Free Republic

Bison bones bolster idea Ice Age seafarers first to Americas Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, March 24, 2008 Head of a bison, part of a series of ancient bison bones found on Vancouver Island and nearby Orcas Island in Washington state. A series of discoveries of ancient bison bones on Vancouver Island and nearby Orcas Island in Washington state is fuelling excitement among researchers that the Pacific coast offered a food-rich ecosystem for Ice Age hunters some 14,000 years ago -- much earlier than the prevailing scientific theory pegs the arrival of humans to the New World. Fourteen...

Americas Settled 15,000 Years Ago, Study Says Stefan Lovgren for National Geographic NewsMarch 13, 2008 A consensus is emerging in the highly contentious debate over the colonization of the Americas, according to a study that says the bulk of the region wasn't settled until as late as 15,000 years ago. Researchers analyzed both archaeological and genetic evidence from several dozen sites throughout the Americas and eastern Asia for the paper. "In the past archaeologists haven't paid too much attention to molecular genetic evidence," said lead author Ted Goebel, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University in College Station. "We have brought...

A Three-Stage Colonization Model for the Peopling of the Americas Andrew Kitchen1, Michael M. Miyamoto2, Connie J. Mulligan1* 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America, 2 Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America Abstract Background We evaluate the process by which the Americas were originally colonized and propose a three-stage model that integrates current genetic, archaeological, geological, and paleoecological data. Specifically, we analyze mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data by using complementary coalescent models of demographic history and incorporating non-genetic data to enhance the anthropological relevance of the analysis. Methodology/Findings...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2007 – President Bush issued his Thanksgiving greeting today, counting members of the U.S. military among the many blessings Americans have to be thankful for. “Today, the men and women of the United States armed forces are taking risks for our freedom,” the president said at historic Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Va. “They're fighting on the front lines of the war on terror, the war against extremists and radicals who would do us more harm.” Bush noted that many U.S. troops will spend Thanksgiving far away from the comforts of home and expressed thanks for...

RECIFE (Reuters) - Flanked by bustling cafes in downtown Recife on Brazil's northeastern coast is a little-known treasure of Jewish history in the New World -- the oldest synagogue in the Americas. Sephardic Jews built the two-story Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue before 1641 -- most likely in 1636 -- when they enjoyed religious freedom under the Dutch, who ruled part of the northeast region from 1630 to 1654 to control sugar production. The Mikve Israel Congregation in Curacao, a Dutch Antilles island in the Carribean, was considered by some to have been the first congregation in the Americas. But it...

Yes, it’s a beautiful day in the land Columbus discovered, I mean ruthlessly subjugated. While in America only a handful of society’s most marginal figures have decided to take up the call, in the yet to be renamed, South “America,” the campaign, known as “Indigenous Resistance Day” is gathering momentum. The Guardian, the U.K.’s most dedicated leftist newspaper cast the movement in these terms: “Now, however, a counter-attack is under way. After centuries as underdogs, indigenous people are rising up - peacefully - to seize political power and assert their heritage. The so-called pink tide of leftwing governments has surged...

Work crews Thursday began installing the first of 152 sturdy vinyl flags that will flutter 24/7 from city light poles along Kansas City’s renamed “Grand Boulevard of the Americas.” The project, a tribute to the 35 nations of the Organization of American States, is the brainchild of local businessman and longtime civic activist James M. Malouff III. “I don’t want to demean our heritage,” he said Thursday. “But we’re way beyond cow town. Kansas City is a cosmopolitan city” engaged in international business and cultural exchanges, with emerging international visitor attractions such as the World War I Museum. He said...

First Known Gunshot Victim in Americas Discovered Kelly Hearn in Buenos Aires, Argentina for National Geographic News June 19, 2007 The first known gunshot victim in the Americas was an Inca Indian killed by a musket-wielding Spaniard nearly 500 years ago in Peru, scientists announced today. (See pictures and watch video.) The casualty's skeleton was discovered in 2004 while excavating an Inca cemetery in the Lima suburb of Puruchuco—less than a mile from thousands of Inca mummy bundles discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Guillermo Cock. The individual may have been killed during an Inca uprising against Spanish conquistadors in 1536, according...

Polynesians beat Columbus to the Americas 22:00 04 June 2007 NewScientist.com news service Emma Young Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Prehistoric Polynesians beat Europeans to the Americas, according to a new analysis of chicken bones. The work provides the first firm evidence that ancient Polynesians voyaged as far as South America, and also strongly suggests that they were responsible for the introduction of chickens to the continent - a question that has been hotly debated for more than 30 years. Chilean archaeologists working at the site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula in south-central Chile, discovered what...

WASHINGTON — Even if terrorism suspect Russell Defreitas were no more than an angry man with vague notions of a spectacular attack, he was able to tap into a network of Islamic extremists in the Caribbean — potentially dangerous and right in the backyard of the United States, authorities said Saturday. It was Defreitas' alleged ties to that network, based primarily in Trinidad and Guyana, that had the FBI and other federal authorities so concerned as they clandestinely monitored his activities over the last 18 months, law enforcement officials familiar with the ongoing investigation said.

The Venezuelan government's shut-down of Radio Caracas Television on Sunday marks a low point for free speech in the Americas. President Hugo Chávez replaced a fierce critic of his administration with a state-owned TV station that spouts government propaganda. As disturbing as is this latest move to chill freedom of speech, the regional trend is just as troubling. In some countries, politically motivated governments attack media in an attempt to silence opposition voices. In other countries, journalists are being killed with impunity in the absence of effective law enforcement. Recent examples include: • Ecuador, where President Rafael Correa has filed...

John Edwards seemed to cherish the “Two Americas” idea in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, where he and John Kerry eventually lost to current president George Bush. Strangely enough, the two Americas campaign buzzword managed to hit the nail squarely on the head. Unfortunately, two Americas do exist in this country. One of those Americas supports the government while the other receives from the government. People from one America work for a living, pay taxes and serve as productive members of our society, and people from the other America enjoy the rewards of under achievement and the entitlement...

On a plantation just outside the Jamaican capital, Kingston, we watched workers with long machetes slice down towering stalks of sugar cane with industrial precision. Sugar is still harvested by hand, when it is too wet for machines The crop is only harvested by hand on modern plantations when it rains and today there is a steady drizzle. Usually machines do the graft. But for more than 300 years until the early 19th century the machines were African slaves. Men, women and children were overworked and brutalised. Cruelty and torture meant as many as a third of all slaves...

Police on Thursday recovered a small part of the fortune in cash that disappeared from a small plane after it crashed in northeastern Brazil, according to news reports. The twin-engine plane was carrying $2.6 million worth of Brazilian reals when it crashed Wednesday afternoon near the city of Salvador, some 750 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro in Bahia state, killing all four people aboard, officials said. Police say they suspect locals made off with the bags of cash before rescuers arrived on the scene. But on Thursday, according to the Web sites of O Globo and Estado de S....

Many people were protesting against the war in Iraq Hundreds of demonstrators have rioted outside the US embassy in Mexico City, in the latest protest against President George W Bush's tour of Latin America.Protesters burned US flags and threw stones at police guarding the building. Tear gas was used to disperse the crowds. Several people were injured, including a number of police officers. The violence came hours after Mr Bush pledged to reform controversial immigration laws, during two-day talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Mr Bush made the announcement on Tuesday at the start of talks with Mr Calderon....

Mr Bush will speak about social justice and equality President George W Bush is in Guatemala for a one-day visit, after a stop in Colombia where he pledged his personal support to its fight against drugs. He will discuss security, trade and immigration with Guatemala's president. This is the fourth stop in Mr Bush's tour of Latin America, which has seen protests at every stage. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, has used a parallel tour of the region to speak out against what he calls the interference of the "American empire". Mr Chavez started his tour last week in Argentina,...

Troops have been deployed to boost police presence in Bogota US President George W Bush has arrived in Colombia as part of his five-nation Latin American tour.He will meet President Alvaro Uribe in a display of support for efforts to combat that country's insurgency. Colombia is one of the largest recipients of US aid to help fight a long-running war against left-wing guerrillas and drug traffickers. The visit is being overshadowed by a political scandal, which has raised questions about US support in Congress. The scandal has linked a number of President Uribe's government politicians to right-wing paramilitaries. Some...

Thousands of protesters greeted Mr Bush's arrival US President George Bush has met his Uruguayan counterpart, Tabare Vazquez, as part of his five-nation Latin American tour to promote trade.Mr Bush arrived in Montevideo from Brazil - where he signed a deal to develop alternative fuel sources. Uruguay is keen to sign free trade deals with the US, even if it means leaving the Mercosur trade bloc. The tour attracted protests in Brazil and about 5,000 protesters gathered in Uruguay for Mr Bush's visit. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is conducting his own tour of the region and addressed 40,000 anti-Bush...

!-- S IIMA --> Chavez attacked Bush in front of the Buenos Aires crowd It was the kind of situation that the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, loves - 40,000 flag-waving supporters joining him in hurling insults at the US President, George W Bush.He was at a football stadium in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, leading what he called an anti-imperialist rally to coincide with Mr Bush's arrival in neighbouring Uruguay. Most of the crowd were members of trade unions, left-wing and human rights organisations, those who already supported Mr Chavez and what he calls his brand of socialism for...

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Washington, D.C. Thank you all. (Applause.) Please be seated -- si ntese. Buenas tardes. Gracias por la bienevenida. For those of you not from Texas, that means, good afternoon. (Laughter.) And thank you for the welcome. I'm honored to be back again with the men and women of the Hispanic Chamber. I appreciate your hospitality. I'm pleased to report the economy of the United States is strong, and one of the reasons why is because the entrepreneurial spirit of America is strong. And the entrepreneurial spirit of America is represented in this room....

Mummy’s amazing American maize The far-reaching influence of Spanish and Portuguese colonisers appears not to have extended to South American agriculture, scientists studying Andean mummies up to 1,400 years old have found. The University of Manchester researchers working with colleagues in Buenos Aires compared the DNA of ancient maize found in the funerary offerings of the mummy and at other sites in northwest Argentina with that grown in the same region today. Surprisingly, they found both ancient and modern samples of the crop were genetically almost identical indicating that modern European influence has not been as great as previously...

President Hugo Chavez has pledged to nationalise key Venezuelan companies, as part of plans to transform the country into a full socialist state. Mr Chavez said he wanted to see major Venezuelan power and telecoms companies come under state control. The country's telecoms giant CANTV is an expected target He also called for an end to foreign ownership of lucrative crude oil refineries in the Orinoco region. Mr Chavez's comments came in an address to the nation following the swearing in of his new cabinet. "All of that which was privatized, let it be nationalised," he said during the...

Penon WomanPenon WomanScientists in Britain have identified the oldest skeleton ever found on the American continent in a discovery that raises fresh questions about the accepted theory of how the first people arrived in the New World. The skeleton's perfectly preserved skull belonged to a 26-year-old woman who died during the last ice age on the edge of a giant prehistoric lake which once formed around an area now occupied by the sprawling suburbs of Mexico City. Scientists from Liverpool's John Moores University and Oxford's Research Laboratory of Archaeology have dated the skull to about 13,000 years old, making it...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2006 -- There’s a saying that everything’s big in Texas; this seems to hold true for their celebrations as well. While most of the world considers a week to be made up of seven days, Texans apparently have 10 in theirs. Or at least folks do in San Antonio do when it comes time to honor the military. The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the city of San Antonio are teaming up to host Celebrate America’s Military Week Nov. 2-12. This is the 36th year the city has formally recognized servicemembers with parades, ceremonies...

New Land-Bridge Evidence Adds to Mystery of 1st Americans Adrianne Appel for National Geographic News October 18, 2006 The long-gone land bridge between Asia and Alaska—a route possibly followed by the first humans to reach the Americas—flooded about 12,000 years ago, a new study suggests. That's about a thousand years earlier than previously thought, adding to evidence that humans may have reached the Americas by other means. "I think we're on the verge of rewriting the whole history of the region," said study leader Lloyd Keigwin of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. The new evidence from the Arctic also...

HADITHA, Iraq (Oct. 6, 2006) -- After almost seven months of combat operations in western Al Anbar province, the Marines of “America’s Battalion” returned to families and loved ones Oct. 5 in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Just two weeks ago, the Hawaii-based battalion transferred authority of security operations of the Haditha Triad region in Al Anbar to another Hawaii-based unit - 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. The Haditha Triad Region consists of the three Euphrates River towns — Haditha, Barwanah and Haqlaniyah, and boasts a population of about 50,000. Throughout their deployment, 3rd Battalion’s forces trained Iraqi Security Forces, located 54...

Sean Hannity visited Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Hannity's lecture included the time he tricked Paul Begala with the quotes John Kerry made supporting invading Iraq. He also spoke about facing the evil of our time in the same way we had to face Hitler. Hannity did many impersonations of Bill Clinton and talked about how the democrats had lost the South. He briefly talked about his disagreements with Repubicans on the issues of over-spending and illegal immigration. His ending statement was that in times of war, we need the right people in power. During Q/A session, most of the...

CAMP LIBERTY — Troops serving at this large logistics base near Baghdad International Airport were provided a rare opportunity Saturday to meet and talk with Gen. Peter Pace, the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace answered questions from Soldiers of Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division. “We came a long way to do one very special thing, and that is to say thank you to you for what you are doing over here. We are so proud of what you do,” said Pace to the room of about 50 service members. “Sometimes, when you...

With virtually no mention in the mainstream media, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez convened on June 15, the first meeting of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), an apparently extra-constitutional advisory group organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). A March 31 press release on the White House website, under the title “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: Progress,” announced the formation of the NACC. The press release noted that the NACC would meet annually “with security and prosperity Ministers and will engage with senior government officials on an...

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo (Army News Service, July 5, 2006) –Soldiers from the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division and Multi-National Task Force (East) marked America’s 230th year of independence during a July 4 ceremony on the Camp Bondsteel parade field. Brig. Gen. Darren Owens, commanding general of MNTF(E), spoke about America’s struggle for independence. “We as Americans can proudly say the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, gave birth to the ideals of freedom that others in the world only dream about,” Owens said. “We are free to love, worship and live as we want – but freedom does have...

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2006 – On a day that is meant to represent more than just the unofficial start of the summer season, thousands of people lined Constitution Avenue here to watch a Memorial Day parade commemorating U.S. troops who have died while serving their country. Members of the Nassau-Suffolk Horsemen's Association from Long Island, N.Y., march in the National Memorial Day Parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington, May 29. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "The parade is great. I love it," said Todd Stockstiol, of Memphis, Tenn. "We can't take all the...

SAN ANTONIO, May 25, 2006 – Their mission here accomplished, three Virginia businessmen are scheduled to arrive home today after completing their "Ride for America's Patriots," a 3,200-mile roundtrip motorcycle ride designed to raise money for wounded veterans. Bikers representing American Legion Post 593 in Converse, Texas, lead the way for three Virginia men arriving on their "Ride for America's Patriots" May 19 after a four-day trek from Fairfax, Va. Photo by Cheryl Harrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. On May 15, three riders - Tom Donegan, Joe Kurnos and Bob Loy - set off in cool temperatures...

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2006 – Inspired by a severely injured veteran of the war in Iraq, three men set out on a nearly 1,600-mile motorcycle ride today that will raise awareness and money to help injured servicemembers. Bob Loy (left), Joe Kurnos (center), and Tom Donegan get ready to hit the road on a nearly 1,600-mile trek May 15. The journey, meant to raise awareness of servicemembers' sacrifices as well as money for the troop support organization Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, will take the trio from Fairfax, Va., to San Antonio in five days. Photo by Samantha L....

January Was America's Warmest on Record Wednesday February 8, 2006 12:16 AM By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Recording the warmest January on record allowed Americans to save on their heating, but like all good things, last month's mildness seems to have been too good to last. The country's average temperature for the month was 39.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 8.5 degrees above average for January, the National Climatic Data Center said Tuesday. The old record for January warmth was 37.3 degrees set in 1953. On the other hand, while much of the United States was basking in...

A map due to be unveiled in Beijing and London next week may lend weight to a theory a Chinese admiral discovered America before Christopher Columbus. The map, which shows North and South America, apparently states that it is a 1763 copy of another map made in 1418. If true, it could imply Chinese mariners discovered and mapped America decades before Columbus' 1492 arrival. The map, which is being dated to check it was made in 1763, faces a lot of scepticism from experts. Chinese characters written beside the map say it was drawn by Mo Yi Tong and copied...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2006 – The war on terror has been a fight unlike any the United States ever has experienced, but the country has proven its resolve and will continue to do so as it faces the challenges that lie ahead, Vice President Dick Cheney said today at the Heritage Foundation here. "The United States will keep our commitment," Cheney said. "We will continue the work of reconstruction; our forces will keep going after the terrorists; we will continue training the Iraqi military so that Iraqis can eventually take the lead in their country's security and our men and...

Fuente Magna Rosetta stone of the Americas "Atlantis: the Andes Solution" by J.M.Allen (pub Windrush Press 1998) and basis of the Discovery film "Atlantis in the Andes" by Lisa Hutchison proposes the question "did anyone ever consider that the first reed boats may have crossed from west to east perhaps following the route from the River Plate eastwards across the Atlantic, past the Cape of Good Hope and via the Indian Ocean to enter the Persian Gulf and Red Sea to found the early civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt?" It is obvious that at that time, the author suspected a...

Habana, Dec 20 - Evo Morales, who gained victory in Bolivia's presidential election, praised President Fidel Castro in an interview with government television broadcast Monday. "I want to tell you that this year I dreamt of joining the anti-imperialist struggle of Fidel and the Cuban people," he said in a message to the Cuban people. "Now I have the opportunity to be with him in this struggle, in search of peace with social justice," he said. Morales praised the resilence of Cuban in resisting the decades-old US trade embargo against the island. "I hope the government of the United States...

Contact: Steve Bradt steve_bradt@harvard.edu 617-496-8070 Harvard University Ancient humans brought bottle gourds to the Americas from AsiaPlants widely used as containers arrived, already domesticated, some 10,000 years ago CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 13, 2005 -- Thick-skinned bottle gourds widely used as containers by prehistoric peoples were likely brought to the Americas some 10,000 years ago by individuals who arrived from Asia, according to a new genetic comparison of modern bottle gourds with gourds found at archaeological sites in the Western Hemisphere. The finding solves a longstanding archaeological enigma by explaining how a domesticated variant of a species native to Africa ended...

Study sheds light on early migrationSkulls raise questions on first Americans By MIKE TONER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/13/05 A 10-year study of ancient human skulls from Brazil provides new evidence that two distinct populations of prehistoric people settled the Americas more than 12,000 years ago — a finding that raises new questions about the identity and origins of the first Americans. Brazilian researchers say physical features of the skulls excavated from several limestone caves near Lagoa Santa in central Brazil differ sharply from the ancestors of today's Native Americans, who are thought to have migrated from Siberia to...

U.S. MARINE CORPS FORCES, PACIFIC, CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii (Dec. 5, 2005) -- The 3rd Marine Regiment color guard led the largest community parade in the state of Hawaii during the 43rd annual Kaneohe Bay Christmas Parade, Dec. 3. If you’re not accustomed to a Hawaiian winter you would have found yourself a bit confused as to what this parade was for; the typically warm weather and the “Celebration of Freedom” theme made it as much like a 4th of July celebration than Christmas. Kaneohe celebrated not only Christmas but also all the men and women who serve to...

WHETSTONE — June 9, 1944, is a day Bob Strosser remembers well. The submarine he was serving on was on war patrol off Truk Island, retrieving Army Air Force crew members from aircraft that might have been downed by Japanese gunfire. Strosser, now 80, was one of three lookouts on the surfaced USS Snapper. The former torpedoman put that day’s harrowing experience succinctly. “We got strafed,” he said, as he talked about that day more than 61 years ago. A lookout and torpedoman named McKee was killed, and Strosser and the other sailor were wounded. Strosser was hit by shrapnel...

...We are heading to a formal partition of the hemisphere. One bloc is made up of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Chile, and several other countries, whose combined gross domestic product is an estimated $14.5 trillion. The other emerging bloc is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay, whose economies add up to about $2.2 trillion. there was widespread resentment against the Argentine hosts for introducing the anti-FTAA motion a day before the summit -- after six months of negotiations to reach a near consensus on the final document -- and for allowing an atmosphere...

Leaders from across the Americas ended their two-day summit Saturday without agreeing whether to restart talks on a free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Chile. Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa said the summit's declaration would state two opposing views: one favoring the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, and another saying discussions should wait until after World Trade Organization talks in December. The decision came after negotiations extended eight hours past the scheduled deadline. Almost all the leaders - including President Bush - left during the discussions and put other negotiators in charge. Mexico, the United States and...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The Summit of the Americas wrapped up in Argentina, and the presidential party headed for Brazil. President left the summit on schedule, before leaders reached any agreement on a declaration concerning the future of hemisphere-wide trade talks. Discussions at the summit were more than three hours behind schedule when the presidential party left as planned at 3:30 p.m. local time. Tom Shannon, assistant U.S. Secretary of State for the western hemisphere, stayed behind to represent the U.S. in the talks. On Friday, President Bush said he was disappointed by the decision by Senate Judiciary Chairman...

Unlike most of the world's people, many Americans view the possession of firearms as the norm rather than the exception. The European and Japanese feudal aristocracies loathed firearms, because they eliminated the role of the nobility in combat. Firearms democratized warfare, penetrated armor, and allowed fighting from a distance, thereby greatly reducing the importance of the nobility's old skills with swords in close combat. In Japan and much of Europe, the aristocracy promoted laws restricting or prohibiting the possession of firearms, especially handguns, by common people. In continental Europe and England, hunting was tightly controlled by the aristocracy. Common people...

A protester kicks in a window of a bank during a march against the presence of U.S. President George W. Bush in the Fourth Summit of the Americas in the Atlantic resort city of Mar del Plata, Argentina on Friday Nov. 4, 2005.(AP Photo/Dado Galdieri)

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — President Bush will make his call for liberalized trade and increased entrepreneurship in Argentina, a country that adopted such reforms in the 1990s and saw its economy collapse. Supporters of free trade say those policies aren't to blame for the financial crisis and resulting bloody riots four years ago. Instead, they point to other mistakes, chief among them government corruption and Argentina's heavy borrowing. The thousands of protesters gathered in this seaside resort to protest Bush's visit represent the skepticism that many South Americans have toward U.S.-led negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the...

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina - President Bush's appearance at a summit here of leaders from Argentina to Canada got off to a tense start Thursday amid plans for protests by critics ranging from soccer superstar Diego Maradona to American antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. About 10,000 police, soldiers and other security personnel have converted this popular beach vacation spot into a maze of security checkpoints and barricades to keep protesters away from the two-day Summit of the Americas. Almost all the planned protests are directed at Bush, his policies in Iraq and his alleged neglect of Latin American issues, and against...

Argentine football hero Diego Maradona has interviewed Cuban President Fidel Castro for his television chat show. The former Argentina football captain told Cuban television interviewing Mr Castro had been his dream. The two men have known each other for many years. "For me he is a god," Maradona said of the veteran communist leader. The interview is due to be broadcast on Argentina's Canal 13 television channel on Monday. The contents of the programme have not been revealed. Maradona became friends with Mr Castro during his stays in Cuba to receive treatment for cocaine addiction. He has a tattoo of...