insect infestation, beatings, infrequent access to light, sweltering and freezing temperatures, and solitary confinement.
VOA News.

Marco Doctor returns from volunteer experience in Cuba
Can you imagine a flying eye hospital? Try to picture a DC-10 outfitted with a classroom, operating room, recovery room, laser room, high tech audiovisual room, conference room and a communications center. Now picture this enormous airplane sitting on a tarmac in a developing country bustling with doctors, nurses and patients.
Marco Island Sun Times, FL.

Group Criticizes Cuba's Treatment of Journalists
The Inter American Press Association has accused Cuba of harassing of independent journalists and called for the release of 75 dissidents and journalists from its jails.
NewsMax.com.

A transforming glimpse of Cuba
I looked up from the table in time to see a face pressed against the window of the hotel coffee shop. The man was in his 20s, his hands in the pockets of a dark-blue baseball warm-up jacket. His eyes ran quickly around the room, over the wicker chairs and tropical vegetation, stopping on the foreigners in twos and threes or, like me, alone.
Christian Science Monitor.

Southwest Florida Cuban-smuggling plot?
Customs agents swarmed a boat docked at Horton Park in Cape Coral on suspicions the vessel was being used to smuggle Cuban refugees into the United States. The boat had three engines, 15 gas cans, a stockpile of food and extra life vests - all things that stand out to investigators.
WBBH, FL.

March 23

FROM CUBA
Anti-government graffiti a growing trend in Cuba
People dissatisfied with the government and willing to express it at night by painting anti-government slogans on walls have become a growing phenomenon, at least in the central Cuban provinces, in spite of similarly growing police activity to deter them.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Roundup of motorcyclists who allegedly carried paying passengers in Cuba
National police in the Palma Soriano in Santiago de Cuba province this week rounded up13 motorcyclists and gave them warnings for allegedly transporting paying passengers.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Cuban growers hope tobacco production normalizes
• Kerry says Bush is soft on Chávez
• Advisor affirms Bush's Cuba policy
• U.S. bans anti-dissidents
• Bush Hispanics wary over Cuba
• A ''pure Havana'' Renaissance man is stoking up the Miami arts scene
• Reputed Miami mob boss pleads innocent

Yahoo! News
• IAPA criticizes Cuba's treatment of journalists
• Cubans have beef with chronic cattle shortage
• Oliver Stone glad Canada has guts to air his 'blogged' Castro documentary
• Ana Menendez's fondness for the poets Lorca and Neruda in Loving Che obvious

Breaking the "Information Embargo"
Independent Libraries and a Democratic Transition in Cuba.
Duncan Currie, National Review Online.

Castro's Latest Victim: Himself
As we mark one year since the brutal government crackdown on the peaceful opposition in Cuba, my mind goes back to the morning of March 18, 2003. I was at a meeting of dissident leaders; we were discussing the hostile tone of the previous day's "Mesa Redonda," a political TV talk show that the government uses to convey its point of view to the population.
Vladimiro Roca, The New York Times.

March 18

FROM CUBA
Cuban political prisoners help common criminals who lack outside supporters
Political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez has denounced the situation of fellow prisoners, mainly common criminals, who do not have family members who can bring them food, clothing and medicine.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Home of Cuban dissident showered with rocks
The home of dissident Beatriz Pacheco Nuñez was showered with rocks while she was hosting a meeting of the opposition organization Plantados Hasta la Libertad y la Democracia en Cuba.
SANTA CLARA

The Miami Herald
• Jailed Cuban dissidents' loved ones unite to speak for them
• Protests over jailed Cuban dissidents are today
• A year after crackdown, Cuban dissidents remain behind bars
• Bush aide disclaims 2 GOP lawmakers' remarks on Cuba
• Trial begins for four men accused in Castro plot
• Kerry's stance on Cuba attacked, defended
• Bush aide disclaims 2 GOP lawmakers' remarks on Cuba

Yahoo! News
• Cuban Dissidents' Wives Call for Release
• Early Release Unlikely for Cuba Dissidents
• Cuba slams criticism, defies UN rights forum
• US Treasury hits at Canadian agency promoting travel to Cuba
• Cuba slams criticism, defies UN rights forum
• U.S. Links Travel Company to Cuba
• US Treasury hits at Canadian agency promoting travel to Cuba

The struggle to defend political prisoners in Cuba
Thursday is a very sad day for me and for many other Cuban families. It marks a year since my husband, Manuel Vázquez Portal, and 74 others - opposition activists, independent journalists and librarians - were taken from their homes by agents of Fidel Castro's regime.
Yolanda Huerga Cedeño. IHT.

Cuba, One Year after the Crackdown Human Rights Watch
Exactly one year ago, on March 18, 2003, the Cuban government launched a massive crackdown on peaceful dissidents, independent journalists, human rights defenders, and independent labor unionists, librarians, medical doctors, and teachers.
Human Rights Watch,

March 15

FROM CUBA
Strong police presence protects Round Table broadcasts in Cuba
Every afternoon, a strong police presence is deployed around the studios of the Cuban Radio TV Institute, where the nightly Round Table political program is taped.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban travelers arrested for possession of food products
At six o'clock in the morning March 10 about 10 travelers getting off the bus from Pinar del Río were arrested by police when a search of their luggage revealed they were carrying cheese, fish, coffee and cockroach poison, among other products.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Cuban dancers say defections painful but necessary
• Calusas may have fled to Cuba
• Kerry's stances on Cuba open to attack
• Miami shares nation's pain
• Hip-hop festival opens Friday

External links

Inside Cuba's jails
Excerpts from letters and testimonials from five of 75 dissidents serving time in Cuba's prisons. They were provided by the dissidents' wives to Staff Writer Vanessa Bauzá.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

75 political prisoners mark first year in Cuban jails
The acclaimed poet, Raul Rivero, walks 7,000 paces a day in his prison cell and seeks refuge "from the hours that fall as if from a dropper" by writing verses and letters on yellow legal pads.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuba: No Es Fácil
As the small jet lands at Havana's José Martí airport, I half expect the pilot to get on the intercom and announce, "Welcome to Cuba. Please set your watches back 40 years."
Mike Walker / Hoover Digest.

Tracing Cuba's tarnished golden age
Colin Barraclough trawls the coast road from the Havana Yacht Club to Varadero in search of the hangouts and haunts of the island's worst and finest era -- the decadent, bloody years of Fulgencio Batista's rule.
The Globe and Mail, Canada.

ATRIP: Cuba travel ban disturbing
The Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals, a Washington D.C.-based lobbying group, has criticized what it described as the government's decision to prohibit a group of professionals from traveling to Cuba.
South Florida Business Journal, FL.

Cuba Pledges to Support Kenya's Five Key Sectors
Kenya and Cuba have signed bilateral agreements in which the former will benefit in five key development areas. The agreements were the outcome of a high level meeting on co-operation between the two nations, which was held last week in Havana, Cuba.
AllAfrica.com.

Visitor to Cuba will pay fine
The Lawrence man who faced a $37,000 federal fine for violating the U.S. government's travel ban to Cuba said Wednesday he would settle the case for a $2,500 fine rather than challenge the allegations before an administrative law judge.
Lawrence Journal World, KS.

Next stop: Libya, but not Cuba
Late last year, Gadhafi agreed to give up his weapons of mass destruction and submit to inspections. On Feb. 26, as part of the deal, the State Department lifted its travel ban on Libya.
Palm Beach Post, FL.

For the love of lighting up
In a country that clings to communism, where American cars from the 1950s rattle past the faded façades of a bygone era, thank goodness Cuba still has the cigar.
The Globe and Mail.

March 12

FROM CUBA
Parents denied permission to see imprisoned son in Cuba
The parents of imprisoned dissident Librado Linares García, who traveled from Havana to see their son for the first time in six months, were denied permission to do so on the grounds he was rejecting re-education efforts.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Imprisoned Cuban independent journalist hospitalized
Independent journalist Julio César Gálvez Rodríguez has been transferred to the prison ward of the Celestino Hernández Robau Hospital in Santa Clara suffering from high blood pressure and kidney stones.
NUEVA GERONA

The Miami Herald
• Poll: Hard line on Cuba endures
• Cuban spies' trial flawed, lawyers say
• Kin of terrorism acts in Cuba go to Panama for exile plot trial
• The king is dead; long live memories of the Cuba frita

External links

ATRIP: Cuba travel ban disturbing
The Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals, a Washington D.C.-based lobbying group, has criticized what it described as the government's decision to prohibit a group of professionals from traveling to Cuba.
South Florida Business Journal, FL.

Cuba Pledges to Support Kenya's Five Key Sectors
Kenya and Cuba have signed bilateral agreements in which the former will benefit in five key development areas. The agreements were the outcome of a high level meeting on co-operation between the two nations, which was held last week in Havana, Cuba.
AllAfrica.com.

Visitor to Cuba will pay fine
The Lawrence man who faced a $37,000 federal fine for violating the U.S. government's travel ban to Cuba said Wednesday he would settle the case for a $2,500 fine rather than challenge the allegations before an administrative law judge.
Lawrence Journal World, KS.

Tracing Cuba's tarnished golden age
Colin Barraclough trawls the coast road from the Havana Yacht Club to Varadero in search of the hangouts and haunts of the island's worst and finest era -- the decadent, bloody years of Fulgencio Batista's rule.
The Globe and Mail, Canada.

March 10

FROM CUBA
Cuban doctors to work in Paraguay
Reportedly 25 doctors from the municipality of Plaza of the Revolution have been assigned to work in Paraguay. Their absence will be covered by sixth year medical students.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban government Website hacked
Hackers recently entered a Cuban government Web site and posted a statement criticizing restrictions on access to the Internet by Cubans.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Violin stolen from Strauss' statue in Havana
Thieves took the bronze violin from the statue of Johann Strauss in the Havana park named after the Viennese musician, but were apprehended as they made their getaway along Línea Street.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Hijackers' attorneys seeking a delay
• Cuban opposition members launch anti-death penalty campaign
• I still speak my mind, Cuban artist contends

Yahoo! News
• 30 Haitians Seek Refuge in Cuba
• Cuban Spies Set to Appeal 2001 Sentences

External links

Researchers Say U.S. Barred Them From Cuba
The United States government stopped a group of about 70 American medical school professors, doctors and other scientists from attending an international symposium on coma and death in Cuba this week, several doctors said yesterday.
The New York Times.

70 scientists banned from Cuba conference
A group of about 70 U.S. doctors and researchers say they have been stopped from visiting an international symposium in Cuba. The scientists said they only got a few days notice that their trip had been canceled, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Washington Times.

Retired nurse to help out in Cuba
Retired nurse Pauline Dabydeen has flown almost 4500 miles to Cuba to join the world's only flying eye hospital.
Evening Times, UK.

Arts community protests Bush curbs on Cuban artists' visas
The Bush administration's efforts to take a tougher stance against the Cuban government has hit what some in the arts community are calling the wrong target: cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba.
The Kansas City Star.

March 8

FROM CUBA
Cuban elementary schools to resume the teaching of English
Third- to sixth-grade students in Cuba will soon start taking English in schools, according to a government announcement. This will be the first time in many years that English is widely taught in the island's schools.
HAVANA, Fara Armenteros

FROM CUBA
Cuban journalists and activists still awaiting trial after two years in prison
Six activists and two independent journalists are still in prison awaiting trial two years after staging a public, peaceful protest to protest the beating of another journalist.
NUEVA GERONA, Carlos Serpa Maceira

The Miami Herald
• Spies will challenge their convictions
• Lawmakers say Cuba spied
• Anti-Castro exile sings from the heart
• Cuban singer denied visa
• Her Cuban heritage leaps off the pages
• 50 years later, terrorist attack remembered

Yahoo! News
• El Duque Agrees to Return to Yankees
• Give Me Your Hand (Dame la Mano)

Embargo hurts U.S. economy, Cubans
One afternoon in 1984, I was offered a look through a telescope aimed at Miami. I was in the multistory building in Havana that President Dwight Eisenhower built as a U.S. embassy. Eisenhower broke diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, and the building remained nearly empty.
John B. Quigley. The Miami Herald.

External links

Cuban nickel boost crucial: Sherritt CEO
The head of Sherritt International says the company needs to "make something happen" in the next six months to get expansion of its Cuban nickel project underway or it will miss a chance to take advantage of the recent strength in nickel prices.
Toronto Star, Canada.

Cuba trade memorandum positioning Texas better
Today's limits on trade between the United States and Cuba do not mean that a lot of trade with that island nation won't materialize once Fidel Castro is gone from power.
Houston Chronicle, TX.

Professor to study Hemingway home in Cuba
The Cuban Government is allowing a Penn State professor to look at famed writer Ernest Hemingway like no one has before.
Penn State Digital, PA.

Cuba talks business
From May 3 to 6, tour operators, travel agents, airline representatives, hoteliers, entrepreneurs and experts in tourism will participate in Cuba 2004.
TravelVideo.tv .

Out of nowhere: Adrian Hernandez
Once the hot new face in New York Yankees camp, "El Duquecito" is fighting for his baseball life on the opposite end of the game's spectrum. No matter. This guy has been through some tough stuff already.
MLB.com.

Cuban artists kept out of U.S.
The Bush administration's efforts to take a tougher stance against the Cuban government has hit what some in South Florida's arts community are calling the wrong target: cultural exchanges between the United States and Cuba.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

In Haiti, Cuban doctors stayed when no one else would
Patients are grateful for aid, but critics say clinics help fund Castro..
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Time is running out to rescue Venezuela
Since winning a presidential election in 1998, Castro's Venezuelan protege, President Hugo Chavez, has pursued precisely what the Russian researchers in Santiago described: the methodical consolidation of absolute authority under the guise of "democracy."
The Wall Street Journal.

Cuban couple defies odds in lottery of a lifetime
All the guests wanted a piece of the wedding cake. You could hardly blame them. It was a delicious, elegant, three-tiered confection, covered with fluffy white icing, shot through with tendrils of raspberry mousse.
Go Erie, PA.

Hundreds of Thousands March in Venezuela
Blowing whistles and chanting, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans marched through Caracas on Saturday to protest the rejection of a petition aimed at recalling President Hugo Chavez.
The Dallas Morning News.

Our man in Havana breathes in high life with Fidel
The Bakelite tinkles. It is a trunk call from Lyons in Cuba, where he is on assignment at the sixth Havana Cigar Festival. Sadly, his hopes of chugging on a cohiba with Fidel Castro came to nought, but he happily settled for the next best thing in the form of his son, Fidel Jnr, at the Floridita Churchill dinner in the Hotel Nacional on Havana's Malecon.
Cornell Daily Sun, NY.

Memories of Cuba bittersweet for Plano resident
Leaving his family behind in Cuba wasn't easy for Bert Gonzalez. But he had no choice. "I was planning to be a rebel and if that had happened, I would be dead by now," Gonzalez says.
Plano Star Courier, TX.

March 5

FROM CUBA
Diseased swine destroyed in central Cuba
Agricultural health officials have been destroying diseased swine in the area of Cabaiguán, in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus since mid February.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuba independent journalist barred from literary presentation: It's only for Revolutionaries
An official of the Association for the Promotion and Development of Literature barred independent journalist Adela Soto from a literary presentation at the Central Library in Pinar del Río February 22, telling her the event was "only for Revolutionaries."
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Texas Port Looks to Future Cuba Travel
• Commission resolution to indict Castro passes
• School's alumni keep tradition alive

External links

Contradictory Cuba JCCGW trip finds contrasts among Jews of island
Grinding poverty and a proud demeanor, lack of freedom and freedom from prejudice, dwindling numbers and burgeoning Jewish life -- a recent mission to Cuba found enough counterpoint for a Latin dance band.
Washington Jewish Week.

March 3

FROM CUBA
Artemisa gets ready for the coming war
Since Cuban strategists have concluded that the "imminent" attack by U.S. will come ashore on the north coast of Havana province, authorities have begun preparing by taking inventory of the housing in Artemisa, a town just south of Mariel, in order to determine where to take the refugees from the combat zone.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
The dispatch of doctors to Venezuela causes shortage in medical services in Cuba
A woman suffering from back pains says she could not be attended at a Havana clinic because the three doctors usually on duty had been sent to Venezuela.
HAVANA

External links

SA and Cuba strike deal on labour issues
The governments of South Africa and Cuba have signed an agreement of co-operation regarding employment, social security and occupational safety. The agreement involves exchanging information and experiences on technology that impact on employment and social programmes.
SABCnews, SA.

Dancers fleeing Cuba make mark on ballet worldwide
After nearly half a century of defections, including 20 in 2003, Cuban dancers and teachers are exerting a powerful influence on American and world dance that brings to mind the profound impact Russian dancers brought to the West as their defections mounted in the dusk of the Soviet empire.
The Seattle Times.

Health of Pitchers Is Already an Issue
The Yankees, accustomed to having an abundance of choices for their starting rotation, received their first sobering reminder Monday that this season might be different. José Contreras, projected as the fourth starter, had to be scratched from Tuesday's opening intrasquad game because of a tight lower back.
The New York Times.

SA profiting from the Cuba link
South Africa stands to benefit in terms of job creation and tourism growth from panels of Cuban labour experts who will be visiting the country this year..
IOL, SA.

Exploring Havana
Havana intrigues Americans. With President George W. Bush's threat to veto the relaxed travel restrictions to Cuba favored by both the House of Representatives and Senate, the mystery surrounding the forbidden fruit of American tourism increases.
Cornell Saily Sun, NY.

March 1

FROM CUBA
Police take census of prostitutes and homosexuals in Havana
Police started the census after a visible increase in their presence in the town. They are now patrolling in groups of threes and fours.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Three hold up payroll clerk in Havana outskirts
Three masked persons held up the payroll clerk for the privately-owned ornamentals nursery La Begonia as she left home in the early hours yesterday, taking almost 20,000 pesos.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Wife defends UNESCO prize winner, Cuban dissident Raul Rivero
• Forbes estimates Cuban President Fidel Castro worth 150 million dollars
• Bush seeks to place more restrictions on vessels in Cuban waters
• U.S. Coast Guard Returns 36 Cubans
• Cuban scientist slams US barring of scientific articles from countries under embargo
• US says human rights get worse in China, Cuba, Iran and Myanmar
• 'Havana's' hot-cha-cha
• 'Leslie Leads U.S. Women Over Cuba
• 10 Cuban Migrants Make It To Shore In Key West
• Repsol YPF to explore for oil in Cuba, Equatorial Guinea

The Miami Herald
• 'Truckonauts' await U.S. ruling
• New rule restricts American boaters from sailing to island
• Visa rule to end for visits by expatriates
• In Havana, hundreds roll in for cigar festival

External links

Firm, officials admit illegal sales to Cuba
Almost two years after they were convicted and then granted a new trial, a Bala Cynwyd company and two of its officials pleaded guilty yesterday to violating the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba.
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA.

'Magic City' no longer dominated by Cubans
"While doing research for this book, we found it was hard to get research money for (a study on) Miami," Max Castro said. "The image was that the only thing in Miami is Cubans and cocaine..
The University of South Florida Oracle, FL.

Trading with the enemy?
It was Friday the 13th when Bob Augelli got a letter from Bush administration officials informing him he had less than two weeks -- until today -- to agree to pay them $10,100 or face the consequences.
Lawrence Journal World, KS.

Canadian receives fine, probation in Cuba embargo trial
The long-running case of a Canadian businessman charged with violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba came to an end Friday with a fine and a sentence of a year's probation.
CBC News, Canada.

Cuba Offers to Train MMD Members
Cuba has offered to give members of the MMD scholarships in politics and help them learn from its schools on the Cuban revolutionary government.
AllAfrica.com, Africa.

Kenya, Cuba Sign Sugar Pact
Kenya and Cuba have signed a two-year technical agreement to revamp the ailing sugar industry. Planning minister Anyang' Nyong'o made the announcment on arrival from a one week tour of Cuba.
AllAfrica.com, Africa.

Cuban Rhythms
When we arrived at the Telégrafo, across from Havana's central park, I didn't expect our accommodations to look like an Ian Schrager boutique hotel, styled with an art deco mosaic on a wall in the bar, arched ceilings and a silver couch in the lobby.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA.