World Briefs July 31, 2010
Castro accuses US of torture in 'Cuban Five' case
HAVANA - Fidel Castro accused U.S. authorities of torturing a convicted Cuban spy, telling a meeting of communist youths that the agent had been placed in solitary confinement in California.Among the group was former castaway Elian Gonzalez, now 16, who could be seen listening intently to the ex-Cuban president when footage of the closed-door session aired on state-run television Friday night.
Castro, who turns 84 on Aug. 13, is suddenly making near daily appearances in and around Havana, after spending four years almost completely out of the public eye following emergency intestinal surgery that forced him to cede power to his younger brother Raul.He has occasionally turned up in green fatigues similar to the military uniform that had been his trademark during nearly half a century in power. This time, however, Castro wore a red-checkered shirt and gray pants while speaking for a bit more than an hour in Havana's convention center.
Looking relaxed and engaged, Castro spoke about the case of Gerardo Hernandez, who is serving a double life sentence on counts of conspiracy to murder four Miami-based pilots who were slain by Cuban jets in 1996 when they were dispersing pro-democracy pamphlets on the island.Hernandez is one of the so-called "Cuban Five" intelligence agents that Cuba says it sent to the U.S. to infiltrate anti-Castro groups linked to 1990s hotel bombings and other terrorists attacks on Cuban soil. The five were convicted in the U.S. of spying.
Castro said Hernandez has been placed in solitary confinement at a prison in Victorville, California.
US casualties in Afghanistan soar to record highs
KABUL, Afghanistan - In a summer of suffering, America's military death toll in Afghanistan is rising, with back-to-back record months for U.S. losses in the grinding conflict. All signs point to more bloodshed in the months ahead, straining the already shaky international support for the war.Six more Americans were reported killed in fighting in the south - three Thursday and three Friday - pushing the U.S. death toll for July to a record 66 and surpassing June as the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly nine-year war.
U.S. officials confirmed the latest American deaths Friday but gave no further details. Five of the latest reported deaths were a result of hidden bombs - the insurgents' weapon of choice - and the sixth to an armed attack, NATO said in statements.U.S. commanders say American casualties are mounting because more troops are fighting - and the Taliban are stiffening resistance as NATO and Afghan forces challenge the insurgents in areas they can't afford to give up without a fight.
"Recent months in Afghanistan have ... seen tough fighting and tough casualties. This was expected," the top U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. David Petraeus, said at his Senate confirmation hearing last month. "My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months."That forecast is proving grimly accurate.The month has brought a sharp increase in the tragic images of war - medics frantically seeking to stop the bleeding of a soldier who lost his leg in a bombing, fearful comrades huddled around a wounded trooper fighting for his life, the solemn scenes at Dover Air Force Bare in Delaware when shattered relatives come to receive the bodies of their loved ones.
- The Associated Press