Addressing the nation on the 51st anniversary of the Cuban revolution, Castro said the accusations were aimed at justifying steps taken by the Bush administration last month to undermine Cuba's economy and to restrict visits and cash remittances from Cubans in the United States.

Since the victory of the Cuban revolution, 90 percent of the Cubans leaving the country have gone to the United States legally and the Cuban government never obstructed them. But the US government has instigated illegal immigration and regards the immigrants as refugees, he said.

Before Cuba's revolution, about 100,000 women were involved in prostitution because of poverty, discrimination and unemployment, but since 1959, the Cuban government has banned all prostitution and educated and given jobs to women, the Cuban leader stressed.

On May 6, Bush announced visit and remittance restrictions on Cuban Americans while increasing funds to support anti-Cuban activities to fulfill his goal of overthrowing the Cuban government.

Cubans held mass rallies on May 14 and June 21 respectively, protesting the US government's charges after it issued a report accusing the Cuban government of promoting sex tourism and human trafficking.
 

Colombian president condemns bishop kidnapping
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday condemned the kidnapping of the bishop of Yopal by the country's second largest rebel group and promised to carry out operations to rescue him.

The bishop, Misael Vaca, was kidnapped on Sunday in a rural area of the Boyaca department near Yopal, capital of the northeastern Casanare department. According to church sources, the kidnappers claimed to be members of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

"We are all for a prompt return of bishop Misael Vaca to freedom," the president said on Monday at a government meeting at the city of Pereira, in central-western Colombia.

Uribe said he had talked about the incident with army commander, Martin Carreno, and police director, Jorge Castro, and officials have taken every possible measure to rescue him.

Meanwhile, the Episcopate of the Catholic Church of Colombia called for the respect of the life of the bishop and demanded an immediate release.

The occurrence of kidnapping has been frequent in Colombia, 3,000 cases a year on average. They are mostly conducted by illegal armed groups.
 

Former adviser denies Peruvian president's involvement in bribery
Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo's former adviser on Monday denied a report that the president had received a bribe of 5 million US dollars from a Colombian brewery company.

Peru's weekly magazine, Caretas, reported on Monday that Toledo's former adviser Cesar Almeyda told its reporters a company paid Toledo 5 million dollars in exchange for favors.

The money was deposited in the accounts of Toledo and his wife Eliane Karp in Luxembourg, where the First Lady's brother, Michel Karp, was the consul, Almeyda told the magazine from jail in an interview in February.

However, Almeyda, who is awaiting trial on separate corruption charges, denied on Monday the president's involvement in the bribe case, and said the magazine's "interpretation" was "journalistic speculation."

The Colombian company, Bavaria, had not been pressured by the president to give bribe in exchange for the control of beer in the Peruvian market, Almeyda said in a statement released on Monday.

Toledo also denied the bribe report and promised access to his bank accounts both in Peru and abroad if investigators wanted to probe them.

Almeyda was put in jail for having offered judicial favors to late general Oscar Villanueva, who was close to former president Fujimori's adviser Vladimiro Montesinos.

With three years in presidency, Toledo currently faces an approval rate of only 6-9 percent.
 

France approves cooperation agreement with Colombia
The French government approved an agreement of cooperation with Colombia on Monday in the combat against terrorism, international crime, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and money laundering.

The cooperation will allow improving the general level of personnel formation and facilitate the exchange of information and experiences, the French government said Monday at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting.

Under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate in improving the legal regulations in Colombia on the above issues.

Colombia is plagued by internal armed conflicts between illegal groups financed by drug traffickers.
 

Six injured in explosion at McDonald fast food restaurant in Mexico
At lease six people were wounded on Monday in an explosion at a McDonald fast-food restaurant in the capital city of Mexico.

The police said the explosion occurred at 10:00 (1500 GMT) apparently due to gas leak.

The injured, including three employees and three pedestrians, were rushed to a nearby hospital, police said.