Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

CARIBBEAN
CASTRO FRACTURES KNEE AND ARM IN FALL
HAVANA – President Castro’s advancing age – and ultimately his mortality – were brought home yesterday after he fractured a knee and arm when he tripped and fell at a public event. In a communist society where the 78-year-old leader has played a larger-than-life role for more than four decades, the tumble was the latest reminder that Cuba’s commander in chief is an aging man who will not live forever – with an elderly brother as his designated successor.
“I’m all in one piece,” Mr. Castro declared on state TV Wednesday night after tripping on a concrete step while returning to his seat after an hour-long speech in the central city of Santa Clara. A medical examination early yesterday confirmed Mr. Castro suffered a broken left knee and a hairline fracture in his upper right arm, said an official notice carried by the state press.
“He asked that it be made known he is in condition to keep overseeing fundamental questions in close cooperation with government and party leaders,” the statement said.
– Associated Press
WEST AFRICA
NIGERIANS CHARGED WITH PLOT TO KILL PRESIDENT
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Nigerian government for the first time yesterday publicly disclosed a foiled coup plot, charging four military officers and a civilian with conspiring to topple the government by shooting down a helicopter carrying President Obasanjo.
Major Hamza al-Mustapha, former chief of personal security to late military dictator General Sani Abacha, and four others were each charged with two counts of treason in a federal high court in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. General Abacha was the last in a line of military dictators that have repeatedly seized power in Nigeria, which has known only 15 years of democracy since independence from Britain in 1960.The years of often corrupt and dictatorial rule have left Nigeria destitute, despite the fact it is Africa’s most populous country with 126 million people and the continent’s largest oil producer.
– Associated Press
WESTERN EUROPE
DIPLOMATS: IRAN UNLIKELY STOP URANIUM ENRICHMENT
VIENNA, Austria – Iran is unlikely to accept European incentives aimed at getting it to suspend uranium enrichment, diplomats said yesterday, raising the prospect of a showdown next month between Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.
Envoys from Britain, France, and Germany offered civilian nuclear technology and a trade deal to the Iranians in a private meeting at the French mission to international organizations in Vienna. But Western diplomats said they doubt Iran will back down easily. Iran did not immediately respond to the incentives, which included the promise of lucrative trade, a light-water nuclear research reactor, and the chance to buy nuclear fuel from the West. An Iranian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said yesterday’s meeting did not involve detailed negotiations, merely the formal presentation of the European offer.
– Associated Press
U.N. TO INCREASE UNARMED STAFF IN SUDAN
GENEVA – The United Nations will increase the number of unarmed staff in Sudan’s Darfur region in hopes their presence will increase security for a population frightened by continuing government and militia attacks, an official said yesterday. The violence has hampered efforts by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to help displaced residents of Darfur, and its staff has been largely restricted to caring for 200,000 Sudanese who have crossed into Chad to avoid attacks. “The security is a bit iffy,” Unhcr spokesman Ron Redmond said. “Over the last two weeks there have been a series of incidents which have stymied movements by Unhcr. The teams we have on the ground have had to turn back several times because we have had various security incidents.” The comments came as the government and two Darfur rebel groups resumed negotiations in Nigeria on the Darfur crisis, with African Union mediators trying to seal an agreement to allow access by humanitarian groups to displaced people.
– Associated Press
MIDDLE EAST
LEBANON NAMES PRO-SYRIAN NEW PRIME MINISTER
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon’s president appointed staunchly pro-Syrian politician Omar Karami as prime minister yesterday, asking him to form the next government in a move that consolidates Syria’s hold on Lebanese politics.
Mr. Karami replaces billionaire Rafik Hariri, who has had a long rivalry with President Lahoud – a close ally of Damascus – and who announced a day earlier he would not continue as prime minister in the new government. The shake-up came as Syria was under new pressure from the United Nations to end its decades long domination of its neighbor Lebanon. In defiance of the U.N. Security Council, Lebanon’s Parliament last month extended Mr. Lahoud’s soon-to-expire six year term by another three years.
– Associated Press