JOHN ROBERTS SWORN IN AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

      WASHINGTON, D.C.- John Roberts was sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the United States on Thursday, taking his oath at a White House ceremony attended by President Bush and other justices of the Supreme Court. Bush said it was "a very meaningful event in the life of our nation" - almost 19 years to the day since the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist took his oath in the same room at the White House, the East Room.

    The 50-year-old Roberts was sworn in a little more than three hours after he was confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 78-22. The oath was delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's senior member and acting chief justice since Rehnquist's death early this month. "The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and kind heart," Bush said. "All Americans can be confident that the 17th chief justice of the United States will be prudent in exercising judicial power, firm in defending judicial independence and above all a faithful guardian of the Constitution."

    Roberts spoke briefly, saying that the bipartisan vote for his nomination was "confirmation of what is for me a bedrock principle, that judging is different from politics." He said he would try to "pass on to my children's generation a charter of self-government as strong and as vibrant as the one that Chief Justice Rehnquist passed on to us." "What Daniel Webster termed the miracle of our Constitution is not something that happens in every generation, but every generation in its turn must accept the responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution and bearing true faith and allegiance to it," Roberts said. 

LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART RESOLUTION CONDEMNING CUBA DICTATORSHIP VIOLATIONS PASSED BY U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

      WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Vice-Chairman of the House Rules Committee, today lauded the passage of his resolution condemning the July arrests of members of the opposition in Cuba by the totalitarian dictatorship in Havana.  Enjoying broad bipartisan support, H.Res.388 calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners, the legalization of political parties and free elections in Cuba, urges the European Union to reexamine its policy toward Cuba, and calls on the representative of the United States to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to ensure a resolution calling upon the Cuban regime to end its human rights violations.

    "This Resolution is for Rene Gómez Manzano and all the freedom fighters arrested in July by the Havana tyranny," said Congressman Diaz-Balart in remarks delivered on the House Floor.  "It also stands as a testament to  Members of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, who were planning a peaceful demonstration in front of the French Embassy in Havana on the morning of Friday, July 22, were the victims of hate acts ("acts of repudiation"), by dictatorship thugs, their homes were ransacked, and at least 20 of them were arrested. Among those arrested were leaders Martha Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne Carcasses and Rene Gómez Manzano. Gómez Manzano and other pro-democracy activists remain in prison.

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SPAIN THINKS THAT HUGO CHAVEZ HEADS FOR AUTOCRACY

      MADRID, SPAIN.- US Ambassador to Spain Eduardo Aguirre is certain that his country respects the fact that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was democratically elected. However, it "is much concerned" because he is moving far away from democracy and getting closer to "an autocracy, attacking the civilian dissent," Efe reported.  During an interview published Monday at the Spanish daily La Vanguardia, Aguirre made reference to the situation in Venezuela and Cuba. In his view, these countries should be top priority in Hispanic-US relations.

    The diplomat, born in Cuba, is also worried about drug traffic in Venezuela, which stopped cooperation in the international field to remove this problem, he argued. President Chávez' policy "is worrisome, as he expressed interest in exporting his revolution to other Latin American nations."  "It is an improper influence on the autonomy of many countries which, like Bolivia, are important to us. Additionally, we are worried about potential rebirth of the former Cuban influence. I do not see Mr. Chávez as a terrorist, but as destabilizing."

U.S. JUDGE: LUIS POSADA CARRILES CANNOT BE SENT TO VENEZUELA, CUBA

      EL PASO, TEXAS.- A U.S. judge has ruled that anti-Castro Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles may not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela, which has requested his extradition for trial in a 1976 Cuban airliner bombing, a government spokeswoman said Tuesday. Immigration Judge William Abbott found in a written decision Monday that Posada, a former CIA operative accused of masterminding the bombing in Venezuela which killed 73 people, faced the threat of torture in those countries and therefore could not be returned under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

    "The judge's decision did not rule out the removal of Mr. Posada to another country," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said. "We are carefully reviewing the decision to determine how we will proceed in compliance with this ruling. In the meantime, Mr. Posada will remain in ICE custody," Zamarripa added.

    Posada, 77, has been held by the United States since May for illegally coming into the country across the U.S.-Mexican border in Texas. He withdrew an earlier asylum request during hearings in August, but his lawyers have said he will apply for U.S. citizenship. He has denied involvement in the 1976 bombing, but has admitted working against Castro and to a role in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. 

HUGO CHAVEZ CONDEMNS U.S. RULING AGAINST HANDING OVER LUIS POSADA CARRILES WANTED IN 1976 BOMBING 

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela condemned a U.S. court ruling that blocks the deportation of a Cuban militant wanted in the South American country for a 1976 airliner bombing and strongly denied claims that he could be tortured if handed over. Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that the decision by an immigration judge in Texas in the case of Luis Posada Carriles, protects a terrorist and shows the "cynicism of the Empire," a term he often uses for President George W. Bush's government.

    Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called the ruling "vile, and just as sinister as the very act of terrorism" - which killed all 73 people on board the Cubana Airlines plane that exploded after takeoff from Barbados. "I would like for them to present just one piece of evidence that Venezuela tortures people when our constitution clearly establishes the prohibition of torture," Maria del Pilar Hernandez, Venezuela's top diplomat for North America, told state television. She said Venezuela had not been cited for torturing "even an ant."

    Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan and one-time CIA operative who is an avowed enemy of Fidel Castro, is accused of masterminding the bombing from Caracas but has denied involvement. The Venezuelan government insisted the United States is still bound by international law to hand over Posada.

HUGO CHAVEZ PUSHES AHEAD WITH LAND REFORM, DECLARING RANCH STATE PROPERTY

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke during his weekly TV and radio show, this time at La Marquesena ranch in southwestern Barinas state, where soldiers have been deployed in recent weeks to enforce the state's claims to the property. Chavez reiterated his threat to use military force against those who resist the land reform program, saying the government has, "the legal option of violence, we have the National Armed Force."

    "These lands belong to the Venezuelan state," Chavez said. "These lands are being turned over for the wealth of the Venezuelan people, of Venezuelan farmers, of the Venezuelan nation for production and development."

    Opponents have argued the program violates property rights guaranteed by the constitution, but Chavez dismissed those criticisms. "There has not been any violation of private property. We are restoring rights and the law ... We respect private property," he said. Under his administration, Venezuela approved a land law in 2001 that allowed the state to seize underused farmlands without compensation.

IRAQ SUPPORTERS FOLLOW ANTI-WAR RALLIES 

      WASHINGTON, D.C.- Spirits were high during weekend rallies in the nation's capital, but that's where the similarities ended, as one demonstration supported and the other opposed the war in Iraq. The anti-war rally, held Saturday at the western edge of the National Mall. Lasting a marathon 12 hours, it featured folk singer Joan Baez and Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year.

    On Sunday, a rally supporting the war was held on the eastern edge of the Mall.  Speakers included veterans of World War II and the war in Iraq, as well as family members of soldiers killed in Iraq. "I would like to say to Cindy Sheehan and her supporters don't be a group of unthinking lemmings. It's not pretty," said Mitzy Kenny of Ridgeley, W.Va., whose husband died in Iraq last year. The anti-war demonstrations "can affect the war in a really negative way. It gives the enemy hope."

    Kevin Pannell, a soldier who lost his legs from the knees down in Iraq, told the crowd he was amazed that Saturday's demonstrators were taking for granted their right to free speech. "I would challenge those guys to go to Baghdad and say that," he said. Counter-demonstrations occurred on both days, with members of each group shouting at each other. But no violent confrontations between demonstrators were seen.

SHEEHAN ARRESTED DURING ANTI-WAR PROTEST AT WHITE HOUSE

      WASHINGTON, D.C.- Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who became a leader of the anti-war movement following her son's death in Iraq, was arrested Monday along with dozens of others protesting outside the White House.

    Sheehan, carrying a photo of her son in his Army uniform, was among hundreds of protesters who marched around the White House and then down the two-block pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. When they reached the front of the White House, dozens sat down - knowing they would be arrested - and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"

    Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. One man climbed over the White House fence and was quickly subdued by Secret Service agents. Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She smiled as she was carried to the curb, then stood up and walked to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."

FATE OF TEN CUBANS INTERDICTED AT SEA REMAINS IN LIMBO

      MIAMI, FLORIDA.- Authorities on Sunday had not decided the fate of 10 Cubans picked up in a makeshift boat off Miami-Dade County, an incident televised live on Friday. Coast Guard Petty Officer Sandi Bartlett said the men remained aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and were being interviewed to determine whether they qualify for protection.

    Under the U.S. ''wet foot/dry foot'' policy, Cubans caught at sea are generally returned home, but in a few cases, some have been taken to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for possible resettlement in a third country. Those who reach U.S. soil can stay. Before the men were picked up, the number of Cubans interdicted at sea so far this year stood at 2,114, compared to 1,499 last year.

PRESIDENT BUSH VISITS THE U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND TO OBSERVE THE EFFECTS OF HURRICANE RITA

    COLORADO SPRING, COLORADO.- President Bush switched to hurricane management mode on Friday, pledging at his administration's disaster headquarters to keep a close eye on the federal response to Rita. Bush had planned to go to San Antonio but dropped that visit because search and rescue teams there were being relocated as the huge storm shifted course, the White House said.

    President Bush still traveled to Colorado to monitor Rita's progress from the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs. The facility was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the military's homeland security command center. Bush was trying to walk a line between helping in a crisis and being seen as interfering. ''There will be no risk of me getting in the way, I promise you,'' the president said.

UNITED NATIONS' NUCLEAR WATCHDOG PASSES RESOLUTION ON IRAN

   VIENNA,  AUSTRIA.- The U.N. nuclear watchdog's governing board passed an EU resolution on Saturday requiring that Iran be reported to the Security Council at an unspecified date over Tehran's nuclear program, a diplomat said.

    Rather than adopt the resolution by consensus as it prefers to do, the board voted on the text. There were 22 votes for the EU's draft, one vote against and 12 abstentions. In what EU diplomats said was a major victory for Western efforts to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran, both China and Russia, which had strongly opposed the EU's proposed resolution, abstained. Venezuela was the only country to vote against it.

PUERTO RICAN REBEL DIES IN FBI SHOOTOUT

    HORMIGUEROS, PUERTO RICO.- A Puerto Rican nationalist leader wanted in the 1983 robbery of a Connecticut armored truck depot to finance his political movement was killed in a shootout with FBI agents, sources said. Police said gunfire erupted Friday as agents surrounded the farmhouse where Filiberto Ojeda Rios, 72, was hiding in the western town of Hormigueros and at least one agent was wounded. A law enforcement agent who spoke on condition of anonymity and Hector Pesquera, president of the Hostiano independence movement, told The Associated Press Ojeda Rios was killed.

    Ojeda Rios, who had been in hiding for 15 years, was either captured or killed. The robbery of $7.2 million from the Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Conn., constituted an act of domestic terrorism because it allegedly was carried out by 19 members of the Puerto Rican militant nationalist group Macheteros, or Cane Cutters. Law enforcement agents said the operation also involved U.S. Marshals, Puerto Rican police and Puerto Rican prosecutors. They were reluctant to go on the record about the operation because of the sensitive issue of independence and sovereignty in a U.S. territory.

    Ojeda Rios, leader of the Macheteros, is one of four men still wanted for the Wells Fargo robbery. He was released on bail in 1988 after about three years in prison awaiting trial in Connecticut. In 1990, he cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet and went into hiding. He was convicted in absentia in 1992 on charges of robbery, conspiracy and transportation of stolen money and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Only about $80,000 of the $7.2 million has been recovered. The federal government believes most was used in Puerto Rico to finance the independence movement. 

SLOW TOURISM CAUSES CLOSURE OF OLD HAVANA HOTELS

   HAVANA, CUBA.- Habaguanex, the government entity that runs 12 hotels in Old Havana, has closed two of them amid speculation that more will follow suit. An informed source attributed the decision to close the O'Farrill and San Miguel hotels to a fall-off in tourism. The modestly priced hotels were among those patronized by many Latin American and European tourists.

    The hotels under the management of Habaguanex include the Ambos Mundos, where writer Ernest Hemingway wrote "For Whom the Bell Tolls," the Santa Isabel, Raquel, Valencia, Telégrafo, Beltrán and Conde de Villanueva. The government prohibits Cubans from staying at hotels geared for the tourist trade, saying that this would unjustly favor those who receive dollars from relatives abroad.

CUBA POLICE PROHIBIT "FOREIGN AND SUBVERSIVE" ROCK MUSIC

   MORON, CUBA.- Police prohibited a beer stand from playing rock music during the local carnival celebrations on grounds it was "foreign and subversive."  According to a communique from human rights activist Ana Lucia Martín Horta, the authorities appeared at midnight on September 16 and ordered the operator of the beer stand to stop playing the rock music records he had brought from home.

    The incident occurred at the Marti de Morón Park in Ciego de Ávila during the carnival held September 15-18. "It has to be seen what freedom of culture the government has in mind when it prohibits young people from healthily enjoying what they want," said the activist.

CUBANS STOPPED AS THEY TRY TO REACH HAULOVER BEACH

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.- A South Florida television audience got a rare peek at migrant interdiction on the open seas Friday, as 10 desperate Cuban men fought defiantly with U.S. authorities for 90 minutes as they tried to reach the U.S. mainland. In the end, less than two miles from Haulover Beach, the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security succeeded in stopping the men, but not before a Homeland Security Go-Fast boat rammed the wooden homemade craft, partially knocking it over and sending four of the men spilling into the sea.

    A government spokesman called the ramming “inadvertant.'' The men eventually made it back on board, one man swimming hard against a current, three others hanging onto the side. No one was injured, according to U.S. Coast Guard Spokesman Luis Diaz. The spectacle outraged leaders of the local Cuban exile community. ''The free world never threw anybody back over the Berlin Wall,'' said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who expressed concern that the men would be repatriated to Cuba.

    During the melee, the Coast Guard used a rope to try to stall the engine of the wooden craft, tossed lifejackets at the men -- which were thrown back -- gently nudged the wooden craft with a Coast Guard vessel, then briefly sprayed water from a hose at the Cubans. ''It was brief and it was just basically a tactic to let them know this was available,'' said Diaz.

VENEZUELAN BUSINESSES SIGN DEALS WITH CUBA

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan businesses signed deals to sell US$36.7 million (euro30 million) worth of goods to Cuba Thursday that will include exports of shoes, underwear, artificial leather and industrial products to the communist country. More than 280 companies, cooperatives and other commercial organizations participated in the government-sponsored forum aimed at boosting trade between the two countries.

    "The businesses were satisfied, they were given financial advice and they will be accompanied through the whole process so that they can respond to Cuban demand," said minister of light industries Edmee Betancourt in a statement following the forum. The businesses signed letters of intent worth US$36.7 million dollars in deals Thursday, but that sum does not include other agreements signed earlier this week whose value has not yet been calculated, the statement said.

    Betancourt said Tuesday that the Venezuelan government was willing to provide financing to companies that have signed deals to export goods to Cuba but need more capital to increase production.Ties between the two countries have tightened under the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an admirer of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

September 23

AMBASSADOR TOM SHANNON: UNITED STATES WANTS "GOOD RELATIONS" WITH VENEZUELA

    WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States seeks "good relations with Venezuela," although everything is up to President Hugo Chávez, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon said during his speech at the Senate. "We do want good relations with Venezuela," Shannon declared at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the members of which queried about the region.

    Asked if Senator Bill Nelson (Florida) was to be the individual able to reestablish "deteriorated" relations with Venezuela, the official answered, "this, and much more, is up to President Hugo Chávez." The official thinks that Venezuela "is the toughest challenge" faced by the US government, due to "very closed past relations." "We do want good relations with Venezuela," Shannon declared at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the members of which queried about the region.

IF ELECTED PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, EVO MORALES WOULD OPPOSE COCA ERADICATION

    LA PAZ, BOLIVIA.- Indian leader Evo Morales said he would reject Washington's policy of eradicating much of Bolivia's coca crop if he is elected president and pledged he would work to legalize the leaf used to make cocaine. Morales, a front-runner in this Andean nation's Dec. 4 election, is an Aymara Indian who led protests that helped oust President Carlos Mesa in June and led to the calling of the December vote.

    During a campaign stop in the city of Sucre late Tuesday, Morales said the U.S. government's policies have the sole objective of "eliminating coca" and "tormenting the cocaleros," the people who grow coca. Morales said he would oppose coca eradication efforts if president, but added that he would still fight cocaine production. "They're won't be zero coca, but there will by zero drug trafficking," Morales said.

    U.S. and Bolivian government officials say the coca that is produced above the legal limit of 29,600 acres is destined for cocaine production, while Morales and his supporters argue that the government is underestimating the demand for legal domestic consumption. Bolivia's December election was called by President Eduardo Rodriguez, who is serving as a caretaker president, following the resignation of President Carlos Mesa amid protests against the government's economic policies.

COLOMBIA DENIES REFUGEE STATUS TO VENEZUELAN EX MILITARY OFFICER

    BOGOTA, COLOMBIA.-- Colombia denied refugee status to at least eight Venezuelan retired army officers charged with taking part in a failed attempt at overthrowing Hugo Chávez, a senior government source reported. Granting a petition by Venezuelan ex military officers and a political leader, who live in secret in Colombia, could result in strained relations between Chávez and his Colombian counterpart Álvaro Uribe, analysts speculated.

    Pedro Carmona Estanga, former president of the Venezuelan Federation of Business Chambers and Associations, is living in Colombia as a political refugee. Carmona took over temporarily in April 2002 during the failed coup. "The Colombian government denied a petition for refuge and they made an appeal that is being analyzed," the government source told Reuters.

    The Colombian Foreign Ministry declined to make any comments. The group of army ex officers who requested asylum includes Héctor Rafael Ramírez, who was appointed Defense Minister by Carmona, and Aviation Brigadier Pedro Pereira.

HUGO CHAVEZ ASKS FOLLOWERS TO CONVINCE VENEZUELANS ABOUT SOCIALISM ASSETS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-Hugo Chávez asked followers to strive to convince Venezuelans that socialism is the way to be taken towards development. "By 2030, I think I will persuade more than one." "All of us, who are convinced, let us make an effort to persuade others, to discuss. However, there is no need to impose anything on anybody, but capitalism is responsible for misery."

    The ruler did not mention the chaos prevailing in Ciudad Guayana, a major city in southern Bolivar state, when he arrived Tuesday, and emphasized that the experiences in foreign nations are not to be replicated but a socialist model needs to be framed for Venezuela. "I invite all of you, the old socialists, I am a new socialist; I invite all those individuals who never got in the political stream, workers exploited so long by a capitalist state," he added.

    The president executed an agreement for promotion, encouragement and development of social production businesses at Orinoco Theater of local aluminum corporation Venalum.

TWO OF CHAVEZ'S CUBAN BODYGUARDS DEFECT IN NEW YORK  

    NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.- Two of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez's Cuban bodyguards with Venezuelan passports have just defected in New York. This happened while Chavez was whooping it up with Rep. Jose Serrano and other corrupt politicians over in the Bronx, or shortly thereafter.

    Possibly while Chavez was banging the bongos, the bodyguards fled. They couldn't stand Castro and they sure as heck couldn't take Hugo. They wanted to be away from communism.  Very interesting that they had passports from Venezuela, something that could be held up to Chavez's shame. The U.S. doesn't let just any castroite Cuban security apparatchik in. Obviously, they are getting in, courtesy of Hugo Chavez. Although Chavez believes he's pulled a fast one by blurring the lines of nationality, supposedly in castro's favor, the two bodyguards have just thrown him a whopping embarassment. They're the ones who've done the real number. I bet Chavez is screaming and throwing things right now.

FIDEL CASTRO LAMENTS NO US RESPONSE TO MEDICAL HELP FOR KATRINA VICTIMS 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Dictador Fidel Castro on Monday lamented that the U.S. government had not still responded two weeks after he offered to send nearly 1,600 Cuban doctors to help Hurricane Katrina victims, saying the team could have saved lives. "It hurts to think about it," Castro told several thousand newly graduated and veteran doctors gathered for a combined graduation and the formation of Cuba's new international disaster team of veteran health workers.

    Castro said the offer still stands to send the doctors, who will now form the new Henry Reeve International Contingent, a medical team to be trained and dispatched to disasters around the world. Officials say the group was named for an American who fought on Cuba's side during the battle for independence from Spain.

    The U.S. government never officially denied Cuba's offer, but suggested there were sufficient American physicians to care for the ailing among the several hundred thousand people the storm displaced across Louisiana and Mississippi. 

CUBA ACCUSES US OF STIFLING UN PROCESS

    UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.-- Cuba's foreign minister said Monday the United Nations must reform to ensure the United States does not dominate the process to impose its "selfish interests." Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who had attacked the United States in an address to the World Summit on Friday, continued to lambast the U.S. administration at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.

    The world has changed since the U.N. charter was founded, and "we the peoples ... are now enduring a unipolar world, in which a sole superpower is imposing its whims and its selfish interests" Roque said. He called for U.N. reforms to ensure that one country does not force its will on others.

    Roque accused U.S. Ambassador John Bolton of trying to force member states to accept hundreds of amendments to the final World Summit document that he said " will go down in history as the most eloquent proof that we need to build a new world and a new United Nations."  On Friday, he had called the watered-down document "a total farce."

RANGEL: US IS MORALLY, POLITICALLY AHD LEGALLY UNQUALIFIED IN ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela is not held accountable to any country "let alone the United States, which is the country most linked with drug traffic", with 40 million drug users, said Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel in  the context of the First International Meeting for the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA).  "United States is morally, politically and legally unqualified to criticize or give insight," he added.

    Regarding Venezuelan decertification in anti-drug efforts, the senior official mentioned that there was no punishment. "Obviously, the White House statement is ambiguous." "The government of President George W. Bush is interested in continuing helping subversive, terrorist and coupster groups in Venezuela. This is why it did not take out the aid following decertification in the area of anti-drug efforts."|

    "United States is interested in keeping conspiracy in Venezuela and maintaining plotting groups. This is why it helps organizations such as Súmate, which is linked with plots and terrorism in Venezuela. This is why it did not impose any punishment," Rangel argued.  Rangel announced that the Venezuelan government "will delve into the issue of foreign financial aid to political groups inside the country."

INDIA OIL COMPANY JOINS SEARCH FOR PETROLEUM OFF CUBA'S COAST 

    NEW DELHI, INDIA.- India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. said Tuesday it has joined Spanish petrochemical firm Repsol YPF and Norway-based Norsk Hydro ASA to search and drill for oil and gas in the largely unexplored waters off Cuba. State-owned ONGC, India's main oil exploration company, said its overseas arm ONGC Videsh Ltd. has signed an agreement with Repsol to acquire a 30 percent stake in seven deep-water blocks off Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Repsol is already exploring or drilling in some these blocks, which are spread across 12,000-square kilometers (4,600-square miles) and are estimated to contain more than 4 billion barrels in oil and gas reserves. Oil specialists believe Cuba's waters in the Gulf of Mexico could contain large quantities of crude. Earlier explorations, however, turned up only modest discoveries.

    Cuba used to be almost wholly dependent on oil imports, getting most of its supply on extremely favorable terms from the former Soviet Union. But when the Soviet bloc collapsed more than a decade ago, Cuba began producing much of its own oil and gas. Cuba currently produces 75,000 barrels daily, about half of what it needs. It imports much of the rest on favorable terms from Venezuela, a political ally.

VENEZUELA SAYS UNITED STATES MOVE TO CALL COUNTRY UNCOOPERATIVE ON DRUG IS PURE POLITICS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-A U.S. decision to brand Venezuela as a country failing to do enough against drug smuggling drew a sharp rebuttal from the Venezuelan government Friday, aggravating tensions between Washington and one of its top oil suppliers. The White House determined that President Hugo Chavez's government "failed demonstrably" in counterdrug efforts, making Venezuela one of only two countries with that designation, the other being Myanmar.

    Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called U.S. President George W. Bush's announcement "a capricious and absolutely political appraisal." "Mr. Bush's government knows perfectly well the strong action by our country, the cooperation it offers and the impressive volume of drugs seized," Rangel said in a statement. "But none of that counts because what matters to the U.S. government is the political disqualification of Venezuela for the purpose of future aggressions." He said the United States has no "moral authority" to pass judgment on other countries, particularly since it consumes such a great quantity of drugs. Rangel said the U.S. government congratulated Venezuelan authorities last year when they seized 43 tons of drugs, and so far this year seizures have netted 59 tons.

    The White House said Thursday that despite an increase in seizures, Venezuela hasn't done enough to halt a growing flow of drugs - mainly from Colombia to the United States and Europe. By U.S. estimates, 165 tons of cocaine passed through Venezuela last year. U.S. Embassy spokesman Brian Penn said the U.S. decision means Venezuela was "decertified" and removed from a list of cooperating nations.

HUGO CHAVEZ: UNITED STATES PLANS TO INVADE VENEZUELA 

    UNITED NATIONS, NUEVA YORK.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday he has documentary evidence that the United States plans to invade his country. Chavez, interviewed on ABC's "Nightline," said the plan is called "Balboa" and involves aircraft carriers and planes. A transcript of the interview was made available by "Nightline." He said U.S. soldiers recently went to Curacao, an island off Venezuela's northwest coast. He described as a "lie" the official U.S. explanation that they visited Curacao for rest and recreation. "They were doing movements. They were doing maneuvers," Chavez said, speaking through a translator.

    Chavez added: "We are coming up with the counter-Balboa plan. That is to say if the government of the United States attempts to commit the foolhardy enterprise of attacking us, it would be embarked on a 100-year war. We are prepared." Chavez has been attending the summit of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week. On Thursday, he denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq and told other leaders they should consider moving the U.N. headquarters out of the United States.

    To prove U.S. intentions to invade Venezuela, Chavez offered to send "Nightline" host Ted Koppel maps and other documentation. "What I can't tell you is how we got it, to protect the sources, how we got it through military intelligence," he said. In the event of a U.S. invasion, Chavez said the United States can "just forget" about receiving any more oil from his country.

PRESIDENT BUSH: "WE WILL REBUILD NEW ORLEANS"

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.- President Bush promised Thursday night the government will pay most of the costs of rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast in one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen. "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again," the president said.

    Standing in Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter, Bush acknowledged his administration had failed to respond adequately to Hurricane Katrina, which killed hundreds of people across five states. The government's costs for rebuilding could reach $200 billion or beyond.

    "Four years after the frightening experience of Sept. 11, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency," the president said. When the government fails to meet such an obligation, Bush said, "I as president am responsible for the problem, and for the solution." Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to join in a comprehensive review of the government's faulty response. In addition, he told the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review of emergency plans in every major city in America.

HUGO CHÁVEZ TO BUY AS MUCH AS $1 MILLION IN ARGENTINE BONDS 

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- Hugo Chavez said his government hopes to buy as much as $1 billion (euro820 million) in Argentine bonds and called President Bush a danger to the world Thursday as he arrived for the U.N. summit in New York.

    Chavez, whose comments were carried by Venezuelan state television, said his plan to buy more Argentine debt is part of an effort for Latin America to turn away from "imperialist" U.S.-backed institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

    "We have the intention, hopefully, to reach up to $1 billion soon," in purchases of Argentine debt, Chavez told reporters before meeting Argentine President Nestor Kirchner on the sidelines of the U.N. summit. Venezuela has already bought $500 million (euro409 million) in Argentine bonds this year in what Chavez describes as an effort to foster economic integration among South American countries.

HUGO CHÁVEZ EXPECTS OIL PRICES TO KEEP RISING

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- World oil prices will keep climbing, and could reach US$100 a barrel, because members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries are pumping near capacity, Hugo Chavez said Thursday. "OPEC is practically already at its production ceiling," Chavez told reporters at a U.N. summit in New York.

    "It is a true crisis." Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said late Wednesday that he does not expect OPEC to increase oil production because few member countries have the capacity to boost output.

    He said speculation regarding production increases are normal ahead of OPEC meetings. The 11-member organization is scheduled to meet Monday in Vienna. Some industry observers expect OPEC to increase production to bring down soaring international oil prices.

IRAN IS WILLING TO SHARE NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY SECRETS WITH OTHER MUSLIM STATES

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- ran is willing to provide nuclear technology to other Muslim states, Iran 's hard-line president said Thursday. Hours later, European nations renewed an offer of economic incentives if the mideast nation would halt its uranium enrichment. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comment after talking with Turkey's prime minister during a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, Iran 's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said.

    Ahmadinejad repeated promises that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons, the report said. Then he added: " Iran is ready to transfer nuclear know-how to the Islamic countries due to their need." At the United Nations, foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany - the three European countries negotiating with Iran on behalf of the European Union - emerged from a meeting with Iran 's new foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, and its top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, to say that the offer they had made earlier was still on the table.

    "We put forth proposals. They are still on the table," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said after the 80-minute meeting. "They have yet properly to be considered by the other side." Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The U.S. State Department expressed concern about Ahmedinejad's reported proposal, saying it makes it more vital that other countries work in concert to stop the Iranian threat.

HUGO CHAVEZ HARSHLY CRITICIZES "SEÑOR" BUSH

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- Hugo ChávezHugo Chavez said his government hopes to buy as much as $1 billion (820 million) in Argentine bonds and called U.S. President George W. Bush a danger to the world Thursday as he arrived for the U.N. summit in New York. Chavez, whose comments were carried by Venezuelan state television, said his plan to buy more Argentine debt is part of an effort for Latin America to turn away from "imperialist" U.S.-backed institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

"We have the intention, hopefully, to reach up to $1 billion soon," in purchases of Argentine debt, Chavez told reporters before meeting Argentine President Nestor Kirchner on the sidelines of the U.N. summit. Venezuela has already bought $500 million (409 million) in Argentine bonds this year in what Chavez describes as an effort to foster economic integration among South American countries.

PRESIDENT BUSH ADMINISTRATION SAYS VENEZUELA IS NO LONGER COOPERATING IN THE WAR ON DRUGS 

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Bush administration Thursday scratched Venezuela off its list of allies in the war on drugs, saying that President Hugo Chávez's government has replaced effective law enforcement officers with political loyalists and cut off bilateral anti-drug cooperation with the United States. But the White House waived the cuts in U.S. aid usually attached to the so-called ''decertification'' so it can continue to finance programs to strengthen democracy in Venezuela -- a double slam at the leftist Chávez. The only other nation to be decertified was Burma.

    The move is expected to further exacerbate the already tense diplomatic relations between the two governments. Asked about the certification process, Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel said, “We reject it. No one has the right to judge the internal situation of another ... it's infantile.''

    The White House said in a statement that Venezuela had failed to eradicate coca and opium poppy fields near its border with Colombia and failed to address “the increasing use of Venezuelan territory to transport drugs to the United States.'' Venezuela's national counternarcotics director, chief narcotics prosecutor, and head of the financial intelligence unit “were fired and replaced with Chávez loyalists who lack the necessary training to perform these functions.'' The announcement came on the day Chávez traveled to New York to take part in the U.N. General Assembly.

HUGO CHÁVEZ TO PARTICIPATE IN UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY IN NEW YORK

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- Hugo Chávez left for New York early on Thursday, two days after accusing the United States administration of obstructing his visit to participate at the General Assembly of the United Nations, news agency AFP reported. Chávez arrived in a New York airport early on Thursday, reported official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión from the Big Apple, but the location was not disclosed.

    The Venezuelan government has not briefed on Chávez agenda in the United States, but Venezolana de Televisión informed that he is to meet with his colleagues from Argentina, Bolivia, Mozambique, Nigeria, and with US lawmakers. He is also expected to offer a news conference in New York said the TV channel.

    There were no reports on whether Chávez' security staff overcame problems they had with US visas or whether Chávez traveled without his security guards. On Tuesday, Chávez claimed that the US Embassy to Venezuela had refused visas to his security and medical staff. Washington "is violating international agreements and conventions (...) I am not going to visit the United States, but the United Nations," Chávez added.

HUGO CHAVEZ EXTENDS OIL TRADE DEAL TO CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez has extended a preferential oil trade deal to 13 Caribbean countries in what he says is part of a plan to challenge U.S. economic domination of the region. Under his plan, called PetroCaribe, Venezuela will soon sell up to 190,000 barrels of fuel a day to countries from Jamaica to St. Lucia, offering favorable financing while shipping fuel directly to reduce costs. It is expected to help those countries save millions of dollars.

    Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, says the new plan is part of a vision of a "multi-polar" world no longer controlled by "U.S. imperialism." He sees it as part of an alternative for international trade based more on regional solidarity than U.S.-style free trade. The plan includes a $50 million fund to pay for social programs across the Caribbean, similar to those Chavez has started at home with rising oil profits.

    Chavez has emerged as a leading critic of the U.S. government and its proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, saying that plan would simply help big U.S. companies at the expense of Latin countries by drawing away their natural resources while doing nothing to confront systematic poverty.

VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER CRITICIZES UNITED NATIONS REFORM NEGOTIATIONS

    UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK.- Venezuela's foreign minister Tuesday criticized the choice of a group of 15 countries to help negotiate specifics of proposed U.N. reforms, saying many countries were being left out of the process. Speaking in New York ahead of this week's U.N. summit, Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said the talks on the wording of some clauses were being left to "a small group of countries." His comments were carried by Venezuelan state television.

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has complained of U.S. domination in international bodies such as the U.N. With the U.N. summit a day away, negotiators tried to agree Tuesday on a watered-down document for world leaders to adopt that is far weaker than Secretary-General Kofi Annan's blueprint for sweeping changes to the U.N.

    Rodriguez said the negotiating method of using a small number of countries concerned his government. He said the trend appeared to be to leave "nonaligned countries" aside in such processes. He also said Venezuela hopes the summit will take firm steps to deal with world poverty.

MARTHA BEATRIZ ROQUE: MEDICINE AND CASH INTENDED FOR JAILED DISSIDENTS CONFISCATED BY THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT

     HAVANA, CUBA.- A group headed by well-known opposition leader Martha Beatriz Roque accused Cuban authorities Tuesday of confiscating medicine and cash intended for a jailed dissident's family. The Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society said in a statement sent to international media that state security agents seized the medicine and local currency worth about $296 on Monday when they detained and questioned Carlos Jiménez.

    Jiménez, an assembly member, had been on his way to deliver the items to the family of imprisoned dissident René Gómez Manzano. There was no immediate response from the Cuban government, which accuses the dissidents of receiving money from U.S. authorities -- a charge the activists and Washington deny.

September 14

FEMA DIRECTOR MIKE BROWN RESIGNS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president," three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Brown, under fire for FEMA's performance in the Gulf Coast, said he feared he had become a distraction. "The focus has got to be on FEMA, what the people are trying to do down there," Brown told The Associated Press.

    His decision was not a surprise. Brown was abruptly recalled to Washington on Friday, a clear vote of no confidence from his superiors at the White House and the Homeland Security Department. Brown had been roundly criticized for FEMA's sluggish response to the hurricane, which has caused political problems for Bush and fellow Republicans. He also was accused of padding his resume, which Brown denied Friday.

    "I'm turning in my resignation today," Brown said. "I think it's in the best interest of the agency and the best interest of the president to do that and get the media focused on the good things that are going on, instead of me." Shortly after Brown was recalled to Washington last week, officials close to the FEMA director said he would probably resign. They said that even before Katrina, Brown had been planning on leaving the administration late this fall to go into the private sector.

CUBAN-AMERICAN'S RISE A FIRST IN STATE POLITICS   

     TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA.- State Rep. Marco Rubio, one of Miami-Dade County's fastest-rising political stars, will be designated the next speaker of the Florida House       today, making him the first Cuban American in state history to rise to the influential post. Rubio, 34, will begin the two-year term in November of next year, after voters are expected to return Republicans to the House with another majority.

    It may be the beginning of a South Florida dynasty of sorts in the Legislature, as Miami Beach Democrat Dan Gelber takes the helm as the 2006 House minority leader, Hallandale Beach Democrat Steve Geller becomes minority leader in the Senate, and, in 2008, Alex Villalobos, a Miami Republican, becomes Senate president -- the first Cuban American to lead that chamber. Tuesday's ceremony will demonstrate that Rubio has the support of the Republican caucus now, but because many of its members will be returning to power next year with their pledge to Rubio intact, it will be nothing short of a coronation.

THE VATICAN MAY APPOINT NEW VENEZUELAN CARDINAL 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A new Venezuelan Catholic Cardinal could be designated in the next two weeks. TV network Globovisión's  correspondent in Rome, Julio César Pineda, informed that three candidates have already been proposed. Unofficial sources indicated that candidates are Monsignor Baltasar Porras, current president of the National Episcopal Conference; Monsignor Jorge Urosa, Bishop of Valencia, Carabobo state; and Monsignor Ubaldo Santana, Bishop of Maracaibo, Zulia state.

    Pineda reminded that the Vatican and the Venezuelan State have a concordat in place, under which the Venezuelan government is entitled to veto any of the candidates, within the three days following the designation. Pineda added that some bishops claimed the government could veto Monsignor Baltasar Porras because of the differences he has had with Hugo Chávez regarding the Venezuelan ruler's claims that the Catholic Church supported a coup on April 11, 2002.

A MEXICAN MILITARY CONVOY CROSSED THE UNITED STATES BORDER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 159 YEARS

     NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO.- For the first time in at least 159 years, a Mexican Army unit entered the United States, joining a separate Mexican Navy mission with aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The convoy of 45 vehicles and 196 soldiers crossed the Columbia Bridge near Laredo, Texas, on Thursday morning and then headed for San Antonio, Gen. Francisco Ortiz Valadez told reporters. "Our mission is to give aid to the civilian population affected by the disaster," Ortiz said.

    The convoy and a Mexican naval mission arriving nearer New Orleans are to be the first Mexican military units to operate on U.S. soil since at least 1846, when Mexican troops briefly marched into territory disputed between the two countries along the border of Texas, which had separated from Mexico and joined the United States. Mexican officials said they have another land convoy and another ship preparing to help as well.

    Ortiz's included doctors, nurses and engineers as well as water treatment plants and mobile kitchens that can feed 7,000 people a day. The soldiers are also brought 15 trailers of bottled water, blankets and applesauce. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said aid donations from Mexico showed that Mexican people saw the United States as "a brother suffering at this moment, a country that requires aid."

FEMA DIRECTOR MICHAEL BROWN RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES IN GULF

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- FEMA director Michael Brown, who has been criticized for his response to Hurricane Katrina, will be replaced on the ground in the Gulf Coast, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced today in Baton Rouge.  "Mike Brown has done everything he possibly could," Chertoff said. "I appreciate his work, as does everyone here."

    Brown will return to Washington, will keep his job and will deal with the big picture, but Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, Coast Guard chief of staff, will be named the principal federal officer and will take over the details.  Also, 100 troops from the Louisiana National Guard troops have returned home from Iraq today to deal with the hurricane after. They are from the 256th Brigade Combat Team based in New Orleans.

SOUTH FLORIDA'S THREE CUBAN-AMERICAN CONGRESSMEN STRONGLY SUPPORT BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S REJECTION OF CASTRO'S SO-CALLED KATRINA "OFFER"

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- In response to numerous questions received today concerning the so-called "offer" by the Cuban dictatorship to send doctors and medicines to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, the three Cuban-American United States Representatives from South Florida, Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), issued the following statement today:

    "We strongly support the decision by the Bush Administration to reject the so-called "offer" from the Castro regime regarding the tragedy being lived by the people of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. If the situation of the Cuban people were not so tragic, where the people there do not have access to doctors, or medicines, or hospitals, or medical equipment of any kind, the "offer" to send doctors and medicines to the United States would be laughable. But this is no laughing matter. Castro's "offer" is a despicable demagogic maneuver that the U.S. government has correctly rejected."

CUBAN CARDINAL JAIME ORTEGA OUTRAGED BY PRO-U.S. CHARGE

     HAVANA, CUBA.- The leader of the Catholic Church in Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, rejected as "truly outrageous" Wednesday a Communist government official's charge that Cuban bishops served the interests of the United States. Ortega, archbishop of Havana and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba, said statements made last week by Cuba's envoy to the Vatican, Raul Roa, were "insulting."

    In an interview with an Italian news agency, Roa said some of the bishops shared the mind-set of Cuban exiles living in Miami who are staunch opponents of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. "Ambassador Roa uses disrespectful and sometimes offensive language never before employed in public by a Cuban ambassador to the Holy See," the cardinal said in a statement.

    The archbishop has kept the church out of politics and resisted calls from dissidents that it adopt a more critical stance, declaring in 2002 that the church would not play the role of a "opposition party that does not exist in Cuba." Ortega was most annoyed by Roa's remark that Cuban priests are closer to the people and the socialist work of the government, while some bishops are "closer to the people in Miami, the Cuban emigres." "His opinions about the Cuban bishops and their distance from the priests are unacceptable and false," the cardinal said.

IRAQ PRESIDENT: SADDAM CONFESSED TO ORDERING KURD EXECUTIONS

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- The president of Iraq has claimed that Saddam Hussein has confessed to giving orders to execute thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, Cable News Network reported Tuesday.

    In an interview carried by a state-funded broadcaster, Jalal Talabani said Iraqi special tribunal officials told him that Saddam signed the confession and there are video and audio recordings of them, CNN reported. According to the report, Saddam confessed to giving the orders for the executions and the military operations directed at the Kurds in the 1980s. The operations involved the use of chemical weapons that killed thousands of Kurds.

CUBA PLANS TO SHUT DOWN MORE SUGAR MILLS

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba plans to shut down more sugar mills and replace them with food processing facilities, the Sugar Ministry said this week, in the first official confirmation many mills would be idled after 71 were closed in 2002. "This period, through 2007, includes the closing for the next harvest of another group of mills that will be temporarily preserved," the Communist party daily Granma said.

    The downsizing comes in the wake of this year's estimated 1.3 million tonne crop of raw sugar, the lowest since 1908, and the prospect that next year's will be the same.

VENEZUELA STATE BANK GRANTS USD 173 MILLION TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Dominican Republic government negotiated a USD 173 million loan from the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank (Bandes) to build a water pipe in a tourism area and sport facilities, and to purchase a fleet of buses for public transportation, official sources reported Tuesday.

    The loan agreement was initialed by the president of Bandes, captain Edgar Hernández Behrens, and the technical secretary of the Dominican Republic President's Office, Juan Temístocles Montás, who Monday arrived in Caracas together with an official mission. Back in Santo Domingo on Tuesday, Montás told Reuters that he also requested an additional loan for USD 140 million from Venezuela to build two bridges. These loans do not require approval from the National Assembly, as they were granted under the San José Agreement, Montás added.

VENEZUELAN SUBSIDIARY H. J. HEINZ SEEKS TAKEOVER CLARITY

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A Venezuelan subsidiary of U.S.-based food maker H.J. Heinz Co. on Tuesday asked the government to clarify a decision to seize one of its tomato processing plants. Alimentos Heinz CA, which makes Heinz ketchup, said the government never notified the company of any plans to take over the plant.

    The governor of eastern Monagas state, Jose Gregorio Briceno, ordered troops to seize the plant. spokeswoman Angelica Rivero said Monday. It was not immediately clear when the plant was seized. "We hope the reasons for these actions are clarified since the company has received no notice from the authorities about the intervention/expropriation," Alimentos Heinz said in a statement Tuesday. The company said the government's "social objectives cannot stand above the law."

HUGO CHAVEZ, FIDEL CASTRO AND CARIBBEAN LEADERS SEEK TO FINALIZE OIL DEALS

   MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA.- Hugo Chavez, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and leaders of Caribbean nations met Tuesday to work out the details of an oil trading program that could help some of the more fragile economies in the region survive the shock of higher fuel prices. Chavez planned to sign a series of accords that would set in motion his Petrocaribe initiative - a plan to provide oil at preferential terms that the Venezuelan leader has portrayed as an alternative to the regional free-trade policies backed by the United States.

    "We have the opportunity to break from the path of domination and servitude," Chavez told leaders and representatives of 16 nations gathered at a Jamaican resort. Under the plan, Caribbean governments would pay market price for Venezuelan oil, but they would only be required to pay a portion of the cost up front and could finance the rest over 25 years at 1 percent interest, Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson told the gathering.

    Governments could also pay for part of the cost with services or goods such as rice, bananas or sugar while oil-rich Venezuela would provide assistance in expanding shipping and refining facilities. Chavez, a frequent and vocal critic of the United States and a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, made it clear that he offered an alternative to the dominant power in the region. "Who can think that the North American empire will be eternal? There's no such thing as an eternal empire," he told the gathering.

PRESIDENT BUSH NOMINATES JOHN G. ROBERTS AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES

   IWASHINGTON, D.C.-  President Bush announced this morning that he will nominate John G. Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States. The move, which was surprising primarily in its speed, avoids a prolonged public vetting of an entirely new nominee for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist 's job. While liberal organizations have stated their opposition to Roberts' appointment as an associate justice, there was little doubt that he was going to be confirmed for that position, barring any startling revelations.

    It was not immediately clear whether the Senate Judiciary Committee would go ahead with confirmation hearings scheduled for this week, simply changing the job title, or whether Senators would now want some more time under the new circumstances.  For the past two months members of the United States Senate and the American people have learned about the career and character of Judge Roberts," Bush said. "They like what they see. . . ."The Senate is well along in the process of finding Judge Roberts qualified," Bush said.

     'They know his record and his fidelity to the law. . . . I am confident that the Senate can complete hearings and confirm him as chief justice within a month." Bush made the announcement in an 8 a.m. EDT Labor Day television appearance from the Oval Office. Roberts, 50, is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.Venezuela Troops Told to Seize Heinz Plant.

A STATE GOVERNOR ORDERED VENEZUELAN TROOPS TO SEIZE HEINZ PLANT

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A state governor allied to leftist President Hugo Chavez has ordered Venezuelan troops to seize an abandoned tomato-processing plant owned by the H.J. Heinz Co., a state official said Monday. The plant in the eastern state of Monagas still belongs to Heinz but hasn't been used for years, said Angelica Rivero, a spokeswoman for the governor.

    Monagas Gov. Jose Gregorio Briceno told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency the plant changed hands several times under previous governments before Heinz purchased it in 1997 and later ceased operations. Officials were expected to expropriate the plant, a move that would require the Venezuelan National Assembly to declare the property to be of "public interest." It wasn't immediately clear whether soldiers were posted at the plant Monday.

    Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro who says he supports socialism, has said the government may expropriate the property of companies whose factories are idle or partially paralyzed in order to put them back to work. Venezuela's constitution says the government will respect private property but that the state may expropriate property if for public use or "social interest," as long as compensation is paid. The governor's order to seize the tomato plant came as Venezuela's largest food producer, Alimentos Polar, said it was challenging the legality of a military takeover of its storage facilities in the southernwestern state of Barinas.

HUGO CHAVEZ SAID INTELLIGENCE HAS UNCOVERED A U.S.-NATO PLAN TO INVADE VENEZUELA

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela has uncovered plans for a NATO U.S.-led invasion and is preparing to defend the country against invading forces if necessary, Hugo Chávez said. Chávez made the comments during an interview with CNN.

    ''We discovered through intelligence work a military exercise that NATO has of an invasion against Venezuela, and we are preparing ourselves for that invasion,'' Chávez said. He said the military exercise is known as ''Plan Balboa'' and includes rehearsing simultaneous assaults by air, sea and land at a military base in Spain, involving troops from the United States and NATO countries. U.S. officials in the past have said such training is meant to prepare troops for general scenarios but not for a specific military action.

     ''If it occurs to the United States to invade our country -- Fidel Castro said it and I agree -- a war will start here to last 100 years,'' he added. ``Not only this country would be burned up, but a good part of this continent; they shouldn't make any mistake about it; we are preparing to repel an invasion.'' Chávez has made similar claims in the past, and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied them as ridiculous. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier of fuel to the United States.

CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST DIED SATURDAY EVENING

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who oversaw the high court's conservative shift and presided over the impeachment trial of President Clinton, died Saturday evening. He was 80 years old and had spent 33 years on the Supreme Court.  Rehnquist's death opens a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court and gives President Bush, whose election Rehnquist helped decide, an opportunity shape the makeup of the court for years to come.

    "The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his duties on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in announcing his death. Rehnquist was surrounded by his three children when he died at his home in suburban Arlington, Va. His wife died in 1991.

    Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7, 1972. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986. The death leaves Bush with his second court opening within four months and sets up what's expected to be an even more bruising Senate confirmation battle than that of John Roberts.  The last time there were simultaneous vacancies at the court was 1971, when Justices Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan retired in September, about a week apart. Rehnquist, then a Justice Department lawyer, urged the Nixon administration to move fast in replacing them and wound up being appointed to Harlan's seat himself.

PRESIDENT BUSH SENDING MORE TROOPS TO GULF COAST 

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Bush, seeking to stem criticism that a slow federal response has contributed to needless misery, said Saturday he is ordering additional active duty forces to the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast. "The enormity of the task requires more resources," the president said. "In America we do not abandon our fellow citizens in their hour of need."

    Bush said 4,000 active duty troops are already in the area and 7,000 more will arrive in the next 72 hours from the Army's 82nd Airborne from Fort Bragg, N.C., 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, and the Marines' 1st and 2nd Expeditionary forces from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejeune, N.C.

     Those troops will be in addition to some 21,000 National Guard troops already in the region. The decision came after the president met for nearly an hour with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and others involved in planning the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. the president was resolute and sobering during his remarks, but he smiled when he commented on the people of the region, which he visited Friday. "When you talk to the proud folks in the area, you see a spirit that cannot be broken," he said.

HUGO CHAVEZ CRITICIZES BUSH FOR FAILING TO EVACUATE KATRINA VICTIMS IN TIME

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez criticized the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday for failing to evacuate the victims of hurricane Katrina before disaster struck the Gulf Coast region. Chavez said most of the victims were poor people who were not evacuated or didn't receive emergency aid on time.

    "Five days, almost six, passed before they began to evacuate ... the Superdome filled up with people," said Chavez, speaking during his weekly television and radio program. "There were no doctors, medicine or food." "The rich were able to leave, by their own means. It was the poor that remained there," he added.

    It has taken days for food, water and medicine to reach thousands of victims left behind. The Venezuelan leader's statements came as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said the Katrina death toll would reach the thousands. Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, said many those lives could have been saved if the U.S. government had been better prepared for the hurricane.

VENEZUELA PREPARING TO REPEL U.S. INVASION IF NECESSARY, HUGO CHAVEZ SAID 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela has uncovered plans for a U.S.-led invasion and is preparing to defend the country against invading forces, Hugo Chavez said in a report carried by the state-run news agency. The Bolivarian News Agency reported that Chavez made the comments during an interview with CNN. "If it occurs to the United States to invade our country - Fidel Castro said it and I agree - a war will start here to last 100 years," Chavez was quoted as saying. "We are preparing to repel an invasion."

    Chavez has made similar claims in the past, and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied them as ridiculous. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier of fuel to the United States. "We discovered through intelligence work a military exercise that NATO has for an invasion against Venezuela, and we are preparing ourselves for that invasion," Chavez was quoted as saying.

    He said the military exercise is known as "Plan Balboa" and includes rehearsing simultaneous assaults by air, sea and land at a military base in Spain, involving troops from the United States and NATO countries. U.S. officials in the past have said such training is meant to prepare troops for general scenarios but not for a specify military action

NICARAGUA SEEKS OAS SUPPORT DURING POLITICAL CRISIS THREATENING PRESIDENT ENRIQUE BOLAÑOS

   MANAGUA, NICARABUA.- Nicaragua's foreign minister appealed to the Organization of American States to take a firm stand against what he said are unconstitutional efforts by the country's legislature to depose President Enrique Bolaños. Foreign Minister Norman Caldera told a news conference at the Nicaraguan Embassy that the OAS permanent council is expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the Nicaraguan situation.

    At Thursday's meeting, council President Roberto Alvarez of the Dominican Republic issued a statement expressing "profound concern" about the possible "unconstitutional interruption" of Bolaños' term in office. A similar condemnation by the full 34-member council would carry far more weight than a presidential statement.

    Bolaños' key ally is the United States, which has provided strong support for him as he attempts to ride out the political storm. Among political forces arrayed against him is the Sandinista Front, led by former President Daniel Ortega. Caldera said the OAS needs to send a message to the National Assembly to "cease and desist efforts to get the president out. of office."

PRESIDENT BUSH: RELIEF SITUATION 'NOT ACCEPTABLE'

    INEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.- New Orleans continued to sink into chaos and lawlessness, as gunfire, explosions and fire were reported early this morning. President Bush said the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina was unacceptable.  An explosion at a chemical depot jolted residents awake early this morning, illuminating the pre-dawn sky with red and orange flames over a city awash in corpses and under siege from looters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

    Vibrations from the blast along the Mississippi River and a few miles east of the French Quarter were felt all the way downtown. A series of smaller blasts followed and then a pillar of acrid, black smoke.  The entire city was covered with a smoky haze, caused by fires burning out of control and the explosion of a chemical plant. A fire burned unchecked on Canal Street, near the Harrah's casino on the river; firefighters were also trying to find a way to cool down chillers that keep the city's telephone system - so far operational - from melting down.

    resident Bush, facing blistering criticism for his administration's response to the hurricane, said this morning "the results are not acceptable" and pledged to bolster relief efforts with a personal trip to the Gulf Coast.  "We'll get on top of this situation," Bush said, "and we're going to help the people that need help."

CUBAN GOVERNMENT TO BUILD 150,000 MORE HOMES TO EASE HOUSING CRISIS 

     HAVANA, CUBA.- The Cuban government announced Thursday plans to build 150,000 more living units before the end of next year in hopes of easing a severe housing shortage on the Caribbean island. "A housing deficit does exist," Vice President Carlos Lage said in a report to Cuba's National Assembly, or parliament.

    Lage said the government's goal was to build 150,000 new homes in this country of 11.2 million people between now and the end of 2006, and repair another 300,000 homes. Lage, who also serves as secretary to the council of ministers, or cabinet, said that Cuba's socialist government subsidizes about 87 percent of all new housing costs.

    At the same time, many Cubans live in their own homes, many times aging structures owned by their families before the 1959 revolution. As a result, most people here pay nothing or very little for housing. The new houses to be built this and next year will be assigned by government first to low-income families and those with "a revolutionary attitude," Lage said. A recent official report said the island has a deficit of about 500,000 homes, but only 15,352 new homes were built last year.

FORMER OFFICER DETAINED ON GROUNDS OF TRYING TO LEAVE CUBA

    CIENFUEGOS, CUBA.-- José Alberto Broche, an ex-officer of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, has been detained on grounds he was planning to illegally leave the country. Broche, who was an intelligence officer with a Special Troop regiment in Cienfuegos province, lost his commission because of his opposition to the government.

    Broche's wife, Tania, said her husband was arrested when he left his home in a Moscovish car whose motor he was allegedly going to install in a boat to take him off the island. "The pressure on him from officials of the Technical Investigation Department because of his way of thinking led him to take this decision to abandon the country," she said. "Now they accuse him of trafficking in people, which isn't true, as his sole objective was to escape the harassment of the regime." 

GRADUATION OF MEDICAL STUDENTS SUSPENDED FOR LACK OF RESOURCES

     SANTA CLARA, CUBA.- Medical students say their graduation ceremony in the capital was called off for lack of resources even though Latin American students were meted. The students said that four days before the ceremony, scheduled for last Saturday, they were advised it had been postponed until an unspecified date because of a lack of resources.  

    "The resources appeared for the Latin Americans," said one of the students. He was referring to students of the Latin American School of Medicine, who received silver rings and books and whose parents were invited to the ceremony and put up as guests at Triton Hotel.

ANTI-CASTRO SIGN IN SANCTI SPÍRITUS

     CAIBARIEN, CUBA.- A six-foot sign that read DOWN WITH FIDEL CASTRO! was put up on the wall of the food store La Vizcaína in the city of Sancti Spíritus.

    Yusdrey Pérez Toledo, a passerby, reported that state security on Tuesday forced those who stopped to see the sign to move out of the area.

"MINIMUM HUNDREDS' KILLED IN NEW ORLEANS BY HURRICANE KATRINA

    BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI.- Authorities all but surrendered the streets of New Orleans to floodwaters, looting and other lawlessness Wednesday as the mayor called for a total evacuation and warned the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could reach into the thousands.

    "We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water," and other people dead in attics, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands." That would make Katrina the deadliest natural disaster in the United States since at least the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. With most of the city under water, Army engineers struggled to plug New Orleans' breached levees with giant sandbags and concrete barriers, and authorities drew up plans to clear out the tens of thousands of people left in the Big Easy and practically abandon the below-sea-level city.

    There will be a "total evacuation of the city. We have to. The city will not be functional for two or three months," Nagin said. And he said people would not be allowed back into their homes for at least a month or two. President Bush flew over the ravaged city and parts of Mississippi's hurricane-blasted coastline in Air Force One. Turning to his aides, he said: "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." "We're dealing with one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history," Bush said.

PRESIDENT BUSH TO RELEASE OIL FROM RESERVES TO BOOST SUPPLY

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-  President Bush will release oil from federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday. The move, which was expected later in the day, is designed to give refineries a temporary supply of crude oil to take the place of interrupted shipments from tankers or offshore oil platforms affected by the storm.

   The government's emergency petroleum stockpile _ nearly 700 million barrels of oil stored in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast _ was established to cushion oil markets during energy disruptions. The production and distribution of oil and gas remained severely disrupted by the shutdown of a key oil import terminal off the coast of Louisiana and by the Gulf region's widespread loss of electricity, which is needed to power pipelines and refineries.

     Tapping the federal emergency petroleum reserves will "certainly help those companies and those refineries to function, whereas they wouldn't be functioning without a supply of crude oil," said Bodman. But he warned that the action may not ease the skyrocketing price of gasoline at the pump. Bodman said the reserve was contained in five sites, four of which are operative. The site in New Orleans is not. He said it was too early to say how much oil would be released.

JESSE JACKSON URGES U.S. TO IMPROVE ITS RELATIONS WITH VENEZUELA 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- US Reverend Jesse Jackson urged Venezuela and US to sooth political "tensions" and improve diplomatic relations based on "justice" and "respect." The former US representative delivered the keynote at a special session of the National Assembly in Caracas to pay homage to late Martin Luther King for the 42nd anniversary of the speech for peace and equality offered during a march for civil rights over Washington.

    "We should get on well. Tensions between Venezuela and the United States should be overcome. We need to turn hatred and fear into energy to build bridges and to put an end to rhetoric. We should seek reconciliation and a good neighbor policy," Jackson stated. According to the civil right activist, at the present time there is no place for the diplomacy of "canyons," preventive attacks and assassination, but for a "new world order" that is "fairer and is not based on force, but on respect and cooperation."

    "We have seen the fall of the Berlin Wall and Nelson Mandela getting out of jail. We saw (Yasser) Arafat in the White House setting the foundations for new diplomacy. One day, we will see President (Hugo) Chávez and (US President George W.) Bush visiting each other. He described as "repulsive, immoral, and illegal" US Evangelist preacher Pat Robertson's call to kill Chávez, and called for "a quick rejection" from Bush.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PAYMENT TO VENEZUELAN OFFICIALS IN MIAMI 

     MIAMI, FLORIDA.- At least two Venezuelan officials received in Miami "questionable payments" from a realtor in Florida to sell a building property of the Venezuelan state. Recipients were Fadel Muci, senior advisor to Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of oil-state holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), and William Grillet, then administrative executive office of the Bank for Economic and Social Development (Bandes.

    Building 11101, located in the Miami financial district, Brickel Avenue, was property of Bandes, the bank of the Venezuelan government. During an affidavit taken at a Miami state court, Ray Barreth, the head of realtor  Barreth Business Group (BBG), "acknowledged payment of  about USD 1.4 million to Muci for lobbying in Venezuela and additional steps to make BBG be chosen in 2004 as middleman for the sale of the building," the newspaper stated.

    Peggy Linares, BBG representative in Latin America, swore also under oath that Grillet, presently operational manager at the Banks Superintendence in Venezuela, "received an unspecified portion out of the amount delivered to Muci for having made the Venezuelan government to award the contract." "Corruption has gone beyond Venezuelan borders," Linares claimed. BBG acknowledged receipt of USD 2.8 million as fees for selling the building.