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11/03/2005:

"'No to Bush!' Castro salutes Maradona on TV chat show"

Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, has forged an alliance with an unlikely new friend, the former footballing genius Diego Maradona. Interviewed on the Argentinian television show that Maradona presents, La Noche del 10 " The Night of 10" ­ President Castro praised his host for his plan to join an anti-US demonstration at a forthcoming summit. "We have struggled for various years against the United States," said the Cuban leader. " I'm happy you are going to be there."

Maradona has interviewed a number of celebrities on his show, including Pele and Robbie Williams, but the interview with Mr Castro was like no other.
independent.co.uk

Anti-Bush Protesters Gather in Argentine Resort Ahead of Americas Summit

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AP) - Shouting "Yankee, get out!" and singing protest songs, thousands opposed to George W. Bush held a massive rally at a basketball arena, two days before the U.S. president arrives at this seaside resort for the fourth Summit of the Americas.

After protesters in Buenos Aires set fire to a train station, Argentine Interior Minister Anibel Fernandez said the government was prepared to guarantee the summit's security as more protesters - including jobless Argentines, teachers and labor unions - were expected to arrive later Wednesday.
Heavy security precautions were being taken in Mar del Plata, 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires. More than 8,000 police and security forces were guarding the summit's site, and surrounding streets were deserted.
"There are no weaknesses" in the summit's security, Fernandez said.

On Tuesday, organizers of the so-called "People's Summit" gave fiery anti-Bush speeches that echoed through a drab concrete stadium several miles (kilometers) from the luxury hotel where leaders of 34 Western Hemisphere nations will meet Friday and Saturday.

Most of the leftist protesters were young people, but also in the crowd was Argentine Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to his country's military regime.

"We've had enough of Mr. Bush, who has committed crimes against humanity," Perez told reporters on the sidelines of the rally. He called the U.S. president a "murderer" for his actions in Iraq and elsewhere.

"This is a chance for the real people to hold their own summit," said Wayra Aru Blanco, a 33-year-old Bolivian Indian, beating a calfskin drum as brightly dressed South American Indian women played reed flutes.

In the run-up to the summit, violent protests broke out in the capital of Buenos Aires over poor commuter train service. Mobs set fire to 18 of the city's dilapidated trains in a working class suburb, stoned and overturned police cruisers and battled with riot police who fired rubber bullets into the crowds.