Cuban Media: Castro Resigns as President

CUBA-CASTRO: The online version of Cuba's state-owned newspaper "Granma" reports Fidel Castro has resigned as president. Granma published a quote from Mr. Castro today (Tuesday) saying he will not aspire to, nor accept another term as president when the country's newly-elected National Assembly meets on Sunday. Speaking during his trip to Rwanda, U.S. President George Bush said he now hopes for the beginning of a democratic transition in Cuba. Fidel Castro has not appeared in public since undergoing intestinal surgery in July 2006. His brother Raul has served as acting president since then.

PAKISTAN: Political allies of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf are conceding defeat in Monday's parliamentary elections, where two opposition parties are winning the majority of the votes. The chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, told reporters today (Tuesday) that members of his party accept the results and are prepared to sit on the opposition benches in parliament. He says the results are the will of the people, and that the decision of the people is always right.

KOSOVO: The United States has joined major European allies in formally recognizing Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. President Bush said today (Tuesday) during a visit to Tanzania that "history will prove this will be a correct move" in bringing peace to the Balkans. Earlier, Mr. Bush congratulated the people of Kosovo, and said the United States will establish diplomatic relations with the new country.

BUSH-AFRICA: President Bush is in Rwanda today (Tuesday), where he is expected to visit a memorial to the 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutu extremists. The president and First Lady Laura Bush plan to lay a wreath at the Kigali Memorial Center, which pays tribute to the estimated 800-thousand victims of the ethnic violence. The Bushes will also help dedicate the new U.S. embassy in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The president's one-day stop in Rwanda is part of his five-nation African tour. Mr. Bush was warmly welcomed Monday in Tanzania, where he announced a new plan that aims to provide enough mosquito nets to prevent every Tanzanian child younger than five from contracting malaria.

UN-BURMA: The U.N. envoy to Burma is scheduled to meet today (Tuesday) with China's foreign minister as part of a new round of talks in Asia on political reform in military-ruled Burma. Ibrahim Gambari met Monday with Vice Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials in Beijing. Wang said after the meeting that China supports mediation by Gambari and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Burma's political situation.

Audio in Lao.