9/11 conspiracy theories rife in Muslim world Published: Sat, Oct 2, 2010 ISTANBUL (AP) — About a week ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared to the United Nations that most people in the world believe the United States was behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. To many people in the West, the statement was ludicrous, almost laughable if it weren't so... Read More

Cuba to cut 500,000 government workers; reform salaries Published: Mon, Sep 13, 2010 HAVANA (AP) — Cuba announced Monday it will cast off at least half a million state employees by mid-2011 and reduce restrictions on private enterprise to help them find new jobs — the most dramatic step yet in President Raul Castro's push to radically remake employment on the communist-run island. Castro... Read More

Fidel Castro says he was misinterpreted on Cuban economy Published: Fri, Sep 10, 2010 HAVANA (AP) — Fidel Castro says his comments about Cuba's communist economic model were misinterpreted by a visiting American journalist. Appearing at the University of Havana on Friday, the 84-year-old ex-president says he meant "exactly the opposite" of the quote contained in a blog by Atlantic magazine... Read More

Report: Castro blasts Ahmadinejad as anti-Semitic Published: Tue, Sep 7, 2010 HAVANA (AP) — Fidel Castro criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for what he called his anti-Semitic attitudes and questioned his own actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during interviews with an American journalist he summoned to Havana to discuss fears of global nuclear war. Jeffrey... Read More

Fidel Castro makes 1st official gov't appearance Published: Sat, Aug 7, 2010 HAVANA (AP) — A lively and healthy-looking Fidel Castro appealed to President Barack Obama to prevent a global nuclear war in an emphatic speech Saturday that marked his first official government appearance since emergency surgery four years ago. Castro's speech before the Cuban parliament, along with other... Read More

Cuba Gets New President, Old-Guard Team Updated: Mon, Feb 25, 2008 HAVANA (AP) -- Raul Castro, Cuba's first new president in nearly half a century, crushed hopes that a new generation would shape the country's future by promising to defer to his ailing brother Fidel and the Communist Party's old guard on major matters. Shunning younger candidates, the island's... Read More

Florida Primary Could Boost GOP Winner Updated: Tue, Jan 29, 2008 MIAMI (AP) -- John McCain and Mitt Romney clashed in a hard-fought Florida primary on Tuesday, seeking campaign momentum before the race for the Republican presidential nomination turns into a nationwide delegate struggle on Feb. 5. Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee also had spots on the ballot,... Read More

Close Guantanamo, Joint Chiefs chairman says Updated: Mon, Jan 14, 2008 GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The chief of the U.S. military said he favors closing the prison here as soon as possible because he believes negative publicity worldwide about treatment of terrorist suspects has been "pretty damaging" to the image of the United States. "I'd like to see it... Read More

Castro Reportedly Did Not Want Colostomy Published: Thu, Jan 18, 2007 MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Fidel Castro himself told surgeons not to perform a colostomy, opting instead for a course of surgery that produced a complication leaving the Cuban leader in far worse condition, according to a newspaper report Wednesday. After removing an inflamed piece of Castro's large... Read More

Time is right to change Cuba policy Published: Thu, Aug 3, 2006 NEWS that an ailing Fidel Castro turned over temporary presidential authority to brother Raul this week touched off street celebrations in the Little Havana section of Miami, where people who fled Castro’s dictatorship hold out hope for a new Cuba once the dictator dies. Statements issued on Castro’s... Read More

Fidel Castro steps down temporarily due to illness, will undergo surgery Updated: Mon, Jul 31, 2006 HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Monday night and told Cubans he will undergo surgery. The Cuban leader said in a letter read live on television by his secretary that he had suffered gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress from recent public... Read More

Lawmakers like to travel Updated: Fri, Jun 9, 2006 WASHINGTON - Americans will be traveling less this summer, say the experts, citing rising cost of fuel, food and lodging. That forecast likely won't apply to Congress. Our lawmakers can't be expected to give up a part of the job to which they've become accustomed -- especially since they don't have to worry too... Read More

E-Mails Show How Katrina Swamped La. Gov. Updated: Sun, Dec 4, 2005 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- As looters and Hurricane Katrina floodwaters ravaged New Orleans, Gov. Kathleen Blanco's top aides were inundated with requests from around the world, from celebrities, dignitaries and people whose relatives were trapped in the city, according to newly released documents. Dan... Read More