AP
Jimmy Carter

 With President Fidel Castro in the audience at Havana University, Mr. Carter began his speech by saying the United States should take the first step toward improved bilateral relations and end its economic embargo on Cuba. He also called on Cuba to join the world community of democratic nations.

 Before the speech, President Castro said Mr. Carter was free to make any criticism he wants.

 Mr. Carter is the first American president in or out of office to visit the communist country since the 1959 revolution that brought President Castro to power.

 On Monday, Mr. Carter challenged a Bush administration claim that Cuba is developing biological weapons. Tuesday, the White House provided no evidence to support the claim, but said it is still an issue of concern. Cuba denies the allegation.

 Last week, U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton accused Cuba of having at least a limited biological warfare program and sharing the technology with so-called rogue states hostile to the United States. Cuba and the United States do not have formal diplomatic relations.
 
 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

NATO and Russia have finalized an historic new agreement aimed at battling terrorism and other common security threats. 

The new NATO-Russia Council is detailed by the pact signed Tuesday in Reykjavik, Iceland. It gives Russia a say in NATO decision-making, but not veto power. 

NATO Secretary General George Robertson said the accord will allow the alliance to deal with the threats of a new century - threats that are no longer mounted by governments and that appear with little or no warning. 

The 19 NATO countries and Russia will hold the first council meeting in late May in Rome. President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin are to attend after their summit in Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

The final deal on the council came one day after the United States and Russia announced sharp cuts in their nuclear arsenals. Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin are set to finalize that agreement during their summit. 

At Tuesday's meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Reykjavik, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called on NATO nations to narrow the gap between their military capabilities and those of the United States by increasing military spending. 

NATO ministers also reviewed the planned alliance expansion into several formerly communist-ruled east and central European countries that are expected to join NATO later this year. 

In a preliminary action, NATO ministers invited Croatia to begin preparations for membership talks. 

A new Israeli opinion poll has found that nearly two-thirds of those asked would accept a Palestinian state in a final Middle East peace deal. 

Tuesday's results of the survey by the Yediot Aharonot newspaper came just two days after Israel's ruling Likud party passed a resolution rejecting the idea of Palestinian statehood. 

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told parliament on Tuesday that he would resume talks leading to a Palestinian state, if the Palestinian Authority carries out sweeping internal reforms and puts an end to attacks on Israel. 

Mr. Sharon called the current Palestinian Authority corrupt and dictatorial, and said a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace hinges basic structural reforms. 

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may address the issue of reforms when he speaks to the Palestinian Legislative Council later Wednesday. 

Tuesday's newspaper poll found that most Israelis, 68 percent, think Likud should have postponed its vote on the Palestinian state resolution, as requested by Mr. Sharon. He says it will hurt Israel's relations abroad. 

Asked who they would like to see as Likud's candidate for prime minister in elections next year, 55 percent of Israelis chose Mr. Sharon, with only 23 percent picking former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who backed Sunday's resolution. Wednesday marks what the Palestinians call the "Al Nakba", or catastrophe, the anniversary of Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes amid fighting between Israeli and Arab troops in 1948. 

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

Suspected Muslim militants in Indian Kashmir attacked an army camp Tuesday, killing at least 34 people. 

India's Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani says it was no coincidence the attack occurred while U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca is in the region attempting to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan. 

Mr. Advani said the attack was timed to demonstrate to the world the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are not likely to be deterred by the global campaign against terrorism. 

He said a new militant group known as the Al-Mansooren and the Jamiat-ul Mujahedeen both claimed responsibility in phone calls to a Kashmiri news agency. 

Ms. Rocca condemned the attack and said it was the type of "barbarism" that the war on terrorism is determined to stop. She was in New Delhi when the attack occured and will travel to Islamabad Wednesday for talks with Pakistani officials. 

In Islamabad, the Pakistani Foreign Office condemned the attack, rejecting allegations that Pakistan was behind it. 

Indian officials say three gunmen dressed in army uniforms boarded a bus at a small town near the Pakistani border and got off at the army camp known as Kalchuk. They say the assailants fired indiscriminately inside the bus, then entered the camp and opened fire on soldiers' families before being shot and killed themselves. 

The United Nations condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the Bush administration will continue to try to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan and, in his words, maintain "an atmosphere of calm." 

Some information for this report provided by AP.

The prime minister of Malaysia has asked President Bush for help in fighting rebels he says are linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network. 

Mahathir Mohamad told President Bush at their White House meeting Tuesday that the rebels want to establish an Islamic state in Malaysia. Mr. Mahathir says his government has discovered that some of the people trying to overthrow him have traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to meet with al-Qaida members. 

Mr. Bush says the United States and Malaysia share deep concerns about the threat of terrorism. He says the United States is helping Malaysia fight terror by sharing intelligence and freezing terrorists' finances. 

Relations between the United States and Malaysia had been strained prior to the war on terrorism because of U.S. protests against the 1998 arrest and trial of Mr. Mahathir's rival, Anwar Ibrahim. 

The United States backed Anwar's claim that Mr. Mahathir had made him the victim of a political conspiracy. 

Afghan sources say U.S. troops have captured a former Taleban military commander in the southern city of Kandahar. 

Afghan sources said Tuesday that Mullah Abdul Salam was taken into custody without resistance Saturday by U.S. officers. Mullah Salam, a former guerrilla, was nicknamed "Rocketi" for his expertise in firing rockets against Soviet occupiers in the 1980s. 

Meanwhile, U.S. defense officials say U.S. forces in Afghanistan have seized large supplies of arms and ammunition in separate operations in the west and east of the country. The hauls came from the Herat area and Gardez. U.S. officers say U.S. forces will either destroy the ammunition, believed to belong to the Taleban or al-Qaida, or turn it over to the new Afghan national army. 

The Pentagon also says a three-star Army general is being sent to Afghanistan to take command over most U.S. forces there. It says the move will enable the current commander, four-star Army General Tommy Franks, to spend more time focusing on other countries in his area of responsibility, a region that spans the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

The polls have closed in Sierra Leone's first general election since the end of a bloody 10-year civil war. 

Vote counting is underway but officials say it may take days for a final tally. Early reports suggest President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is making a strong showing in some districts where counting has already been completed. 

Mr. Kabbah is vying with nine other candidates to win the presidency. He is expected to win a second term easily. 

Most observers say Ernest Koroma of the All People's Congress party will be the president's main challenger. 

Officials say the vote went smoothly with no serious problems reported. Sierra Leonean police and U.N.-peacekeepers were on guard at polling stations. Long lines began forming outside voting precincts even before the polls opened earlier this morning Tuesday. 

Sierra Leone's two-point-three million registered voters were choosing a new president and a parliament in a multi-party race. Turnout was heavy. 

VOA's correspondent in the capital, Freetown, says one of the city's largest crowds of voters was at a camp for people who were mutilated during the civil war. During the notoriously brutal war, rebels of the Revolutionary United Front hacked off the limbs of those who opposed them. The conflict formally ended in January under a U.N.-brokered agreement. 

A South Korean legislator says North Korean leader Kim Jong Il apparently intends to keep his promise and pay a return visit to South Korea. 

Park Geun-hye, who visited North Korea on Tuesday, said Mr. Kim did not set a date for his trip, during which he would meet with his southern counterpart, Kim Dae-jung. The North and South Korean leaders met in Pyongyang almost two years ago, and agreed to a second meeting in Seoul. 

Ms. Park is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, a former military ruler who was staunchly anti-communist. His daughter says she supports engagement with North Korea, something President Kim Dae-jung has made the cornerstone of his administration's policy. 

In an interview with Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun also mentioned Mr. Kim's desire to visit the South. The foreign minister is due to visit Russia beginning Monday, and his talks there are expected to cover North-South relations. 

Some information for this report provided by AP.

American forces in Afghanistan have made major seizures of arms and ammunition in separate operations in the east and west of the country, according to U.S. military officials, who call the weapons finds near Herat in western Afghanistan and Gardez in the east among the biggest so far. 

General Peter Pace, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the caches included nearly two million rounds of ammunition along with rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds and five tanks, and he explained what will happen to it. "The ammunition, depending on its condition, will either be destroyed in place or turned over to the Afghan national army for their training," he said. 

That training, says General Pace, began Tuesday with the first 250 soldiers beginning a 10-week program emphasizing basic military skills. 

General Pace also says a three-star Army general is being sent to Afghanistan to take over command of most U.S. forces there. 

General Pace says the move will enable the current, more senior commander, four-star General Tommy Franks, to spend more time focusing on other countries in his area of responsibility - a region that spans the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. 

A key country in that region is Iraq, regarded by U.S. defense officials as a serious military threat. 

However a Pentagon spokesman insists the command shift has nothing to do with Iraq. 

 The president says this legislation is full of common sense measures that will make America's borders more secure while promoting trade and commerce.

 He says about 500 million people enter the United States each year, and only half that number are American citizens returning from abroad. He says America welcomes guests but needs to know why they are coming, and what they are doing while in the country.

 "That is important for us to know," emphasized Mr. Bush. "It is knowledge necessary to make our homeland more secure."

 Mr. Bush stresses that America is not a fortress and will always welcome law-abiding citizens. But he adds additional steps must be taken to shore up border security.

 "We must use technology and be wise about how we use technology to speed the flow of commerce across our borders and to identify frequent travelers who pose no risk," he said.

 Under this bill, foreign visitors must carry passports and visas that are tamper-resistant. They will also be required to carry documents that identify the bearer with biometrics, a fingerprint, or facial recognition technology.

 The legislation orders federal agencies to better coordinate information, while providing for hundreds more immigration service inspectors and investigators.

 In addition, the bill includes specific measures designed to keep closer watch on foreigners who enter the United States on student visas - the main avenue used by several of the men involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The INS will set up a foreign student tracking system, and schools must report enrollees on student visas who do not show up for class.

Arab-Americans are seeking to boost their influence in Congress at a time when support for Israel appears to be on the rise among U.S. lawmakers. A group of Arab-Americans gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss how to increase their clout.

 The meeting came less than two weeks after the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed non-binding resolutions expressing support for Israel's military campaign in the Palestinian territories and condemnation for the Palestinians following a series of suicide bombings.

 Support for Israel has always been strong on Capitol Hill because of influential Jewish lobbying groups and that nation's strategic importance as a pro-western democracy in a largely Arab region. But lawmakers in both parties say the September 11 attack in the United States and the wave of suicide bombings in Israel have created an even stronger bond between the two countries. 

Arab-Americans are now seeking to level the playing field in the effort to lobby Congress.
 
 

Darrell Issa

 Congressman Issa said Arab-Americans should be doing more to promote a Saudi peace plan endorsed at an Arab League meeting in Beiirut earlier this year.

 He called on Arab-Americans to get their message published in newspapers through opinion pieces and letters to the editor, and he urged them to vote in every election.
 
 

Debbie Stabenow

 James Zogby, President of the Arab-American Institute, says Arab Americans are gradually making their voices heard. "We are new to this game," he said. "We are learning it, and frankly we are learning it slowly, but we are learning it okay."

 Congressman Issa said the Arab-American community can do only so much toward winning the public relations battle.

 Mr. Issa, who was sharply criticized by some Arab-Americans for his vote in favor of the House resolution supporting Israel, called on Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to do more stop suicide bombings.

 "Yasser Arafat has to put 100 percent effort, even if it costs him his life, into stopping the violence," said the congressman. "Because only when we stop the violence can the world and the American public be sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. There is a problem defending the Palestinians while 15-year-olds blow themselves up. We cannot win the [public relations] debate."

 The effort to boost Arab-American political influence comes as new public opinion polls show a majority of Americans favor an even-handed approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 A survey conducted by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes was organized by Steven Kull, who also spoke to the Arab-American gathering on Capitol Hill:

 "Two-thirds or more say they do not think the United States should take either side in the conflict. Fifty-eight percent said they thought the United States does take Israel's side, and only 22 percent said they thought the United States was not taking either side," said Mr. Kull. 

Among the 800 respondents, 58 percent said both Israelis and Palestinians are equally to blame for the failure to achieve peace. Seven percent said responsibility lies with the Israelis, while 29 percent said the blame lies with the Palestinians.

 While 36 percent expressed greater sympathy with Israel versus 11 percent for the Palestinians, more than half, 53 percent, said they sympathized with the parties equally.