Spain to discuss stance on CubaMADRID, Spain (AP):
Foreign Ministry officials are to meet with representatives of Cuban dissident groups living in Spain next week to discuss the government's policy toward the communist-run island, news reports said yesterday.
The meeting is to take place Tuesday at the ministry's headquarters in Madrid, the national news agency Efe said. At least three dissident groups are to attend, the agency added.
The meeting is to discuss Spain's stance toward Cuba since Fidel Castro announced last July that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was stepping aside in favour of a government headed by his brother Raul, the 76-year-old defence minister.
Communist Party calls for toothpaste safety
BEIJING (AP):
China's Communist Party called yesterday for timely tests and improved production standards to ensure the safety of toothpaste, indicating the country is pushing forward its campaign to combat growing international alarm over Chinese foods and drugs.
Some brands of Chinese toothpaste have been found to contain diethylene glycol, or DEG, a chemical used to make anti-freeze. DEG is a thickening agent that is also used as a low-cost - and sometimes deadly - substitute for glycerin, a sweetener in many drugs.
The People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece, said reports of tainted toothpaste "reminds us to improve national standards of toothpaste production".
Russians turn on crucial systems at space station
HOUSTON, texas (AP):
Russian cosmonauts yesterday began turning back on some crucial systems that had been shut down more than four days ago when a computer system on the Russian side of the international space station crashed.
The first system turned on was a machine that scrubs carbon dioxide from the air inside the space station.
Just a day earlier, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov were able to get four of six processors on two computers working again by using a cable to bypass a circuit board.
