Commission Seeks to End Cuba Regime
By George Gedda The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A government commission is recommending to President Bush a series of measures to cut U.S. dollar flows to Cuba as part of a broader policy to hasten the end of the country's communist system, an administration official said Sunday night.
A commission report, in preparation for six months and overseen by Secretary of State Colin Powell, also calls for steps to overcome Cuban jamming of U.S.-government sponsored radio and television broadcasts to Cuba, the official said.
The officialsaid the report urges increased support for Cuban dissidents and families of political prisoners and also calls for measures to encourage foreign governments to distance themselves from the Cuban regime.
Last October, Bush announced the creation of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba and set a May 1 deadline for completion of a report.
The concept and the timing appeared to be linked to maintaining in the November elections the solid support Bush received in 2000 from Cuban-Americans in Florida. Without their backing, the election would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
Four of the five chapters in the 500-page report deal with ways to assist a post-Castro government that seeks to establish democracy. The other chapter focusses on ways to end Castro's government.
Until now, the administration's policy has been to hasten a democratic transition in Cuba.
The commission report goes a step further in recommending what amounts to regime change. Bush is expected make a final decision on the report later in the week. Link Here
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Cuba to Strengthen Relations with EU
Keiichi Honma / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, 39, said during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Friday at the Cuban Foreign Ministry that there was "no possibility" for dialogue with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to improve the bilateral relationship. He also said Cuba would survive in the international community by developing a relationship with the European Union, which recently added Eastern European countries that are former members of the socialist bloc that included Cuba. Roque is seen a strong candidate to succeed Cuban President Fidel Castro.
The Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you evaluate the current relationship between the United States and Cuba?
Roque: The relations between Cuba and the U.S. government have worsened, and now they are very tense, which is due exclusively to the Bush administration. President Bush is under pressure from extremist Cuban groups living in Miami, but Cuba's relations with the rest of the United States are good.......
Remainder of article Link Here
#1 - Papua New Guinea's Island of Bougainville
#2 - SAIPAN, Northern Mariana IslandsThe volcano, Anatahan
#3 - Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka (peninsula in Russia's Far East)
#4.....Alaska
Simmering Volcano's Steam, Ash Mar Aleutian Sky
VENIAMINOF: Trembling mountain rates a yellow alert for seismic activity.
By DOUG O'HARRA Anchorage Daily News (Published: May 3, 2004)
Aleutian arc volcano Mount Veniaminof has been lightly shaking the ground and burping up ash over the past week, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
While a major eruption is not expected, scientists warned of additional low-level unrest at the 7,073-foot caldera, about 480 miles southwest of Anchorage near the village of Perryville.
"We expect that steam and ash emissions similar to those observed this week may continue intermittently and could pose a hazard to people and low-flying aircraft in the vicinity of the active cone," the observatory reported in its Friday update.
Ash and steam spotted during clear weather on Wednesday and Thursday rose to 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. The clouds then drifted 10 miles on strong winds, while seismic tremors continued above background levels.
Veniaminof is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Alaska, with a 6-mile-wide caldera and 12 eruptions over the past 200 years. The most recent occurred in 1993-95. The observatory constantly monitors seismic activity at 25 volcanoes from Mount Spurr near Anchorage out the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Chain, and posts updates of active volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Veniaminof, which has been restless for weeks, was listed as "yellow," meaning that an eruption could occur.
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Another Quake.....
Strong Quake Rocks Parts of Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A strong earthquake rocked a large area in central and southern Chile early Monday, causing alarm but no damage or casualties, authorities said. The government's Emergency Bureau said the quake had a magnitude of 6.6 in its epicenter off the coast of Temuco, 330 miles (530 kilometers) south of the capital, Santiago. It was felt from Rancagua, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Santiago to Puerto Montt, 650 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of the capital. Link Here