Havana - The Cuban government evacuated areas of the country's west as hurricane Gustav approached, prompting authorities in the island country elevate to the highest state of readiness.

According to Cuban state television, cities and communities from Pinar del Rio in the furthermost west of the country to the capital Havana were taking all preparations necessary to protect the population against the hurricane, which had reached winds of up to 140 kilometres per hour.

Weather services anticipate that Gustav would reach Cuba by Saturday afternoon.

Havana - Cuban president Raul Castro said Saturday that the communist island will not "neglect" its defence regardless of who becomes the next US president after the November election.

"The defence will not be neglected regardless of the results of the next presidential elections in the United Sates," Castro said during the 55th anniversary of Fidel Castro's first attempt to topple Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship, the central festivity of the Cuban revolution.

Havana - The characteristic roar of engines heralds the arrival of the coveted Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Slowly, pairs of proud riders parade down Havana's Malecon outside the US Interests Section and the statue of Cuban independence hero, Jose Marti, who points an accusing finger at the representatives of the empire.

Harley Davidson may be one of the symbols of the "American way of life" that Cuba so despises, but passion for these vehicles knows neither boundaries nor ideologies and is so deeply entrenched in the hearts of Cubans that the stir caused is considered compatible with being a good "revolutionary."

Havana  - Cuba's retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro greeted the liberation

Havanna/Luanda  - Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said "reason" had triumphed as he welcomed the European Union 's lifting of sanctions.

Havana - Fidel Castro Friday added his voice of condemnation of the European Union for the "discredited way" in which it lifted sanctions against Cuba, saying he "despised" the "huge hypocrisy" of