10 - 31- 2006

PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZIL'S PRESIDENT, WINS IN LANDSLIDE DOUBLES NUKE ENRICHMENT CAPACITY     RIO DE JANEIRO , BRAZIL  --  President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a second term in a landslide victory Sunday, with Brazilians rewarding their first working class leader after he helped ease grinding poverty while improving the economy of Latin America's largest country. With 99 percent of the votes counted, the president had 61 percent support compared to 39 percent for the center-right Geraldo Alckmin, Sao Paulo state's former governor.     Election officials declared Lula da Silva the winner. "We're going to do a lot better in my second term than we did in the first," the president told cheering supporters in a Sao Paulo hotel. "The foundation is in place, and now we have to get to work." Lula da Silva's win came after Alckmin made a surprisingly strong showing in a first round of voting on Oct. 1. The vote went to a second round after the incumbent president failed to get 50 percent plus one vote required for an outright win.     But the leftist president had the firm support from Brazil's tens of millions of poor voters, who have benefited handsomely over the past three years as he increased social spending without raising taxes. Lula da Silva also overcame corruption scandals that tarnished the image of his administration. His Workers Party has been battered for two years by charges of vote-buying and illegal campaign financing, scandals that have cost the former labor leader and lathe operator his reputation as a bastion of political ethics.

DEATHBED PORTRAIT OF CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO GOES ON DISPLAY IN THE CENTRAL PARK OF NEW YORK   NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK  --  Capla Kesting Fine Art announced that an unveiling in Central Park of Fidel Castro on his "deathbed" at 10:00 am November 8th, just north of the monument for Cuban poet, Jose Marti¬. Inspiration for the big head of Castro, large enough to belong to a 25 foot man, comes from Harlem, New York's acclamation for Castro's contributions to civil rights. "Harlem is perhaps the only community in the U.S. that proclaims an admiration for Castro - the Central Park unveiling of his portrait is an attempt to bring Harlem's adoration for Castro to the rest of the world," said a spokesman for the unveiling.     Depiction of the ailing Cuban dictator was made with deference to the conflicting points of view between Harlem and Miami, explained spokesman, David Kesting. "With respect to Harlem, the portrait celebrates Castro's humanitarianism and with respect to Miami, it celebrates the end of a long regime," said Kesting. Reportedly, Miami's Little Havana celebrated in the streets to wild rumors from anti-Castro exiles that Castro had died while Harlem celebrated Castro's 80th birthday in August. The portrait of Castro is scheduled for display in Miami by Capla Kesting Fine Arts in early December.     Harlem's friendship with Castro started in 1960 when he was famously evicted from Manhattan's Shelburne Hotel and then welcomed by Harlem's Hotel Theresa. The Shelburne Hotel was extended the opportunity to exhibit Castro's portrait as a way to make amends to the Cuban President for the eviction, but the hotel firmly declined the offer. Location for the unveiling of "Castro's Deathbed Portrait" is just west of Wollman rink and north of Central Park's Artist's Gate entrance on 59th street between Columbus Circle and Grand Army Plaza.

U.S. GENERAL IN SOUTH KOREA SAYS NORTH PLANNING ANOTHER NUKE TEST      SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA  --  The head of U.S. forces in South Korea has predicted that North Korea might conduct a second nuclear test. "I can only surmise that since they've tested one, that some time in the future we're going to get another test of a nuclear device," General B.B. Bell said. "I think we can expect future tests as part of their program to develop these kinds of very provocative weapons," the General added referring to the North's nuclear and missile programs. The AFP reports that Bell is the top authority in South Korea where 650,000-strong military personnel along with 29,500 U.S. troops are deployed.  The General also warned that North Korea should give "long and deliberate thought" before attacking the South and added in case of attack "we would quickly and decisively defeat aggression." According to local media reports, suspicious activities have continued in the northeastern area of Punggyeri in Kilju county - the site where the first test was staged.  "However, it remains unclear whether these activities are related to a second nuclear test or North Koreans are just faking it," one source said. According to Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest-circulation newspaper, the communist country launched five short-range missiles during military exercises last week, which had ranges between six and 30 miles.

10 - 30- 2006

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO APPEARS ON TV, SCOFFS AT RUMORS OF HIS DEATH    HAVANA, CUBA  --  The ailing dictator Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban state television for the first time in more than a month Saturday, looking thin, scared and tired but walking and ridiculing recent rumors of his death. The 80-year-old Cuban leader temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul in July following intestinal surgery for an undisclosed ailment. Fidel Castro had not been seen since mid-September, when photographs of him greeting world leaders at a summit in Havana were released.     Saturday's video showed him walking slowly but steadily in an unidentified room and reading a newspaper in a loud voice. "They've declared me moribund prematurely," he said, holding a copy of Saturday's edition of Granma, the Communist Party daily newspaper.  "But it pleases me to send my compatriots and friends this small video."     He said his recovery would be long and not without risk.  But he added: "I'm not the least bit afraid of what will occur." The Cuban dictator said he was "coming along just as planned" and called rumors of his death ridiculous and insulting, claiming they were the work of his enemies. "Let's see what they say now," he said. Rumors that he might have died intensified in recent weeks. He has not made a public appearance since July 26, a few days before he underwent surgery.

U.S. DIGS FOR VOTE-MACHINE LINKS TO HUGO CHAVEZ   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Federal officials are investigating whether Smartmatic, owner of Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia Voting Systems, is secretly controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, according to two people familiar with the probe. In July, a Treasury Department spokeswoman disclosed that a Treasury-led panel had contacted Smartmatic, and a company representative said his firm was ''in discussions'' with the panel. At the time, those discussions were informal. The government has now upgraded to a formal investigation, the two sources said.     Sequoia's electronic voting machines operate in 17 states. In Florida, the machines are used in four counties: Palm Beach, Indian River, Pinellas and Hillsborough. Concerns about Smartmatic are keen on the eve of the Nov. 7 election, given fears that someone with unauthorized access to the electronic system could create electoral chaos. Some critics believe that if the Venezuelan government is involved, Smartmatic could be a ''Trojan horse'' designed to advance Chavez's anti-American agenda.     However, officials in all four Florida counties using Sequoia said they were satisfied with the machines and were not concerned about allegations of a Chávez connection because company officials told them the Venezuelan government had no stake in the company. ''We are very satisfied,'' said Kathy Adams, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections.

10 - 29- 2006

IRAN DOUBLES NUKE ENRICHMENT CAPACITY  

  TEHRAN, IRAN  --  Iran stepped up its uranium enrichment program Friday, a semiofficial news agency reported, even as a divided U.N. Security Council considered a European draft resolution to impose sanctions over Tehran's nuclear activities.  President Bush called the report that Iran had doubled its enrichment capacity "speculation" but said a nuclear-armed Iran was unacceptable. Israel compared Iran to Nazi Germany.

    Iran's injection of gas into a second network of centrifuges, reported by the Iranian Students News Agency, marked the country's first known uranium enrichment since February.  The process - which yields either nuclear fuel or material for a warhead - did not represent a major technological breakthrough and was unlikely to bring Iran within grasp of a weapon.  But it signaled Tehran's resolve to expand its atomic program at a time of divisions within the Security Council over a punishment for Iran's defiance.

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS FIDEL CASTRO IS WALKING, GOING OUT UNNOTICED AT NIGHT THROUGH THE CUBAN COUNTRYSITE

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez said Friday that Cuban leader Fidel Castro is up and about again, taking trips at night into the countryside, as he recovers from surgery.  "He is walking around already and goes out at night to tour the countryside, towns and cities. I'm soon going to go see you, Fidel," Chavez said during a speech to cacao producers in Venezuela Friday.

    After nearly a half-century in office, Castro temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul in July after undergoing intestinal surgery.  The Cuban government has treated his ailment as a state secret, and speculation has intensified recently that Castro may have died.  Meanwhile, Chavez, a close ally and friend of the 80-year-old leader, has taken on the role of informing the international community on Castro's health, regularly citing letters and phone calls that he says they've exchanged.

EX WORKERS LIFT SIEGE ON COCA-COLA SITES

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Parliamentarians Cilia Flores, Chair of the National Assembly, and Iris Varela and Marcela Máspero, members of the Social Development Committee, together with Coca-Cola Femsa workers and ex workers, agreed to lift the siege. The coordinator of the National Front of Coca-Cola former workers Nixon López ensured: "Thursday night activities in the company will resume."

      The former workers of the bottling firm's distributors agreed to abandon their protest after they reached two deals: first, next October 31st, the Legislature is to urge the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) to hear all of the cases of the former employees, and second that the Constitutional Court, TSJ, reviews all of the cases for which a ruling has been issued. Some 5,000 former workers demanded payment of labor liabilities, but Coca-Cola directors claimed that the claim was appropriate only in 70 cases. According to Congress Chair Cilia Flores, Coca-Cola owes USD 7 billion to the demonstrators. Rodrigo Anzola, Coca-Cola Femsa's director of Legal Affairs and Institutional Claims, said that entrances to the company would be unblocked, in order to resume operations and distribution of their products.

10 - 28- 2006

SUIT HOPES TO BLOCK STATE'S LIMITS ON TRAVEL TO CUBA

  MIAMI, FLORIDA  --  A federal court in Miami is hearing arguments this morning on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Florida's new restrictions on travel to Cuba to conduct academic research. The lawsuit, which seeks a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the law, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

    The travel restrictions were enacted by the Florida Legislature this year. They are aimed at preventing professors, students and scientists from using funds administered by the state university system to travel to Cuba. Among the plaintiffs in the case are Lisandro Pérez, a professor at Florida International University; Jose Alvarez, a professor emeritus at the University of Florida; and Brett Jestrow, a doctoral student at FIU.

VENEZUELA TO KEEP NOMINATION AT UN SECURITY COUNCIL

  UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro lamented Thursday that Guatemala is hindering the election of a third country to represent Latin America in the United Nations (UN) Security Council. In addition, Venezuela will take part in upcoming rounds of voting next week.

    After 41 rounds, neither country has gotten two thirds of the votes of the 192 UN members needed to occupy for two years the non-permanent position that Argentina will leave vacant in 2007, Reuters reported. "Guatemala advised us that on this occasion they are not ready to work on a consensus formula," Maduro told reporters in New York City following a meeting with his Guatemalan counterpart Gert Rosenthal. Maduro argued that his country is backed by 80 percent of Latin American and Caribbean nations. Rosenthal said Thursday that Guatemala is not prepared to leave the contest.

NO US OBJECTION TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AT SECURITY COUNCIL

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  United States has no objection to the Dominican Republic bid as a candidate by common consent to the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández said after holding a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, AP reported. Asked whether this meant an express support by the US Government, he answered, "we cannot deal with the case under such terms yet because no official withdrawal has taken place" by the two candidates, Guatemala and Venezuela.

    He noted that during his meeting with Rice, announced at the last minute, the issue of the Security Council "was discussed to find a final solution.  "Definitely, we, the Dominican Republic, want to help find such a solution," he told reporters following his interview of 45 minutes at Rice's office. Fernández aired on Thursday that Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro phoned him on Wednesday to ponder on the possibility of nominating the Dominican Republic as a consensus candidate.

10 - 27- 2006

argentine prosecutor: iran ex-president AKBAR HASHEMIR RAFSANJANI gave go-ahead for 1994 argentina bombing

  BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- An Argentine prosecutor on Wednesday sought the arrest of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, accusing him of approving the 1994 car bombing that killed 85 at a Jewish community center in the Argentine capital. Prosecutor Alberto Nisman charged that six other Iranians and a Lebanese were involved, including a top Hezbollah figure, Imad Fayez Mugniyah. Mugniyah is already wanted by the United States for allegedly plotting the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner, which resulted in the murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem.

    Nisman said the accused met on Aug. 13, 1993, in Mashad, Iran, to approve the attack. He charged that the plot involved not only top political officials, but also lower-level diplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires.  ''It wasn't a decision taken around a coffee table one day to the next by five or six gentlemen,'' said Nisman. He called it a well-calculated plan that was part of a ''terrorist matrix'' that included assassinations in France, Germany and Switzerland.

    Nisman is the first Argentine official to publicly accuse officials in Tehran of involvement in the attack, which many here consider the Argentine equivalent of 9/11, and his charges lend credence to long-standing American and Israeli claims that Iran and Hezbollah are sponsors of international terrorism.

RADIO AND TV MARTI BEGIN AIRCRAFT BROADCASTS  

  MIAMI, FLORIDA  -- Radio and TV Martí have officially launched their new aircraft-based broadcasts with a program sure to please their Cuban audiences -- baseball's World Series. The new G1 twin turboprop, based in Key West, is to be airborne between 6 and 11 every night except Sunday in an attempt to bypass Cuban government jamming of the stations' previously stationary broadcasting facilities. The new aircraft is broadcasting on TV's Channel 20 frequency and will not broadcast Radio Martí on the FM frequency. The plane is also capable of broadcasting live Martí signals.

    After several weeks of testing, the aircraft officially began beaming the regular Martí broadcasts Tuesday, starting with Game 3 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers. Although Cubans could rarely view the previous land-based broadcasts because of the government jamming, anecdotal evidence suggests some have been receiving the airborne transmissions, especially outside the Havana area, said the stations' chief of staff and spokesman, Alberto Mascaro.

    But the aircraft is still restricted to flying within U.S. airspace to avoid violating international broadcasting regulations. Some Cuban-American lawmakers are pushing the administration to let the plane fly in international airspace, which would make it even harder on the Cuban jammers. Last week, Cuba's acting ambassador before the United Nations, Ileana Núñez, told the General Assembly that on Aug. 11, Cuba detected simultaneous broadcasts from two aircraft in the 213 MHz frequency that interfered with island stations.

VENEZUELA: OPEC SHOULD CUT EXTRA 300,000 BPD

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should cut an additional 300, 000 barrels a day of crude output at its next meeting in Nigeria this December to help keep OPEC's average oil price at $55 a barrel or higher. "At the next meeting we have to implement an additional cut," Ramirez told reporters at an oil event. When asked what the total amount of the cut should be, he said the cartel should cut an additional 300,000 barrels on top of a 1.2 million barrel a day cut that the group agreed upon at its most recent meeting in Doha.

    Ramirez said Venezuela would cut 138,000 barrels a day, or 4.2% of domestic production, in line with the recent OPEC cut. He said that four partnerships with western oil companies in the Orinoco tar belt will have to cut more than 4.2% of their production. These projects were producing 630,000 barrels a day of extra heavy tar oil before Venezuela agreed to cut output.

      Ramirez said Venezuela has already cut 50,000 of the 138,000 barrels a day and Orinoco is notifying clients of the additional cuts. Oil majors ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Total SA (TOT), Chevron Corp. (CVX), BP Plc (BP) and Statoil ASA (STO) have equity stakes in the four Orinoco projects. Ramirez said Venezuela will mainly cut its heaviest, lowest-quality crude when implementing the output cut.

10 - 26- 2006

president bush acknowledges u.s. concern on iraq

  WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  In a somber but combative pre-election review of a long and brutal war, President Bush conceded Wednesday that the United States is taking heavy casualties in Iraq and said, "I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation" there. "I'm not satisfied either," he said at a speech and question and answer session at the White House 13 days before midterm elections.

    Despite conceding painful losses, Bush said victory was essential in Iraq as part of the broader war on terror. "We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done," he said. Bush said that as those fighting American and Iraqi forces change their strategies, the United States is also adjusting its military tactics. "Americans have no intention of taking sides in a sectarian struggle or standing in the crossfire between rival factions," he said.

    Bush spoke as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the U.S. government has a right to revise its policies as it sees fit. At the same time, the Iraqi leader said talk of timetables for troop withdrawals "is not coming from the inner circles in the U.S. government," but the product of the American election campaign. "And that does not concern us much," al-Maliki said. "I affirm that this government represents the will of the people and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it," the Iraqi told reporters.

cuban authorities cover up dengue deaths

  HOLGUIN, CUBA  --  Municipal authorities in Mayarí, Holguín province, have covered up the dengue-caused deaths of a woman and her daughter, according to medical sources who refused to be identified.

    The sources said Marta Arias, a 50-year-old school teacher, and her 25-year-old daughter, an employee of a local clinical laboratory, died within a week of each other. According to the sources, townspeople remain fearful of the disease in spite of the official silence.

HOLGUIN PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION

     CIEGO DE AVILA, CUBA  --  A member of a women's movement here has drawn attention to what she called the precarious condition of the Holguín pediatric hospital. Caridad Caballero, of the Marta Abreu Women's Movement, said children with infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and hepatitis, are often seen in the same ward, separated only by a sheet hung as a screen.

    She also said some of the bathrooms were backed up when she visited the hospital with her young son recently. Running water, she said, is often in short supply, electrical outlets are missing, and patient care comes up short of adequate. Inexplicably, she said, the hospital was singled out as overachieving by authorities three days ago.

10 - 25- 2006

EL COMANDANTE JUAN ALMEIDA PLANEABA UN GOLPE DE ESTADO PARA DERROCAR A FIDEL CASTRO

  WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Según los autores estadounidenses - El Ultimo Sacrificio: John y Robert Kennedy, el Plan para un Golpe de Estado en Cuba y el Asesinato de JFK - Thom Hartmann y Lamar Waldron -, el gobierno de los EE.UU habría finalmente hecho público el secreto mejor guardado de la presidencia de John F. Kennedy: En noviembre de 1963, JFK trabajaba secretamente con el hombre número 3 de la cúpula del poder en Cuba - el Comandante Juan Almeida Bosque - para llevar a cabo un golpe de estado contra Fidel Castro.

     Según el trabajo investigativo de Hartmann y Waldron aún hoy, la CIA considera a Almeida como el hombre número 3 de Cuba, precisamente después de Raúl Castro. Según se plantea en el libro, el hecho de que Almeida quedara sin ser descubierto y en las más altas esferas de poder dentro del gobierno cubano durante décadas es la razón fundamental por la que alrededor de cuatro millones de páginas de los archivos relacionados con el asesinato de JFK se mantuvieran en secreto hasta finales de la década de los años noventa.

    Los autores plantean que la revelación de la involucración de Almeida remueve la última razón legítima por mantener esos recods fuera del alcance público. Incluso aún tras que su desclasifiación fuera requerida por el Acta JFK de 1992 -- pasada unanimente por el Congreso de EE.UU. -- debido a los esfuerzos de los Senadores John Kerry y Christopher Dodd -- mucho más de un millón de records de la CIA relacionados con el asesinato de Kennedy permanecerán aún secretos hasta el año 2017.  

VENEZUELA DEMANDA TRES CONDICIONES PARA RETIRAR SU CANDIDATURA EN NACIONES UNIDAS

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, dejó hoy la puerta abierta a una retirada de la candidatura del país a un puesto no permanente del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, pero dijo que deben darse tres condiciones, precisó Efe.

     "Sólo podríamos considerar esa opción si Guatemala renuncia, si EEUU cesa en su grosero chantaje a otros gobiernos del mundo y si se abre un proceso transparente de conversaciones", declaró Maduro a Venezolana de Televisión. "Siempre estamos dispuestos a conversar, pero si no se dan esas condiciones mantendremos nuestra candidatura", agregó. Asimismo, informó que Venezuela rechazó el retiro simultáneo de su candidatura y la de Guatemala, planteado el lunes en una reunión del Grupo Latinoamericano y el  Caribe (Grulac), destacó AFP.

    Guatemala propuso "el retiro conjunto de las dos candidaturas para buscar  grupo de consenso. Venezuela ratificó su candidatura", precisó Maduro en rueda de prensa. Maduro aseguró que la candidatura de Venezuela tiene "más del 70% del apoyo  de países de América Latina y el Caribe, firme, como nunca antes que se conozca  en nuestro continente, que en algún momento fue conocido como el patio trasero  de ese imperio norteamericano".

LÍDERES DE DERECHOS CIVILES EN ESTAdos unidos DENUNCIAN QUE FIDEL CASTRO HA VIOLADO LOS DERECHOS DE LOS NEGROS EN CUBA

     LA HABANA, CUBA  --  EL DOCTOR James Meredith conversa sobre Cuba y Fidel Castro con el congresista cubanoamericano Lincoln Díaz-Balart en la sede de Radio/TV Martí, antes de que comenzara el debate con los disidentes en la isla. El activista afroamericano James Meredith, figura legendaria del movimiento de derechos civiles en Estados Unidos, dijo ayer que es hora para un cambio en Cuba y exhortó a los cubanos a ponerse de pie para lograrlo.

     Meredith vino a Miami para participar en una videoconferencia desde la sede de Radio/TV Martí con un centenar de disidentes y familiares de presos políticos cubanos. , "Tienen que ponerse de pie y reclamar sus derechos como lo hizo Rosa Parks", manifestó Meredith, de 73 años. "Eso es lo que hace la diferencia, pues conozco como actúa la represión". Meredith hizo historia al convertirse en el primer estudiante afroamericano que ingresó en la Universidad de Mississippi en 1962, rompiendo la barrera racial impuesta en ese estado.  

     Al hablarle a la audiencia reunida en la residencia del jefe de la Oficina de Intereses (USINT) en La Habana, Michael Parmly, Meredith calificó a Fidel Castro como ''el más efectivo supremacista blanco de nuestros días'' quien manipuló el tema racial desde el momento en que entró victorioso a La Habana en 1959. ''Los negros de todo el mundo se fascinaron por Castro, incluyéndome a mí'', recordó el activista de 73 años. “Me impresionó tanto que me dejé crecer una barba al estilo de Castro y la tuve por los años siguientes hasta hoy''. Pero manifestó que “ha llegado la hora de un cambio en Cuba''. ''Hay un solo problema con la Cuba de Castro'', enfatizó. “El no ha hecho una sola cosa en los últimos 47 años para mejorar la condición de los negros en Cuba''.

10 - 24- 2006

VENEZUELAN WORKERS SEIZE, STOP COCA-COLA PLANTS

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  A Venezuelan lawmaker said early Monday that workers have taken over several Coca-Cola Co. (KO) plants with support from pro- government politicians in protest over worker debts. "We have seized Coca-Cola plants.... We will not allow a single truck from Coca-Cola to leave with soft drinks," Iris Varela, a National Assembly member, said during a televised interview.

Varela did not specify how long the seizure would last or what role the government is playing in this dispute between the company and its workers. "Now we will see if they will pay workers what they owe them," she said. Varela expressed support for the worker cause and suggested the government should eventually expropriate the company's assets if it fails to comply with worker demands.

If the company doesn't follow through, "the company should be expropriated," she said, and a new company could produce "Venezuelan soft drinks instead." Venezuela's congress is now completely dominated by politicians who support President Hugo Chavez, since opposition parties decided to pull out of last year's congressional election citing electoral irregularities.

SPAIN GOVERNMENT IS SEPARATING FROM HUGO CHAVEZ AND RAUL CASTRO, REPORT CLAIMS

  MADRID, SPAIN  --  Spanish foreign policy in Latin America is discretely making efforts to get away from the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, Madrid-based El Mundo newspaper said on Thursday, DPA reported.

    The newspaper, usually critical of President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's socialist government, claimed the Spanish administration is focusing on the four countries with which Spain has inked strategic agreements, namely Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. El Mundo branded this stance as "a turnaround" of Spanish diplomacy.

    Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos said on Tuesday that neither he nor Zapatero have visited Cuba or Bolivia, and they do not intend to do so. Additionally, Spanish State Secretary for Iberian American countries, Trinidad Jiménez, did not include Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela in the agenda she is to meet during her first official visit to the region.

HUNGARY COMMEMORATES ANNIVERSARY OF 1956 REVOLUTION 

     BUDAPEST, HUNGARY  --  Hungary marks the 50th anniversary of the anti-Soviet revolution with commemorations starting Sunday, though the events could be roiled by divisions stemming from recent political turmoil in the country.

    Opposition parties and several veterans groups planned to boycott events where Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany will speak. Protests against Gyurcsany have been ongoing since Sept. 17 when he was heard admitting on a leaked recording that his government lied about the economy to win re-election in April. Also, many question the right of the Socialists — heirs of the communist party which ruled Hungary until 1989 after the 1956 revolution was crushed by Soviet troops — to lead the official celebrations.

    President Laszlo Solyom, Gyurcsany and Parliamentary Speaker Katalin Szili on Sunday handed out state awards to nearly 80 people, including many veterans of the revolution. Upon accepting the medals, several of the recipients only shook hands with Solyom at the ceremony, omitting Gyurcsany and Szili — also from the Socialist Party.

10 - 23- 2006

senior state department diplomat says the united states has shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in iraq 

  WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  A senior U.S. diplomat said the United States had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq but was now ready to talk with any group except al Qaeda in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation. In an interview with Al-Jazeera television aired late Saturday, Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department offered an unusually candid assessment of America's war in Iraq.

    "We tried to do our best but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq," he said. "We are open to dialogue because we all know that, at the end of the day, the solution to the hell and the killings in Iraq is linked to an effective Iraqi national reconciliation," he said, speaking in Arabic from Washington. "The Iraqi government is convinced of this."

    The question of negotiations between the United States and insurgency factions has repeatedly surfaced over the past two years, but details have been sketchy. One issue that was often raised in connection with such negotiations was the extent of amnesty the United States and its Iraqi allies were willing to offer to the insurgents if they disarmed and joined the political process. Fernandez spoke to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera after a man claiming to speak for Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party told the network the United States was seeking a face-saving exodus from Iraq and that insurgents were ready to negotiate but won't lay down arms.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER OFFICIAL VOWS TO RESPOND TO ANY SANCTIONS OVER NUCLEAR PLAN

     TEHRAN, IRAN  --  An Iranian Foreign Ministry official warned Sunday that Tehran wouldn't remain passive if the West imposes sanctions on over Iran's disputed nuclear program, but didn't say how it would respond. Mohammed Ali Hosseini, spokesman for the ministry, made the comments days before a draft resolution is expected to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council calling for limited sanctions against Tehran.

    "Sanctions will have an impact on both sides and will have regional and international repercussions. If they choose sanctions we will decide accordingly," Hosseini told journalists in a weekly briefing. He didn't elaborate on actions that Iran might choose in response to sanctions, but when he was asked if they could have an impact on the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of the world's supply passes every day, he replied, that "depends on the kind of sanctions."

     The spokesman reiterated Iran's commitment to resolving the impasse with the international community over its nuclear program through negotiations.  "Negotiations between Solana and Larijani had positive outcomes which should be the cornerstone for future negotiations," Hosseini said.  Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the U.N. Security Council and its decisions "illegitimate," saying the world body was being used as a political tool by Iran's enemies - the U.S. and the U.K.

10 - 22- 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH PONDERS NEW IRAQ STRATEGY 

  WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  President Bush reviewed Iraq strategy on Saturday with top generals for a second day in a row amid increasing election-season pressure to make dramatic changes to address deteriorating conditions.  Gathered around a Roosevelt Room conference table with Bush were Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East; Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley; and other officials.

    Vice President Dick Cheney and Gen. George Casey, who leads the U.S.-led Multinational Forces in Iraq, joined in by videoconference. Even as it appeared to set the stage for a possible announcement, the White House insisted the meeting was routine and that all that is in question is a change in tactics in the war, not an overhaul of broader strategy or goals. Guillemard said the session was the third in a series of consultations with commanders that would continue in the same forum in the coming weeks.

    The discussions Friday and Saturday came at the end of a week in which the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said a stepped-up operation to secure Baghdad was failing and needed to be refocused; Republicans worried about losing ground in the Nov. 7 elections expressed fresh doubts about the war; and frustration grew with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's lack of progress in reining in militias.

OPEC WILL REDUCE OUTPUT BY ONE MILLION BARREL PER DAY 

     DOHA, QATAR  -- There is consensus at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce output by one million bpd, but the modality is yet to be discussed, Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez confirmed on arriving in Doha.  "We have reached a consensus to cut one million bpd," Ramírez said on arriving at the hotel in the capital city of Qatar, where OPEC ministers are being met.
 
     "We will discuss where to cut it from," he added when asked if the reduction would be made out of the official quota of 28 million bpd or the actual current output of around 27.5 million bpd. The cartel is expected to announce a production cut of 1 million bpd in an attempt at curbing plummeting oil prices. The oil barrel lost a fourth of its value following a historical record of USD 78 smashed last summer, to stand below USD 58.

10 - 21- 2006

AHMADINEJAD: ISRAEL WOULD SOON DISAPPEAR AND EUROPE WILL PAY A HIGHER PRICE FOR BACKING THE JEWISH PEOPLE

  TEHRAN, IRAN  --  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran added a threatening edge to his verbal onslaught on Israel today by warning European governments to withdraw their support or face getting "hurt" in a storm of retaliation.  He also called Britain and the United States "enemies of Iran" whose attempts to block the country's nuclear programme at the UN security council were "illegitimate".

    Mr Ahmadinejad was speaking in Tehran at the annual Qods [Jerusalem] day rally, staged by Iran's Islamic regime to propagate its ideological opposition to Israel. He repeated predictions that Israel would soon disappear but, in a fresh warning, said European countries could pay a much higher price than the US for their backing.  "We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbours of the nations in this region," he said.

    "We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt. It is in your own interest to distance yourself from these criminals ... This is an ultimatum. Don't complain tomorrow."  Mr Ahmadinejad, who last year called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and dismissed the holocaust as a "myth", has not previously made such a clear distinction between US and European support for Israel.

MEXICO ADVISES VENEZUELA TO WITHDRAW FROM COMPETITION IN THE UNITED NATIONS

     MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  The Mexican Government recommended Venezuela to quit its bid for a seat at the United Nations (UN) Security Council "for political responsibility".

    According to Mexican official sources, the Venezuelan withdrawal would be "an elegant token for a fellow country," that is, Guatemala, the other candidate to become a Latin American representative at the Security Council for the next two years, replacing Argentina.

    "As an action of political responsibility, the country with fewer votes should give up in favor of the country with more votes," presidential speaker Rubén Aguilar said Thursday during a press conference. Guatemala has won all the rounds, except for one tie, of the voting held thus far.

PRESIDENT URIBE CLOSES DOOR TO POSSIBLE PRISONER EXCHANGE  

     BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --  President Alvaro Uribe on Friday withdrew his offer to negotiate a humanitarian prisoner exchange with leftist rebels after blaming the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for a car bomb that injured 23 people.

    In an emotional speech at the military university in Bogota where the blast took place, Uribe said intercepted phone calls established that Thursday's attack was planned by the top leader of the group known as the FARC, Jorge Briceno, whose nom de guerre is El Mono Jojoy.

    A series of conciliatory remarks by Uribe in recent weeks had fed speculation the government was trying to arrange a swap of hundreds of jailed rebels for some 60 political prisoners held by the FARC, including three American defense contractors. But Uribe on Friday squashed hopes for an eventual deal, ordering peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo and other envoys to immediately cease contact with the guerrillas.

10 - 20 - 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH WARNS NORTH KOREA ON NUCLEAR TRANSFER

  WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  President Bush said Wednesday the United States would stop North Korea from transferring nuclear weapons to Iran or al-Qaida and that the communist regime would then face "a grave consequence." Bush refused to spell out how the United States would retaliate. "They'd be held to account," the president said in an ABC News interview.

    In light of North Korea's Oct. 9 test detonation of a nuclear bomb, Bush warned that any transfer of nuclear material elsewhere in the world by the North would be considered a grave threat to the security of the United States. He previously used "grave threat" in relation to Iraq's Saddam Hussein, whose government was toppled in the U.S.-led war in 2003.

    "If we get intelligence that they're about to transfer a nuclear weapon, we would stop the transfer, and we would deal with the ships that were taking the -- or the airplane that was dealing with taking the material to somebody," the president said. Asked how he would retaliate, Bush would not be specific, "You know, I'd just say it's a grave consequence." "The leader of North Korea to understand that he'll be held to account. Just like he's being held to account now for having run a test," Bush said.

SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER MORATINOS: SALE OF SPANISH AIRCRAFT TO VENEZUELA WAS UNPROFITABLE

     MADRID, SPAIN  --  The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos Wednesday conceded that the planned sale of airplanes to Venezuela "was not profitable" for the Spanish branch of European aircraft manufacturer EADS-CASA, following a US veto on the operation. The Spanish diplomat explained that after Washington vetoed the sale of 12 Spanish planes to Venezuela arguing they carried US technology, "the corporation tried to find options to that technology transfer, but concluded that such an economic effort was not profitable."

    The annulment of the sale to Venezuela of 10 C-295 cargo planes and two CN-235 maritime surveillance planes manufactured by EADS-CASA at a price of USD 625 million, was announced Tuesday un Madrid by Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel, AFP reported. "The United States has imposed a series of regulations preventing the sale of these planes to Venezuela. We deeply regret this," Rangel declared following his meeting with Moratinos, who Wednesday tried to tone down the failure of the transaction.

    Moratinos claimed that the Spanish Government "will favor any business initiative with anyone or any country in Latin America, provided that we deem that they are meeting the good rules of trade, behavior and conduct. Spain and Venezuela initialed an agreement on November 28, 2005 for the sale of 12 planes to Venezuela. On January 13, 2006, the United States denied the license required for such an operation, arguing that the Venezuelan Government "contributes to regional instability," and the operation could "worsen the situation."

VENEZUELA RULES OUT QUITTING OR BACKING A THIRD CANDIDATE FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK --Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations Francisco Arias Cárdenas announced Thursday that his country rules out both a withdrawal from the bid to occupy a non-permanent seat at the Security Council, and a search for a third, consensual candidate, Efe reported.

    The ambassador considers that both options are a humiliation for Venezuela, since "it would entail to accept that the US has a veto power in the General Assembly and that is unacceptable.

    This announcement hinders further the election of the country that will represent Latin America and the Caribbean before the UN Security Council for 2007-08, since a third candidate was the only option considered by Guatemala, ahead in the voting rounds made so far, to withdraw from the race.

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR ANTICIPATES AN OUTSIDER IN UN ELECTION

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  The competition between Venezuela and Guatemala to become a Latin American representative at the United Nations (UN) Security Council will end up by choosing a consensus candidate, General Alberto Müller Rojas, the advisor to President Hugo Chávez, told AFP.

    "Neither party will get the votes. They will unavoidably end up in that, as it happened previously, when competitors were Cuba and Colombia. The outcome will be the election of an outsider," Müller Rojas reasoned.  The countries that could become a third candidate include Jamaica, Uruguay or Paraguay, the military officer explained.

    However, he stressed, "as a condition, Guatemala should waive its candidacy." "Venezuela should think about looking for a South American nation in line with a UN reform as expected by most countries around the world," Chávez' expert in geopolitics added.

10 - 19 - 2006

SECRETARY RICE TELLS JAPAN: 'WE WILL DEFEND YOU'

  TOKYO, JAPAN --  Condoleezza Rice explicitly reaffirmed America's commitment to the defence of Japan today amid growing fears that North Korea's unwelcome entry into the nuclear club could spur an arms race in the region. Speaking after her arrival in Tokyo to coordinate the implementation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang, the US Secretary of State insisted that Washington was ready to offer a "full range" of protection to Japan in light of the threat from its reclusive neighbour.

    Her pledge came as calls grew in Japan for a debate about the development of nuclear weapons, an historic taboo after the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many fear that such a move could encourage South Korea to follow suit and, by angering China, increase regional tensions dramatically.

    Speaking at a joint press conference with Taro Aso, the Japanese Foreign Minister, Dr Rice said: "The US has the will and the capability to meet the full range, and I underscore, full range of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan. I want to make sure that everybody understands that the US will fully act on our defence obligations under the mutual defence treaty."

OLMERT TELLS PUTIN THAT ISRAEL WOULD NOT ALLOW IRAN TO POSSESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS 

     MOSCOW,  RUSSIA  --   Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appealed to Russia on Wednesday to help block Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an apparent rebuff, offered him no public reassurances. Although ties between Russia and Israel have warmed dramatically since the Soviet Union collapsed, the two countries are in deep disagreement over how to confront the Iranian nuclear threat.

    "We don't have the privilege to ignore the true intentions of Iran, whose leadership publicly calls for the destruction of the state of Israel," Olmert said at a joint news conference with Putin after their meeting. "The entire international community must join ranks to block Iran's intention of arming itself with nuclear weapons.

    "I leave this meeting with the sense that President Putin understands better than before the danger that lurks from Iran's direction, should it succeed in realizing its objectives of arming itself with nuclear weapons," he added. But Putin himself remained silent, saying nothing about Iran at the news conference.

SOUTH FLORIDA VENEZUELANS TO VOTE AT ORANGE BOWL

     MIAMI, FLORIDA  --  As their country's heated presidential race moves into its final weeks, local Venezuelans now know where they will be casting their votes on Dec 3.  Venezuelan Consul General Antonio Jose Hernandez Borgo announced today that the polling site will be the Orange Bowl, 1501 NW Third Street.

    ''This is the largest voting center for Venezuelans in the world,'' Borgo said. ``Not even in Venezuela is there a single site where so many vote.'' There are 18,000 Venezuelans registered to vote with the Miami consulate. There will also be polling sites set up in New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, Houston and Washington, D.C.

    In the election, controversial leftist President Hugo Chávez will face Manuel Rosales, the candidate picked by a coalition of political groups opposed to Chávez, who has aligned his government to communist Cuba. Expatriate Venezuelans had until Sept. 4 to register for the December election.

10 - 18 - 2006

NORTH KOREA:  UNITED NATIONS' RESOLUTION A 'DECLARATION OF WAR'

    SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA  --  North Korea on Tuesday called the United Nations sanctions resolution approved Saturday a "declaration of war."  North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that the country wants "peace but is not afraid of war."

    The U.N. Security Council resolution "cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war against the DPRK [North Korea] because it was based on the scenario of the U.S. keen to destroy the socialist system," according to a Foreign Ministry spokesman quoted by KCNA. Japan said it had received information on possible second North Korea nuclear test, according to the Kyodo News agency.

U.S. OFFICIALS: north korea may be planning second nuclear test

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  North Korea may be preparing to conduct a second nuclear test, a U.S. official with access to intelligence information said Tuesday. The official says that activity at a second nuclear site in North Korea is looking very similar to activity seen at another site just before the October 9 nuclear test.

    "It would not be unreasonable to assume the North Koreans are planning a second test," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Tuesday. The intelligence official said there are also reports of statements from senior North Korean military officials saying that the government intends to conduct multiple tests.

    Earlier, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in Seoul, South Korea, that another test of a nuclear device would be regarded as North Korea thumbing its nose at the world. "I think we will all regard a second test as a very belligerent answer on North Korea's part to the international community, and I think the international community will have no choice but to respond very clearly to the DPRK on this," Hill said as he left talks with South Korea's top nuclear envoy.

V.P. RANGEL: U.S. HINDERS PURCHASE OF WARPLANES FROM SPAIN

     MADRID, SPAIN  -- Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel Tuesday in Madrid confirmed that the obstacles the United States put in the way have rendered unfeasible the announced Venezuelan purchase of 12 Spanish warplanes. "The United States has imposed a series of regulations preventing the sales of these planes to Venezuela," Rangel declared following his meeting with Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos, DPA reported.

    The Venezuelan senior official highlighted that Venezuela is willing to purchase high-end military equipment from Spain. "But in this case, constraints have been imposed on the sovereignty of Spain, rather than on the Venezuelan sovereignty. Anyhow, Venezuela is going to buy such equipment anywhere else in the world."

    "I deeply regret this because right now we are building seven ships in Spanish shipyards," he added. Some time ago, Caracas and Madrid reached a USD 2.1 billion agreement under which Venezuela would be sold eight Spanish military ships and 12 warplanes. However, Washington vetoed the sale of warplanes comprising US technology, which in the end prevented the transaction.

10 - 17 - 2006

election at united nations security council postponed for tuesday; last round: guatemala 110 votes, venezuela 77 

  UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  -- The rounds of voting at the United Nations (UN) Security Council will continue Tuesday in order to choose the country set to occupy one of the temporary seats. In the tenth round that closed Monday the dispute between Venezuela and Guatemala, these nations got 77 and 110 votes, respectively. None of them received the 125 votes needed for the position.

    Venezuela continued falling down in the eight round of the race for a seat at the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Guatemala beat Venezuela with 110 versus 77 votes. However, so far, none of them have managed to get 125 votes, or two thirds, required at the National Assembly.

    In 1979, the UN member countries conducted 154 votes before Colombia and Cuba withdrew their candidacies and Mexico was elected to the Security Council.

U.S. SAYS CHINA INSPECTING CARGO AT NORTH KOREA BORDER

   TOKYO, JAPAN --  The United States said on Monday China had begun to inspect cargo at the border with North Korea for weapons though it was unclear how much of an impact that would have on the negligible arms trade between the two countries.  Television pictures showed Chinese custom agents inspecting trucks heading across the border.

    "The Chinese now are beginning to stop trucks at the 800-mile border and inspect all of them," Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told CNN.  China, however, does not feel the need to implement widespread inspections, Xu Guangyu of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a government-sponsored institute, told Reuters.

    "This is more a symbolic step than a real sanction measure," he said. "China just doesn't engage in that sort of trade with North Korea, so there's not much practical that needs to be done. It lets North Korea know our feelings."  Weapons-related trade is a tiny fraction of the $1.5 billion two-way trade between the two countries, according to China's customs figures.

PARAGUAY  CONCERNED ABOUT VENEZUELA AND BOLIVIA MILITARY ALLIANCE

     ASUNCION, PARAGUAY -- Paraguay should be on guard vis-à-vis the scope of the military agreement Bolivia and Venezuela initialed last May 26, as it represents a threat, said the newspaper Abc Color in its editorial on Sunday.

    The daily asserted that under the "cooperation" agreement signed between President Hugo Chávez and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales for the construction of military bases on the border with Paraguay, "underlies a hidden political position that is very ample."

    The report also noticed that 37.5 percent of the inhabitants in La Paz, the siege of the Bolivian Government, and the locality of El Alto, showed "disagreement" with the plans for Venezuela to build military bases in Bolivia, according to a private survey disclosed by DPA. The poll conducted by San Francisco de Asís University concluded that 23.4 percent "are strongly opposed" to the pact, while only 24.2 percent "agreed" with the alliance.

10 - 16 - 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ SEES US TACTICS TO KEEP VENEZUELA OFF UN SECURITY COUNCIL

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Hugo Chavez warned that Washington would use filibuster tactics to prevent Venezuela from defeating U.S.-backed Guatemala in an upcoming vote to elect a Latin American representative to the U.N. Security Council. Chavez said the U.S. could attempt to drag out the Oct. 16 vote for days, weeks - or even years - if neither candidate garners the required two-thirds majority.

    "The process can be long," he said. "It won't be easy because imperialism is moving all its pieces, pressuring and attempting to blackmail half the world to try to stop us from entering the security council."  Winning a council seat requires a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly - 128 out of 192 U.N. members. If neither side wins the necessary two-thirds, there could be more rounds of voting.

    Chavez suggested that such a standoff would prompt Washington to propose a third candidate.  "When they see that they can't get a majority, then they throw support behind a third candidate, a fourth candidate, a fifth candidate and they entangle everything," he said.  The U.S. government warns that Chavez, whose government maintains friendly ties with North Korea, Cuba and Iran, would be a disruptive force on the 15- member council.

PERUVIAN SHINING PATH LEADER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

   CALLAO, PERU  --  Shining Path founder Abimael Guzman, whose messianic communist vision inspired a 12-year rebellion that cost nearly 70,000 lives, was found guilty Friday of aggravated terrorism and sentenced to life in prison. The 71-year-old former philosophy professor stood impassively with his hands crossed in front of his waist as a court clerk read the sentence, ending a yearlong civilian retrial.

    Guzman's longtime lover and second-in-command Elena Iparraguirre, also received a life sentence. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Guzman was known to his followers as "Presidente Gonzalo," inspiring a cultlike obedience among a Maoist guerrilla insurgency that grew to 10,000 armed fighters.

    "I am a revolutionary combatant and totally reject being a terrorist," Guzman declared as the trial began last year at the maximum-security naval base where he has been held since 1993. But most Peruvians have little sympathy for Guzman, whose followers celebrated bloodshed in songs and slogans, describing blood as necessary to "irrigate" their glorious revolution.

EXIT POLLS IN ECUADOR HAVE BUSINESSMAN AND LEFTIST MILITANT FACING OFF IN SECOND ROUND 

     QUITO, ECUADOR  --  Exit polls from the Ecuadorean presidential elections show that the businessman Alvaro Noboa and the U.S. trained economist Rafael Correa will hold a runoff on Nov. 26 after obtaining the two highest percentages today without winning the 40 percent necessary to take the election outright.

    The polling firm Cedatos, an affiliate of Gallup, says that Noboa obtained 28.6 percent of the vote, while Correa obtained 26.8 percent. Another poll by Informe Confidencial gave Noboa 26.9 percent of the vote and Correa 25 percent. Given the margin of error, the result is a technical tie. Correa led in the polls up until the last days of the campaign, but Noboa appears to have pushed past him with a huge publicity blitz and simple campaign message that he would eliminate poverty in this country of 13 million people.

    Ecuador was voting today for their eighth president in ten years in what many hope will be an end to a tumultuous decade of politics but many fear may lead to more chaos. Correa has promised to overturn the country's institutions via a constitutional assembly, words that have angered traditional political powers who will control congress. Many fear his combative style may lead to more political unrest. Noboa has attacked Correa for his relationship with Chávez.

10 - 15 - 2006

UNITED NATIONS SLAPS TRADE, TRAVEL SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA

   UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to slap North Korea with trade, travel and other sanctions as punishment for its claimed nuclear weapons test. President Bush described the U.N. action as a "swift and tough" message that the world is "united in our determination to see to it that the Korean Peninsula is nuclear-weapons free." North Korean ambassador to the United Nations Pak Gil Yon said Pyongyang "totally rejects the unjustifiable resolution."

     "If the United States increases pressure upon [North Korea] persistently, [it] will continue to take physical countermeasures considering it as a declaration of war," Pak, said.  After Pak spoke, he walked out of the chamber. That prompted John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador, to point to Pak's empty chair and denounce him.  Bolton said the 15-0 vote sent a "clear and strong message" to North Korea, whose claimed nuclear test on Monday poses "one of the gravest threats to peace and security" the council has ever confronted.

     The resolution calls on Pyongyang to end all nuclear weapons programs, Bolton said. It forbids U.N. member nations from North Korean trade involving nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The vote was scheduled soon after negotiators reached an agreement on the sticking point of cargo inspections, the language over which China earlier had expressed some concerns. Rather than mandating stop and search operations, "the resolution will say to countries to inspect as necessary all goods going in and out of North Korea," CNN's Richard Roth reported.  The aim is to stop materials and technology that could be used for nuclear weapons production from going to or from North Korea.

U.S. FINDING INDICATES NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR TEST

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- U.S. intelligence agencies have detected radioactive particles in air samples collected near North Korea's nuclear testing facility, leading analysts to conclude that the blast detected Monday was a nuclear explosion, Bush administration officials said last night.

    The detected radioactive particles were picked up by sensors aboard aircraft flying off the coast of North Korea around the time the Oct. 9 blast was detected by seismic sensors northwest of the town of Kilchu. Processing of the data collected by the WC-135 aircraft, called "sniffers" because of the chemical sensors that can detect particles of radioactive material, has been under way for the past five days.

    Analysis of data by a laboratory in Florida is the first indication that nuclear particles were found after the test. The finding of such particles is significant because it supports other evidence by U.S. intelligence agencies of a test and will likely lead to a more definitive conclusion that the explosion produced a nuclear yield.  One senior intelligence official said the sensor data indicating nuclear particles supports the main theory of intelligence analysts that the underground test was a plutonium device that did not fully detonate.

10 - 14 - 2006

UNITED KINGDOM ARMY HEAD CALLS FOR TROOPS TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ

   LONDON, ENGLAND  -- The chief of the British Army, who triggered a political storm by calling for troops to withdraw from Iraq "soon," has denied attacking government policy, insisting he meant a phased pullout of British forces over two or three years. Gen. Richard Dannatt said comments published in London's Daily Mail newspaper were misinterpreted as an assault on Prime Minister Tony Blair's commitment to long-term involvement in the violence-ravaged country.

    "I said that we should pull out sometime soon, but that comment needs to be placed in the context of the campaign and the campaign plan," Dannatt said Friday, after the newspaper interview was published. Dannatt said his criticism of post-war planning in Iraq and his concerns about troops being stretched in Iraq and Afghanistan merely echoed comments already aired by retired senior officials.

    Dannatt's appearance of backing off from his earlier remarks gave the impression he had been reprimanded by Blair's government. But he said the comments would nevertheless come as a major blow to Blair's authority at a time when the prime minister's support for British involvement in Iraq is hurting his popularity. In the Daily Mail interview, Dannatt said that Britain's continued presence in Iraq had made the country less secure. Britain should "get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates security problems," he told the newspaper in an interview published Thursday. "I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq, but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them."

PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR SAYS HE AGREES WITh general RICHARD DANNATT'S COMMENTS

   LONDON, ENGLAND  --  BUJA, NIGERIA  --  On the transcripts of Sir Richard’s interviews British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "I agree with every word of it."  "He sets in proper context what he is actually saying. What he is saying about wanting the British forces out of Iraq is precisely the same as we're all saying. Our strategy is to withdraw from Iraq when the job is done."  TBlair said when Sir Richard talked about the troops' presence exacerbating problems in Iraq, he thought he was "absolutely right".

    "I've said the same myself, in circumstances where the Iraqis are ready to take over control of areas and we're still there."  In places like Basra, the presence of British troops was still "absolutely necessary", he said.  Mr Blair told the press conference he had received a "report" about the Daily Mail article on Thursday night, and Sir Richard was "plainly not" saying that troops should be withdrawn from Iraq now.

    Speaking in St Andrews at the end of talks on Northern Ireland, the prime minister said the reason the government had been able to so far give up two provinces to Iraqi control was "precisely because the job has been done there."  He refused to be drawn on whether he agreed with quotes from Sir Richard published in the Daily Mail, saying only that later TV and radio interviews given by the general were more in context.

US AMBASSADOR TO BOLIVIA REBUTS HUGO CHAVEZ' CLAIMS ABOUT COUP TO OVERTHROW EVO MORALES

      LA PAZ, BOLIVIA  --  Hugo Chávez' claims that Washington is plotting a coup in Bolivia is false, US Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg said, as quoted by AP.

    "The United States here is trying to promote democracy, prosperity, the rule of law, and freedom of the press, to help Bolivians create their own democracy;" the diplomat answered when questioned about Chávez' comments. "I can say that it is a false statement," he noted during a press conference in La Paz presidential palace, after submitting his credentials to Bolivian President Evo Morales.

    Chávez said last Wednesday in Caracas that the same format had been replicated in Bolivia. "A stateless oligarchy, very powerful sectors, media, the United States embassy looking for military coupsters.

10 - 13 - 2006

SALVADORAN GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE VENEZUELA'S MEDDLING INTO INTERNAL AFFAIRS

   SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR  --  Salvadorian President Antonio Saca said Thursday they would investigate if the Venezuelan Government is funding the opposition party of former guerrillas. President Saca added that if any "meddling into political affairs" is confirmed, he would take diplomatic actions.

    "It would be very serious for the country the fact that a foreign government is funding a political party," said Saca in a press conference.

    "What is clear is that there is a direct link between the Venezuelan Government and mayoralties ruled by the left-wing Frente Farabundo Martí para la  Liberación Nacional (FMLN)" in trade issues, which is completely legal," Saca said.

U.S. TROOPS MARCH IN SPANISH MILITARY PARADE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS

    MADRID, SPAIN  --  U.S. troops carrying the American flag marched Thursday in a Spanish military parade for the first time in three years - a sign of improving relations between two countries divided over the Iraq war. The parade marks a national holiday called the Dia de la Hispanidad, which commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World and is also armed forces day.

    Spain first invited U.S. troops to participate in the parade in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, as a sign of solidarity. But in 2003, Socialist opposition leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - now the prime minister - caused an uproar by remaining seated in a VIP stand as the American honor guard passed, while other dignitaries stood. Zapatero was protesting the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

    Zapatero brought home the 1,300 Spanish troops sent to Iraq by his conservative predecessor Jose Maria Aznar. He also stopped the practice of U.S. forces marching in the military parade. The rift between Madrid and Washington widened in 2004 when then-U.S. Ambassador George Argyros skipped the parade that year and the following year, as well as a reception at the Royal Palace. The Defense Ministry says American troops were invited this year as part of a tribute to countries participating in the NATO-led peacekeeping operation in Kosovo. French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish troops also marched.

10 - 12 - 2006

tASK FORCE TO TARGET CUBA EMBARGO OFFENDERS

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --   Although the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba is more than four decades old, criminal prosecutions of violators have been rare -- especially in South Florida. But if U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta has his way, that's about to change. Acosta announced on Tuesday the creation of a task force of federal agencies to target embargo offenders more aggressively -- whether they violate travel bans, business restrictions or limits on currency remittances to relatives on the island.

    ''The purpose of these sanctions is to isolate the Castro regime economically and to deprive the Castro regime of the U.S. dollars it so desperately seeks,'' Acosta said at a news conference. When asked why the task force was being created now, Acosta dismissed any suggestion that it was driven by next month's U.S. elections or the recent disclosure about Cuban leader Fidel Castro's health crisis.

     He reiterated again and again that ''it's an appropriate time'' without discussing any specific reason -- even noting that there had not been any sudden ''upsurge'' in embargo violations. Acosta -- flanked by nine law enforcement officials from the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Treasury Department and other agencies -- said the group was being set up “with the aim of hastening the transition to democracy in Cuba.'' He said there would be serious consequences for those who don't follow the law -- ''more than a slap on the wrist'' -- including up to 10 years in prison and heavy fines for the worst offenses.

CARTEL'S PRESIDENT SAYS OPEC AGREED TO TRIM GLOBAL OIL PRODUCTION

   ABUJA, NIGERIA  --  OPEC has agreed to trim global oil production by 1 million barrels a day to boost prices, and its members were discussing how to share the cut, the cartel’s president said Wednesday. “The cut itself is agreed,” said Nigerian oil minister and OPEC president Edmund Daukoru.

    Daukoru told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in the Nigerian capital that the cuts would begin at the end of the month and said members of the producing cartel were “nearing consensus” on how to share the cuts. Daukoru’s comments followed a slew of reports attributed to anonymous sources from member countries who said the cartel plans to trim its daily production of 28 million barrels by 1 million barrels.

    The last time OPEC trimmed its output — by 1 million barrels a day — was December 2004 when oil traded slightly above $40 a barrel. Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks from their mid-July high of $78.40 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. By Wednesday afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for November delivery was up 2 cents to $58.54 a barrel and brent crude was down 5 cents to $59.29 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

HONDURAS TO NAME CUBA AMBASSADOR

      TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS  --  Honduras announced Tuesday that the Central American country will send an ambassador to Cuba in 2007, 45 years after the staunch U.S. ally pulled its diplomatic representative from the Communist-run island. Foreign Minister Milton Jiménez told the local radio station HRN that President Manuel Zelaya already was considering candidates for the January 2007 posting.

    Honduras withdrew its ambassador in 1962 after the United States imposed an embargo against President Fidel Castro's administration. The government reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2002 but still has no ambassador in Havana. Cuba sent an ambassador back to Honduras four years ago.

    Jiménez said Zelaya wants to ''open Honduras to the world'' and had discussed the matter with Washington. Havana has sent more than 300 doctors, nurses and other health officials to Honduras since Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998.

10 - 11 - 2006

AMBASSADOR BOLTON: U.S. WON'T BEND TO NORTH KOREAN BULLYING

   UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  North Korea's reported threat to fire a nuclear missile is an attempt to bully Washington into face-to-face talks with Pyongyang, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said Tuesday. "This is the way North Korea typically negotiates, by threat and intimidation," he said. "It's worked for them before. It's not going to work this time."

    The world, meanwhile, was lining up against the reclusive regime of Kim Jong Il, with even longtime ally China saying Monday's reported nuclear test should bring "punitive actions." The U.N. Security Council prepared to further discuss sanctions on Tuesday.  South Korea's Yonhap news agency, in a dispatch carried by The Associated Press, quoted an unidentified North Korean official as saying, "We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes."

    "That depends on how the U.S. will act," the official said. Bolton said the United States has talked one-on-one with its North Korean counterparts on the sidelines of the stalled six-party talks and will continue to do so if Pyongyang returns to the negotiating table. "If they want to talk to us, all they have to do is buy a plane ticket to Beijing," Bolton said. But North Korea has shunned the talks in favor of bilateral negotiations with the United States. The Bush administration has refused to negotiate with Pyongyang without the input of South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.

MEXICO MAY TAKE FENCE DISPUTE TO UNITED NATIONS

   MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Mexico's foreign secretary said Monday the country may take a dispute over U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to the United Nations. Luis Ernesto Derbez told reporters in Paris, his first stop on a European tour, that a legal investigation was under way to determine whether Mexico has a case.

    The Mexican government last week sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing the plan for 700 miles of new fencing along the border. President-elect Felipe Calderon also denounced the plan, but said it was a bilateral issue that should not be put before the international community. Derbez said Monday after meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy that it was a "shame" U.S. immigration policy had been used for what he claimed was a short-term political gain in the lead-up to midterm elections in the U.S. in November.

    He said he discussed the issue with Douste-Blazy, and planned to bring it up in meetings with his Spanish and Italian counterparts during visits to Madrid and Rome. He vowed to work on the case until the "very last day" of President Vicente Fox's term, which ends Dec. 1. The U.S. Senate approved the border fence bill last month and President Bush has said he will sign it into law - despite last-minute pleas from the Mexican government for a veto. "What should be constructed is a bridge in relations between the two countries," Derbez said.

10 - 10 - 2006

fidel castro 'not dying,' brother says

   HAVANA, CUBA  -- The ailing Fidel Castro is not dying but is recovering from an illness, his younger brother and Cuba's acting president said Sunday in response to rumors that the leader was on his deathbed. Raul Castro, who has been standing in for his brother since July 31, was responding to recent reports including one in Time magazine that said Castro apparently has terminal cancer. Castro is recovering from intestinal surgery but the lack of details from the Cuban government regarding the nature of his illness has sparked a number of rumors about his health.

    He is not dying like some of the press in Miami is saying," Raul Castro told a youth congress in Havana. "He is constantly getting better." The younger Castro said Fidel has a telephone next to him "and he's using it more and more every day." He said he had a long working session with his brother just two days ago. Fidel, 80, has not appeared publicly since July 26, and no new photographs of the leader have been released in three weeks. He was last shown receiving private visits by world leaders during the Nonaligned Movement summit in mid-September, which was hosted by Cuba.

    In late September, the elder Castro did not meet with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, whose two-day trip to Cuba marked the highest-level visit from Russia since President Vladimir Putin came to the island in 2000. Last week, local media reported Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told Cubans that Castro will return to his post as maximum leader, but he did not say when. "This takes time, but he's right there," Raul Castro said Sunday. "Little by little, he's working."

NORTH KOREA CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL NUCLEAR WEAPONS

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA  --  North Korea came under harsh international criticism after claiming to have carried out a successful underground nuclear weapons test on Monday. China, a close ally of North Korea, denounced the claimed test as "brazen" and South Korea said it would respond "sternly." The United States said a test would constitute a "provocative act." South Korea's president said Pyongyang's claimed test "broke the trust of the international community."

    President Roh Moo-hyun said it brought "a severe situation that threatens stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia." South Korea would "react sternly and calmly" with "appropriate measures" in close cooperation with the international community, he told journalists after a summit with new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  Abe told the same news conference his country would work "to make ways to implement action for a tough resolution."

    The apparent nuclear test was conducted at 10:36 a.m. (1:36 a.m. GMT) in Hwaderi near Kilju city, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing defense officials.  Reports of the claimed test triggered global condemnation.  Senior U.S. officials said the United States is consulting with allies around the world and would push for sanctions Monday at a 9:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. GMT) meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York. South Korea's Defense Ministry raised the military alert level.

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL TAPS SOUTH KOREAN AS NEXT secretary general

      UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  -- South Korea's foreign minister was officially nominated Monday as the next U.N. secretary-general, and he pledged to work to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis hours after the communist regime announced it had tested a nuclear weapon. "This should be a moment of joy. But instead, I stand here with a very heavy heart," Ban Ki-Moon told reporters in Seoul, South Korea. "Despite the concerted warning from the international community, North Korea has gone ahead with a nuclear test."

    Ban, 62, was nominated by the U.N. Security Council to succeed Kofi Annan, whose term expires at the end of the year. He faces likely confirmation by the U.N. General Assembly. Japan's U.N. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima asked the 192-nation world body to act promptly to give final approval to Ban so he can have a sufficient transition before taking over as U.N. chief on Jan. 1, after Annan's second five-year term ends. "I think the fact that the candidate is currently foreign minister of the Republic of Korea is an asset in dealing with the situation in the Korean peninsula that we are now facing," he said.

    U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called Ban's selection "a very significant event," saying the United States looks forward to quick approval by the General Assembly. "It's really quite an appropriate juxtaposition that today 61 years after the temporary division of the Korean peninsula at the end of World War II, we're electing the foreign minister of South Korea as secretary-general of this organization and meeting as well to consider the testing by the North Koreans of a nuclear device," he said. "I can't think of a better way to show the difference in the progress of those two countries - great progress in the south and great tragedy in the north," Bolton said.

10 - 09 - 2006

VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS PRESIDENT BUSH 'MONSTER'

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela's foreign minister called U.S. President George W. Bush  a "monster" on Friday, adding to a list of insults recently used by President Hugo Chavez for his nemesis - from devil to donkey.  Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro called for Bush's removal from the White House and denounced what he called a worldwide campaign by Washington to block Venezuela's bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council.

    "That monster who is in the White House must be removed because we, the peoples (of the world), want peace and justice," Maduro said at a news conference in Caracas. Chavez, who has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to oust him, called Bush the devil last month in a speech to the United Nations. He also has labeled Bush an alcoholic, a donkey and "Mr. Danger."

    The Bush administration has accused the leftist Chavez of endangering Venezuelan democracy and being a destabilizing influence in Latin America.  Venezuela is seeking a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council in a secret-ballot vote scheduled for Oct. 16, but the U.S. has been opposing Venezuela's bid while backing Guatemala instead. 

MEXICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT FELIPE CALDERON TRIES TO COME TO TERMS WITH VENEZUELA

      MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderón expressed his decision to keep cordial relations with Venezuela and Cuba, the governments of which queried his tight victory during the election. He also noted the support provided by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to face the scourge of drug traffic and racketeering, which has become a nightmare in Mexico, AP quoted.

    "My government will spare no effort to establish fruitful, worthwhile relations to reconcile and get peoples closer together," Calderón said during a press conference after a three-hour meeting with Uribe.  "Relations among fellow countries go beyond the strength of leaderships," he commented. Calderón vowed to improve relations with Latin American nations, "including Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba. I expect this readiness to be reciprocated."

10 - 08 - 2006

U.S. OFFICIALS ESPECULATE CASTRO HAS CANCER

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Ever since Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was sidelined for what was said to be abdominal surgery last July, Cuban officials have maintained that the country's leader will return to his post. ''We will again have him leading the revolution,'' said Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque just two days ago, speaking at an outdoor rally to protest the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, according to the Communist Party daily newspaper Granma.

    But U.S. officials tell TIME that many in the U.S. government are now convinced that Castro, 80, has terminal cancer and will never return to power. "Certainly we have heard this, that this guy has terminal cancer," said one U.S. official.

    Of course, such intelligence reports could be wrong, and one official cautioned that definitive proof is nearly impossible for the U.S. to come by. Yet the fact that the Cuban government removed Castro from the public stage before his death could suggest that Castro and his would-be successors were aware of a terminal condition and wanted to gauge public reaction to his absence. "They got to see how people would react," says one U.S. official. "They have had a chance to see how things might work without out him functioning day-to-day."

president bush christen dad's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

       NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA  --   Spraying the bubbles from sparkling wine across the enormous gray bow of the USS George H.W. Bush, the Bush family on Saturday christened the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named for the 82-year-old former president. "I know you join me in saying to our father, President Bush, your ship has come in," the current president said during a ceremony for the last of the Nimitz-class carriers, the CVN 77.

    "She is unrelenting, she is unshakable, she is unyielding, she is unstoppable," Bush said, lauding the warship's state-of-the-art design before pausing for a punch line aimed at his mother's well-known steely constitution. "As a matter of fact, probably should have been named the Barbara Bush."

    The elder Bush, a decorated Navy pilot in World War II, joined the armed forces on his 18th birthday, June 12, 1942. "After our nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor, you simply couldn't find anyone who wasn't anxious to sign up," he told the audience as a heavy rain fell.  "The point is that our nation was totally united against the insidious totalitarian threat against freedom," he said, adding, "In my humble view, we were no greater than the kids that serve today." The current president said that in the 21st century, "freedom is again under attack and young Americans are volunteering to answer the call."

10 - 07- 2006

SECRETARY RICE TO IRAQ: SPEED UP POLITICAL PROGRESS 

  BAGHDAD, IRAQ  --  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the embattled Iraqi government on Thursday to accelerate efforts to foster national reconciliation and help end sectarian violence. Rice, on an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital, warned that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's 6-month-old administration has reached a “critical time'' and needs to make faster progress to defuse the turmoil.

    A day earlier, U.S. military officials announced that the number of planted bombs in Iraq had reached “an all-time high'' and that 25 U.S. soldiers had been killed since Saturday. “The security situation is not one that can be tolerated and is not one that is helped by political inaction,'' Rice told reporters traveling with her. In a reflection of the deteriorating security situation here, Rice's plane was forced to circle Baghdad for almost an hour before landing because of a mortar attack near the airport.

    Although Rice did not give a timeline, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., warned Thursday that the United States should explore a “change of course'' if the security situation in Iraq does not improve over the next 90 days.  “If these movements now being taken by the Iraqi leadership and their government do not bring about a reduction in the killings and all of the other disruption and do not point to a clear direction that Iraq is going . . . then I think we have to make some bold decisions here in our country, but make them in a way so that we don't allow this land of Iraq to be torn up and fall into the hands of terrorists,'' Warner, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a news conference in Washington after returning from his own trip to Iraq.

WORLD POWERS CONSIDER STEPS TO IRAN SANCTIONS

   LONDON, ENGLAND  --  Foreign ministers from six world powers convene in London on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear program, with the United States, backed by Britain, suggesting it is time to consider a sanctions resolution against Tehran.  Resistance may come from Russia and China who oppose the sanctions route. Some European countries also say diplomacy must be given more time.

    Apart from Germany, the countries meeting in London are veto-wielding United Nations Security Council members.  Four months of talks between European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani have failed to yield a promise from Iran to halt atomic work.  A Bush administration official said on Friday ministers would likely agree on the principle of imposing sanctions on Iran but not approve specific language.

    "What we would expect to come from this meeting is the political decision to move to the next step of diplomacy, which is a sanctions resolution," said the official, traveling in Iraq with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  Rice, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett and representatives from France, Germany, Russia and China were due to gather for ministerial-level talks from 5:00 p.m. (1600 GMT).  But Rice was delayed in Iraq by a mechanical problem on her plane and was likely to arrive an hour late.  

MEDICAL RESOURCES SCARCE IN CUBAN HOSPITALS

      CAMAGÜEY, CUBA  --  Cuban hospitals have become decrepit places with leaks and peeling paint and so few resources that patients take their own from home. Typically, patients take sheets, towels, eating utensils and a bucket for water. Now, in the latest wrinkle, visitors are finding there are few if any chairs for them to sit.

    A woman visiting her niece in the maternity hospital in Camagüey said she got into an argument with a nurse who asked her not to sit in the patient's bed. The nurse, she said, told her in other hospitals people take in their own chairs to sit.

    In another instance, two women were seen fighting for a chair. "Don't worry," said one bystander. "There are no chairs. I don't know what they did with them, but there are no chairs. Any time now we are going to have to provide the bed for the patient."

10 - 06 - 2006

SECRETARY RUMSFELD SAID CUBA WOULD BE WELCOME WHEN IT BECOMES A "FREE AND DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY" 

   MANAGUA, NICARAGUA  -Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld  criticized Venezuela's hostile politics and longtime adversary Cuba during a three-day stay in Central American, but avoided any talk about another old antagonist.  Rumsfeld made a passing reference to Cuba in his formal remarks to the ministers, and on Tuesday he said the island nation would be welcome in the conference when it becomes a "free and democratic country."

     And he was blunt about the concerns being raised by Latin American leaders about Venezuela President Hugo Chavez' billion-dollar weapons buildup.  "I don't know of anyone threatening Venezuela, anyone in this hemisphere," Rumsfeld said when asked if he believed the Venezuelans' contention that the arms purchases were strictly for defense.

     Rumsfeld met with Central American defense ministers on Tuesday, and later with Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos.  He said it is important for the Central American countries to continue to work together on counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, natural disasters and other threats. But he agreed that as one country cracks down on drug trafficking, the problem may migrate to another country.

ECUADOR CANDIDATE SAYS LEFTIST FRONT-RUNNER IS CHAVEZ IMITATOR

   QUITO, ECUADOR  --   A conservative ex-congresswoman polling a distant third in Ecuador's Oct. 15 presidential elections said the leading candidate is an imitator of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez who could push the country into "anarchy." "What we have here is a type of emulation of a foreign government," Cynthia Viteri told The Associated Press late Monday, referring to front-runner Rafael Correa's avowed friendship with Chavez.

    Correa, a U.S.-trained economist, has recently surged to the front with about 26 percent backing in the polls, 7 points ahead of his center-left former Vice President Leon Roldos. Viteri is in third with about 11 percent. "What he wants to impose here is a system of anarchy," Viteri said. "We're not going to turn into anyone's crony."

    Correa has taken a page from Chavez's political play book, railing against U.S. President George W. Bush. Last week, after the Venezuelan leader called Bush "the devil" in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Correa capitalized on the remark with his own jab. "Calling Bush the devil is offending the devil," Correa told Channel 8 television. "I believe Bush is a tremendously dimwitted president who has done great damage to his country and to the world."

PERU GIVES UP TRYING TO RESTORE RELATIONS WITH VENEZUELA

      LIMA, PERU  --  Peruvian Foreign Minister José Antonio García Belaunde claimed Wednesday that Peru will not take again the initiative to restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela and hinted political handling of the issue by Venezuela.

    "No, there will be no further initiative. President (Alan) García went beyond and expressed willingness to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. There was no answer for the two months we have been in office. Now, then, let us leave things as they are," the minister told the foreign media in Lima, DPA disclosed.

    "I think that this issue has been politically handled in Venezuela and such political handling will end after the election (of December 3rd)," he added. Peruvian-Venezuelan diplomatic relations were damaged by the clashes between García and Chávez during the Peruvian electoral campaign; as a result, the respective ambassadors were recalled.

10 - 05- 2006

EL DICTADOR CUBANO FIDEL CASTRO REGRESARÁ A SU CARGO, ASEGURÓ EL CANCILLER FELIPE PÉREZ ROQUE 

   LA HABANA, CUBA  -- El dictador cubano Fidel Castro regresará a su puesto como máximo dirigente de la revolución, aseguró el canciller Felipe Pérez Roque, quien inició una campaña en barrios de La Habana con debates sobre el impacto en Cuba del embargo comercial norteamericano. "Lo tendremos de nuevo encabezando la revolución", dijo Pérez Roque, uno de los más cercanos colaboradores del convaleciente mandatario isleño, según el periódico oficial Granma del miércoles.

    Castro delegó en su hermano Raúl el poder en julio, cuando fue operado de los intestinos, pero sin que trascendiera un parte médico sobre su verdadero estado de salud y el alcance de su enfermedad. Esta fue la primera vez en 47 años en la que Castro dejó el poder, aunque fuera temporalmente.

    En estas semanas, el mandatario recibió a homólogos y amigos en su lecho de enfermo, y la televisión y los periódicos difundieron las imágenes. Sin embargo, desde el final de la reunión Cumbre de los No Alineados no se volvió a tener noticias sobre el Presidente, de 80 años de edad. Pérez Roque fue el orador central de la primera jornada de debates populares sobre las sanciones estadounidenses a la isla realizada en un barrio capitalino, indicó Granma.

MINISTROS DE DEFENSA LATINOAMERICANOS PIDEN OPERACIONES CONJUNTAS

   MANAGUA, NICARAGUA  -- Los ministros de la defensa de Centroamérica pidieron más operaciones militares conjuntas contra el narcotráfico en la reunión que sostuvieron con su colega estadounidense Donald Rumsfeld, quien requirió una estrategia regional para el combate al narcotráfico y el terrorismo.

     "En América Central y el Caribe hay zonas que están siendo paulatinamente controladas por el narcotráfico tanto en lo económico como en su capacidad de movilizarse y por eso expusimos que es necesario tener más apoyo de Estados Unidos en el combate de ese flagelo", dijo en una entrevista con la AP el secretario de defensa hondureño Arístides Mejía.

    Los países centroamericanos pidieron más operaciones conjuntas en que militares de Estados Unidos cooperan con fuerzas armadas centroamericanas para combatir a los narcotraficantes. Rumsfeld dijo en una declaración después de reunirse con sus colegas centroamericanos que "casi todos los problemas que enfrentamos son problemas que no se resuelven por un solo estado, sea combate al narcotráfico, pandillas, secuestros o antiterrorismo, todos estos problemas requieren cooperación entre las naciones, muchas naciones".

ROTUNDO RESPALDO AL EMBARGO ENTRE CUBANOS DEL SUR DE LA FLORIDA

      MIAMI, FLORIDA  --  Otra encuesta hecha entre miembros del exilio cubano, pero esta vez circunscrita a electores de un solo distrito del sur de la Florida, reveló que la mayoría sigue apoyando el embargo económico a Cuba, las restricciones al turismo estadounidense y los viajes de los cubanoamericanos a la isla. Según el sondeo, el 88.5 por ciento de los encuestados sigue abogando por el embargo económico, el 89.7 por ciento cree que los estadounidenses no deben viajar a Cuba y el 85.2 apoya la restricción de viajes de cubanoamericanos a tres veces al año.

    La encuesta fue comisionada por el congresista republicano Lincoln Díaz-Balart y se realizó entre el 25 y el 30 de septiembre pasados en su distrito electoral por el analista Darío Moreno, profesor de la Universidad Internacional de la Florida y considerado próximo al Partido Republicano. En el sondeo participaron 400 personas, todas votantes, 80 por ciento de las cuales llegaron a Estados Unidos antes del puente marítimo del Mariel, y el 91.1 por ciento fue entrevistada en español.

    ''Es impresionante y admirable ver cómo la comunidad está mas unida que nunca en la posición de que hay que mantenerse firme a favor de la democracia y en contra de la tiranía'', indicó el congresista, quien ocasionalmente organiza estos sondeos, para conocer lo que piensan sus electores. Descubrir que el 88.5 por ciento de los encuestados apoya el embargo impactó a los encuestadores. ``Es cierto, nunca he visto una cifra tan abrumadora. Yo creo que eso se debe a que la gente ve la luz al final del túnel y se pregunta por qué aligerar las restricciones ahora, si ya falta poco", comentó Moreno.

10 - 04 - 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ "IS A PROBLEM," SAYS SENATOR CHRISTOPHER DODD

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  US Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd cast doubt Monday on the possibility of taking personal action to improve US-Venezuelan relations in the event of Democrats winning the majority in the US Congress in the next election. "(Venezuelan President) Hugo Chávez is a problem. I know him and honestly his words do not help much," he said.

    Traditionally, in the US Congress, the majority party presides over all the committees and subcommittees. In case of a Democrat victory in the Senate, Dodd would chair the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, presently headed by Republican Norm Coleman.

    "Chávez has the oil wealth, but at the same time, he ought to understand that the future of Latin America depends also on democracy," Dodd told reporters, as quoted by AP. "What is happening in Venezuela is that, while he was elected, what he has made since then is putting Venezuela into reverse," he added.

NORTH KOREA ANNOUNCES NUCLEAR TEST

   SEOUL, NORTH KOREA  --  North Korea has said it plans to carry out a nuclear test, in the latest blow to efforts to convince the Stalinist state to end its drive for nuclear weapons. Pyongyang said in a statement that it needed to strengthen its deterrent in response to increasing hostility from the US. Taro Aso, the Japanese foreign minister, strongly condemned the announcement, saying it would be "totally unforgivable" for North Korea to go through with its plan.

    It is the first time the North Korea has publicly announced its intention to conduct a nuclear test, though it has long claimed to have nuclear weapons. In July the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution condemning Pyongyang's test-firing of seven ballistic missiles.

    Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, has threatened a harsh raft of sanctions unless North Korea resumes six-party talks - with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the US - on its nuclear weapons programme  North Korea said in its statement that its ultimate goal is "to settle hostile relations between the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) and the US and to remove the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity." The statement gave no details of when the test would be conducted.

VENEZUELAN GENERAL BADUEL SAID HIS COUNTRY'S BUILDUP ISN'T A THREAT

      MANAGUA, NICARAGUA  -- Venezuela's defense minister said Monday his country's military buildup isn't a threat to the region as he joined Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld  and counterparts from across the Americas in discussing possible joint humanitarian missions.  Gen. Raul Isaias Baduel said Venezuela's recent military spending spree wasn't "an arms race," despite Washington's protests.

    "All our acquisitions are strictly for defense," said Baduel as a meeting of Western Hemisphere defense ministers opened. "In no way is our country adopting an attitude of defense against any fellow country."  Hugo Chavez has repeatedly accused the United States of planning to invade his country, a claim American officials dismiss as preposterous.

    The Venezuelan leader recently used booming oil profits to close deals with Russia worth roughly $3 billion. Arms purchases include 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 24 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and 53 military helicopters.  Venezuela is also obtaining a license for the first Kalashnikov rifle factory in Latin America.  Venezuela's defense spending is still dwarfed by that of the U.S., which is to reach roughly $500 billion this year, including war costs for Iraq  and Afghanistan .

10 - 03 - 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS CASTRO IS RECOVERING SLOWLY BUT PREPARED TO DIE 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez said Sunday that his ailing ally, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is recovering slowly from intestinal surgery but told him recently that he was prepared to die.  "Fidel told me when I went to visit him in Havana: 'Chavez, I already lived my epoch, I can die. I'm free to die, not you. You are a slave of life, don't let them kill you,"' Chavez said during a campaign rally in his home state of Barinas.

    Chavez, who is up for re-election Dec. 3, also told the crowd that Castro's health is progressing two months after he temporarily turned power over to his younger brother Raul.  "Fidel's recovery is advancing, according to the report with details that I received last night," Chavez said. "It will be a slow recovery because of the type of illness, which was serious at one moment."

    Chavez did not say who sent him the report. "Fidel reached 80 and he's going to live many more years," Chavez said.  Chavez has kept close tabs on Castro's health since the Cuban leader underwent surgery and temporarily handed over presidential power on July 31. Chavez visited Castro in Havana to mark his birthday on Aug. 13.  The specifics of Castro's ailment and the nature of his surgery have been treated as a state secret.

IRAQ GOVERNMENT:  WE'LL GET AL-QAEDA LEADER, DEAD OR ALIVE

   BAGHDAD, IRAQ  --  Iraq's national security adviser Sunday issued a warning to the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, telling Abu Ayyub al-Masri that Iraqi troops are close to getting him "either as a corpse or tied up to face justice soon." Muwaffak al-Rubaie showed reporters a video captured during a recent raid that he said showed al-Masri training followers to make car bombs.

    He estimated that al-Masri has been involved in making more than 2,000 car bombs that have killed more than 6,000 Iraqis over the past two years.  "We want to tell Abu Ayyub al-Masri that we are so close to you, much more closer than you thought," al-Rubaie said. Al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, is an Egyptian who took over the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq in June after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

RUSSIA SUSPENDS TRANSPORT LINKS WITH GEORGIA 

      MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Russia has ordered the suspension of all transport links with Georgia, despite Tbilisi's promise to release four Russian officers in an attempt to defuse the mounting diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

    All postal, air, road, rail and sea links with Georgia will be suspended, according to reports from Russia's transport and communication ministry.  The announcement came after officials in the former Soviet republic said they would free the four Russian officers, whose arrest last week on spying charges prompted a furious reaction from Moscow.

10 - 02 - 2006

EARLY RESULTS SHOW BRAZIL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HEADING TOWARD RUNOFF

  SAO PAULO, BRAZIL  --   Brazil's leftist president led his main challenger in his bid for re-election Sunday, but was falling short of the simple majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff, early results showed. With 51.73 percent of the ballots counted, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 47.59 percent of the vote compared to 42.50 percent for Sao Paulo state Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, election authorities said. Sen. Heloisa Helena had 7 percent, and lesser-known candidates were splitting the rest.

    Silva, who brought economic stability and anti-poverty programs to Brazil but was dogged by corruption allegations, needs 50 percent plus one vote to win the contest Sunday. If he fails to get that, he and Alckmin head to a runoff on October 29.

    Earlier Sunday, Silva sounded confident after voting in the industrial town of Sao Bernardo Do Campo, where he rose to prominence as a labor leader. "I am sure we will win the election today, in the first round," he said. For months, polls have shown Silva easily winning a first-round victory. But Silva saw his once-commanding lead plummet on the eve of the vote, as his Workers' Party was battered by allegations that party officials tried to buy a mysterious dossier that apparently contained incriminating information about a political rival.

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST HIM FOILED 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez said Saturday that an attempt was made to assassinate him recently and that those responsible fled to Colombia.  Chavez appeared to link the plot to his main opposition challenger in upcoming presidential elections, Gov. Manuel Rosales of Zulia state.

    "No more than a few months ago over in Zulia ... they didn't shoot me by a hair's breadth," Chavez said in a televised speech.  Chavez said that a sniper waited with a long-range gun and a motorcycle to escape on, and had planned to shoot him as he exited from a helicopter and walked across a 200-meter (650-foot) open stretch.  "The plan didn't work out for them - God is always present over there. But those responsible left for Colombia, and by the way, they were from the Zulia police."

    He did not elaborate further on the alleged plot. Chavez visited the western oil-producing region of Zulia, where Rosales enjoys strong support, in June to inaugurate a refurbished fertilizer plant. "For sure, one walks around risking one's life ... We're being threatened with death by the (U.S.) empire," he said, likening his trip to New York earlier this month to "walking into Lucifer's own cave."  Chavez has claimed before that the U.S. government is out to kill him and invade his country. U.S. officials deny that but criticize Chavez as a destabilizing force in Latin America.

10 - 01 - 2006

MEXICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT FELIPE CALDERON SAID VENEZUELA IS NOT FOSTERING REGIONAL HARMONY

   MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderón said Venezuela's top priority at the present time is not making contributions to harmony in the region, newspaper La Segunda reported Friday. Calderón was asked about Venezuela's bid to occupy a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. Guatemala -supported by the United States- is also competing for this position, AP reported.

    He claimed that entry into the Security Council involves sense and prudence for the sake of world peace, and people should consider this. "In the Venezuelan case, there are many merits for its leadership, but perhaps the country's priority at the time is not making contributions to harmony."

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has not acknowledged Calderón as the Mexican President-elect and claims that Mexican polls were irregular. In this connection, Calderón said: "Fortunately, I have the acknowledgment I need from Mexican electoral institutions, an of course the vote of Mexicans. This is what really matters." Calderón is scheduled to take office from Vicente Fox next December 1st.

BRAZILIAN JETLINER DISAPPEARS OVER AMAZON 

   RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL  --  The Brazilian air force continued searching Saturday morning in the densely forested Amazon region for a Gol airlines jet with about 155 people aboard that went missing Friday, Brazilian aviation authorities said. But authorities said they were no longer certain the disappearance was caused by a collision with a private jet as they earlier maintained.

    "During the afternoon there was another incident with a Legacy airplane, made by Embraer," federal aviation authorities said in a statement issued early Saturday morning. "It is impossible to confirm that there is a relation between the incident which caused the (Legacy) crew to perform an emergency landing in Cachimbo and the disappearance of the Gol airplane."

    Brazilian airport authority Infraero President Jose Carlos Pereira said Gol flight 1907 left the jungle city of Manaus and disappeared. It had been scheduled to land in Brasilia before heading to Rio de Janeiro's Antonio Jobim International Airport. Pereira said five air force planes were searching for the missing Boeing 737 in a densely forested region and would continue to search through the night. Late Friday evening Gol said in a statement there were 155 people aboard the jet, 149 passengers and six crew members.

GEORGIA CHARGES FOUR RUSSIANS WITH SPYING 

      TBILISI, GEORGIA  --  Georgia on Friday charged four Russian military officers with spying, while Russian government planes evacuated dozens of diplomats and their relatives as the diplomatic dispute worsened between Moscow and the former Soviet republic.  Georgian police also maintained their positions around the Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi, hoping to detain another officer accused of spying. Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko said Moscow would not hand him over.

    The Tbilisi City Court ruled that two of the four detained officers can be held for another two months, a spokesman said. It was to consider the cases of the other two later in the day, Ilya Gergedava told The Associated Press.  Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have been increasingly tense since President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power following Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution and pledged to move the country out of Russia's orbit and more toward the West. 

    The latest conflict arose after five Russian military officers were detained Wednesday on allegations of spying. The fifth officer was released Friday. Tbilisi has accused Moscow of backing separatists in the breakaway provinces and making efforts to undermine Saakashvili's government - allegations Russia has denied. The provinces have enjoyed de-facto independence without international recognition since breaking away after bloody wars in the early 1990s.