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Chavez says Fidel Castro is back in power

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 30, 2007

BARQUISIMETO, VENEZUELA

President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Cuban President Fidel Castro, his friend and political ally, is again "in charge." Castro has not been seen in public since before July 31, when he announced he had undergone intestinal surgery and provisionally ceded power to his younger brother, Raul. Chavez has regularly offered updates on Fidel Castro's health, while the 80-year-old leader has appeared periodically in photographs and videos released by the Cuban government. His condition and exact ailment remain state secrets, but he is believed to suffer from diverticular disease, which can cause inflammation and bleeding in the colon.

MEXICO CITY

Church tells doctors to reject abortions

The Roman Catholic Church on Sunday called on doctors in Mexico City not to perform abortions and lamented the city's decision last week to legalize the procedure in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Mexico City officials have said doctors at city-run hospitals cannot refuse to perform abortions based on personal moral objection, but in a letter read at Sunday Mass, Cardinal Norberto Rivera said they could. Archdiocese spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero has said those who perform abortions and lawmakers who supported the legalization will be excommunicated. The church is under investigation for possibly violating Mexican laws forbidding its participation in politics.

BEIJING

Rights group criticizes China

China has failed to live up to promises to improve human rights for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing despite reforms to the death penalty system and more freedoms for foreign reporters, Amnesty International said in a report today. The report catalogs a wide range of persistent abuses, including extensive use of detention without trial, the persecution of civil rights activists, and new methods to rein in the domestic media and censor the Internet. No Chinese official was immediately available to comment.

Elsewhere

Bamako, Mali: Malians voted for president Sunday in the African nation's fourth democratic vote. President Amadou Toumani Toure was widely expected to win a second term.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Seven Chinese oil workers and two Africans kidnapped Tuesday during a rebel attack on a Chinese oil field were released Sunday.

Dublin, Ireland: Prime Minister Bertie Ahern called Sunday for a general election May 24 and said he will run for re-election.

[Last modified April 30, 2007, 00:28:28]