HAVANA (AP):

A Russian anti-submarine destroyer and two logistical warships docked in Cuba last Friday, a thumb-your-nose port call aimed at Washington in waters just 90 miles (145 kilometres) from Florida.

The arrival extends a tour that included stops in Venezuela and Panama and shows Moscow's desire to flex some muscle in America's backyard. It comes even as President Raul Castro reaches out to the United States (US), offering to negotiate directly with President-elect Barack Obama and proposing an unprecedented swap of political prisoners.

"That is Cuba's diplomatic specialty, playing both sides, or all sides, on every issue," said Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP):

The Pentagon formally approved war-crime charges last Friday against a Guantanamo detainee accused of masterminding the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, potentially setting up a high-profile arraignment in the final days of the Bush administration.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri faces a possible death sentence if convicted on charges related to the attack on the Navy destroyer that killed 17 United States (US) sailors in the Yemeni port of Aden, said Navy Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.

Charges including murder, treachery and terrorism were formally approved by a Pentagon official, Susan Crawford, trigge-ring a 30-day clock for al-Nashiri's first appearance before a US military commission at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base.

Al-Nashiri's Pentagon-appointed attorney, Navy Lieutenant Commander Stephen Reyes, called the timing "suspect" because President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office January 20, has criticised the commissions and vowed to close the detention centre.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP):

Surinamese former dictator Desi Bouterse's murder trial has been cleared to restart following a five-month delay, after a court dismissed a motion to remove a judge.

The court said last Friday it rejected the defense's motion because Bouterse's signature was not on documents his attorneys filed, as is required by Surinamese law.

The motion questioned the impartiality of the trial's leading judge because her husband had free access to teach martial arts at facilities owned by President Ronald Venetiaan's ruling National Party. Venetiaan is an outspoken Bouterse opponent.

It is unclear when the trial will resume.

Bouterse and 11 others are accused of executing 15 political opponents in 1982.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP):

Federal agents in Puerto Rico last Friday arrested four police officers accused of providing security for drug traffickers, an FBI spokesman said.

The United States (US) territory police officers, all members of an extradition unit, are among six people indicted on charges including conspiracy and weapons possession related to drug trafficking.

Police arrested one of the two suspects who are not police officers, spokesman Harry Rodriguez said. The raids took place in and around the Puerto Rican capital, San Juan.

Investigation of the drug ring began more than a year ago, Rodriguez said.

The island's 8,000-strong police force is reeling from accusations of corruption. In June, federal authorities charged six officers with planting evidence and building false cases against people in a northwest coastal town.