Jailed Cuban punk rocker to stand trial

Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trial on Friday August 29. 2008 for "social dangerousness," a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.
Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home shortly after the band had completed work on a new album. Cuban law defines "social dangerousness" as behavior contrary to "communist morality," and police use it to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a crime
more HERE

Castro Goes Down

HAVANA, Cuba — An ailing Fidel Castro, 81, resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he was retiring and will not accept a new term when the new parliament meets Sunday. "I will not aspire to nor accept — I repeat, I will not aspire to nor accept — the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief," read a letter signed by Castro published early Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma.
The end of Castro's rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. President Bush who doesn't seem to understand what democracy is said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition.
Reuters report w/video HERE
NPR report w/podcast HERE

He's Alive! ...Alive!

HAVANA, Cuba — Looking alert in his first video aired in three months, Cuban leader Fidel Castro responded to rumors of his death with a simple answer: "Well, here I am."
Mocking rumors of his death that have circulated in Miami and elsewhere in the U.S., he said "they say 'I was dying' and 'if I die' and 'I will die the day after tomorrow' or something.""Nobody knows the day they are going to die," said Castro; he appeared to be thinking clearly.
the story is HERE
the video is HERE