Monday 10 March 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Search for Malaysia jet widens as frustrations grow

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KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The desperate search for a Malaysian jet that vanished with 239 people aboard was significantly expanded Monday with frustrations mounting over the failure to find any trace of the plane.The initial zone spread over a 50-nautical mile (92-kilometre) radius around the point where Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the South China Sea in the early hours of Saturday morning, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.Malaysian authorities announced they were doubling the size of the search area to 100 nautical miles.The area of search has been expanded in the South China Sea, Civil Aviation Department chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters.He also confirmed the area now covers land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast and an area to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.The vast stretch under consideration reflects authorities' bafflement over the disappearance of the aircraft, with 40 ships and more than 30 planes finding no sign of it.Emotions were running high as Beijing blamed Kuala Lumpur for a lack of information, while tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers aboard voiced frustration with all sides of the response effort.China said Malaysia needed to step up its efforts after authorities admitted they were mystified.The Malaysian side cannot shirk its responsibilities, the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist Party, wrote in a scathing editorial. The initial response from Malaysia was not swift enough.A day of conflicting information deepened the anguish of relatives, with tests on oil slicks in the South China Sea showing they were not from the Boeing 777 and reports of possible debris from the flight proving to be false alarms.Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said that a pilot on a flight from the southern Chinese city to Kuala Lumpur had reported seeing large debris while flying over Vietnamese waters in the latest sighting to be investigated.Malaysia has launched a terror probe after at least two of the passengers were found to have travelled on stolen passports. Two European names -- Christian Kozel, an Austrian, and Luigi Maraldi of Italy -- were listed on the passenger list, but neither man boarded the plane.Both had their passports stolen in Thailand in the last two years and questions swirled over how the two passengers using their documents managed to board the flight. The United States has sent an FBI team to help investigate, but US officials stressed there was as yet no evidence of terrorism. On Monday, the US Navy sent a second ship to the South China Sea to help in the search.Malaysia's police chief said one of the passengers had been identified, but gave no further details. Azharuddin, the head of the Civil Aviation Department, said the two men were not of Asian appearance, contrary to previous reports.But he had few answers to the burning questions over what happened.Asked whether it was possible the plane had been hijacked or disintegrated mid-air, he said nothing could be ruled out.We are looking at every aspect of what could have happened, he said.This unprecedented missing aircraft mystery -- it is mystifying and we are increasing our efforts to do what we have to do.At a Beijing hotel, Malaysian embassy officials were processing visa applications for families wanting to take up an offer from Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to travel to Kuala Lumpur to be closer to the rescue operations.Scores of relatives made their way into the room, some in groups of five or six, clutching handkerchiefs and wiping away tears.Late on Monday some family members arrived at Beijing's international airport in a small white bus, witnesses at the scene told AFP.The bus arrived ahead of a 1:30 a.m. flight to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday that some family members had been expected to board. However, there was no confirmation of their travel plans.

Snowden: NSA leaks fueled needed debate on spying

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said Monday he has no regrets over his leaks about mass surveillance programs, saying they sparked a needed public debate on spying and data collection.Snowden, who spoke via video link from Russia to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, said he revealed the programs of the US National Security Agency and other such services to foster a better civic understanding about what had been secret programs.He said his decision to leak documents to journalists wasn't so I could single handedly change the government; what I wanted to do was inform the public so they could provide their consent to what we should do.Snowden, a former NSA contractor who has been in hiding in Russia and has been charged in the United States with espionage, maintained that every society in the world has benefited from the debate on surveillance.Regardless of what happens to me, this is something we have a right to know, he said on the link with members of the American Civil Liberties Union, who noted that the hookup was routed through seven proxy servers to keep his location secure.Snowden, who appeared against a backdrop of a giant copy of the US constitution, said the NSA programs have fundamentally altered the rights outlined in the charter.The interpretation of the constitution has been changed from 'no unreasonable searches and seizures,' to 'any seizure is fine, just don't search it,' he said.Snowden said he chose to speak to SXSW because he believes it is important to encourage technology companies to make changes to stem mass surveillance.The people who are in the room in Austin right now, they are the folks who can really fix things through technical standards, he said.Snowden said more companies should adopt robust encryption that is built into communications without users having to use complex technical tools.He maintained that if encryption is too complex, people aren't going to use it; it has to happen automatically, it has to happen seamlessly.If online communications are fully encrypted at all stages, Snowden said, bulk data collection would become too difficult for intelligence agencies.He also said the NSA and other agencies have devoted too many resources to this type of bulk collection and not enough to traditional methods to catch criminals and terrorists.We've had tremendous intelligence failures because we are monitoring everybody's communications, instead of suspects, he said.He cited the Boston marathon bombings as an example, saying if we hadn't spent so much on mass surveillance, if we followed traditional models, we might have caught the suspects.One of the questions came via Twitter from Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, who thanked Snowden and asked how to make an intelligence oversight system more accountable.Snowden said the key factor is accountability and that Congress needed a watchdog because it failed to adequately oversee the NSA.We can't have officials who can lie to the Congress and not face any consequences, he said. We need a watchdog that watches Congress.Documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread surveillance of individuals and institutions in the United States and around the world.He received temporary asylum in Russia in August -- a move that infuriated the United States and was a key factor behind President Barack Obama's decision to cancel a summit with counterpart Vladimir Putin last year.

British PM to visit Israel, Palestinian territories: officials

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LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron will make the first visit of his premiership to Israel this week, officials said Monday.Cameron will travel to Israel on Wednesday before holding talks with counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and delivering a keynote speech to Israel's parliament.He will also visit the Palestinian territories and discuss the peace process with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during his two-day trip.The British government has not released any further details of the visit, but the Knesset said in a statement last week that Cameron's address is due to take place on Wednesday.It will be Cameron's first visit to Israel since he was elected to power in 2010, though the Conservative leader did visit while he was in opposition.Cameron had been scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories on February 18 and 19 but stayed in Britain to deal with winter storms and widespread floods which battered the country.There had been speculation he might be forced to postpone again due to a strike by workers at the Israeli foreign ministry.

4,000 Tamils protest in Geneva for Sri Lanka war crimes probe

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GENEVA (AFP) - Thousands of Tamils demonstrated in Geneva on Monday to protest Sri Lanka's rejection of calls for an international probe into alleged war crimes at the end of its civil war.Some 4,000 people, who had come from across Europe by bus and train, marched through Geneva and crowded into the square outside the United Nations' European headquarters, according to Geneva police.The demonstrators blocked traffic through the centre of town and around the central Place des Nations, and police were forced to use pepper spray to contain the situation when protestors began pressing against the security barriers around the United Nations, police spokesman Silvain Guillaume-Gentil told AFP.They waved red and yellow Tamil Tiger flags, posters demanding Justice, and pictures showing victims of the alleged war crimes committed during the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war between Tamil secessionists and the state. The demonstration came during a key annual session of the UN Human Rights Council, which later this month will be asked to consider a US-led draft resolution calling for an international investigation into allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed after government forces ordered them into a no-fire zone in 2009.Colombo has flatly rejected the draft resolution and the report by UN chief Navi Pillay on which it was based as an unwarranted interference, and President Mahinda Rajapakse has accused Washington of treating Colombo like Muhammad Ali's punching bag.Sri Lanka has previously said it needs more time to address issues of accountability and reconciliation after ending the 37-year conflict, which according to UN estimates claimed at least 100,000 lives.

Paris, still the world's no.1 tourist destination

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PARIS (AFP) - Paris was once again last year the world's top tourist destination, the regional tourism body said on Monday, citing hotel occupancies.Despite some tough global economic conditions, it said 2013 was a very good year for tourism in Paris and the surrounding Ile-de-France region, with foreign visitors at the highest level in 10 years.The nearly 15.5 million foreign visitors to the French capital represented an 8.2 percent increase from 2012. The largest number (2.1 million) came across the Channel from Britain, followed by the Americans, Germans, Italians and Chinese.It also marked the first time the Chinese topped the list of tourists from Asia with 881,000 flocking to Paris, surpassing the Japanese.There was also a nearly 21-percent increase in visitors from the Middle East, according to the Ile-de-France Regional Tourism Committee.Ironically, it was the French themselves who seemed less enthusiastic about visiting their world famous capital last year, with the number of French tourists in Parisian hotels dropping by 7.5 percent from 2012.

Tennis: Murray passes Vesely test, Federer wins

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray survived the determined challenge of young Czech Jiri Vesely to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells ATP Masters on Monday.Murray, formerly ranked world number two but currently sixth, had to rally in the second and third sets to defeat the 20-year-old, 77th-ranked Vesely 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4, and the Scot dubbed it a frustrating match.Whether it was the beginning or the end, it was that sort of match where at no stage did either of us play well at the same time, said Murray, who raced to a 3-0 lead but then withered after a break of serve boosted Vesely's confidence.I started the match well, he started off the match badly. He missed a lot of easy shots, and then he started playing consistent, not making errors, and I started missing.Murray has been seeking a return to form after back surgery in September, but said his fitness and health weren't a factor in his difficulties against Vesely.The Scot was unable to serve out the first set at 5-4 and was broken six times by the Czech, who admitted that he lost his focus when he felt he had a chance to notch such a big win.It was mentally very, very hard to stay focused and to go point by point, said Vesely, who saved three match points in the 10th game of the third set before his 11th double fault gave Murray a fourth chance.Murray was happy to win, even if he wasn't satisfied with his game.It's good to have the chance to play another match here and hopefully put in a better performance, he said.Seventh-seeded Roger Federer, a four-time champion at Indian Wells, also booked his fourth-round berth with a 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/2) victory over 27th-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov.Top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal was also in action on Monday, taking on Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.The winner of that match will face Italian Fabio Fognini, who emerged with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over France's Gael Monfils -- who double-faulted on two match points when serving for the contest at 5-4 in the third.

Tennis: Li reaches Indian Wells 4th round

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Australian Open champion Li Na booked her fourth-round berth at the Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters hardcourt tournament Monday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.Li, the world number two and the top women's seed in the California desert, is seeking her third title of 2014.She lifted the trophy in Shenzhen in her native China before claiming the second Grand Slam crown of her career in Melbourne in January.Li said she was surprised by 67th-ranked Pliskova's big serve in their first WTA meeting, but she held on to win in one hour and 21 minutes.She will play the winner of the match between Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak and 21st-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Football: Brazil lauds World Cup stadium in the Amazon

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Acknowledging teething problems, Brazil on Monday lauded the Arena Amazonia in Manaus after the stadium became the eighth World Cup venue to be inaugurated.The brand new 44,000 arena came through its opening test overnight as 23,000 people attended a regional cup encounter between two local sides.Brazil fought to have the Amazon region included as one of 12 venues despite Manaus having no top football club, raising fears the ground might become a white elephant after it hosts four World Cup opening phase games.The first sees four-time champions Italy take on 1966 winners England on June 14.But the $279 million construction has been a four-year operation which has cost three workers their lives in on-site accidents in the city lying at the heart of the Amazonian rainforest.Minister for Sport Aldo Rebelo was enthusiastic after Sunday's game saw the spectacular venue, in the form of a woven basket typical of the region, hold its first game. It is spectacular for the Amazonas (region) and for Brazil, Rebelo said. This game proved the stadium is able to host matches. Congratulations are in order.Rebelo stressed the importance of including the region despite its lack of footballing tradition as the Amazon covers more than half of Brazilian territory.The venue still is only officially 97 percent complete, leading the media to focus in on teething problems such as some seats still smeared with cement and malfunctioning air conditioning units.Officials admitted there was no time to rest after the milestone of a first game at the stadium, which after hosting Italy and England will also welcome Croatia v Cameroon, Portugal v United States and Switzerland v Honduras.We had various problems which we must put right, said the city's World Cup coordinator Miguel Capobiango.We had some leaks in the box seats and problems with air conditioning not working, Capobiango admitted.Amazon regional governor Omar Aziz insisted that only minor details needed to be finished off.We fulfilled our agreement with FIFA and now some details need to be ironed out, Aziz said.With the start of the competition now less than 100 days away, Porto Alegre is the next stadium set for delivery next month -- last month it enjoyed a symbolic inauguration with President Dilma Rousseff attending.But Curitiba's Arena de Baixada, Cuiaba's Arena Pantanal and Sao Paulo's Corinthians Arena still have building work ongoing.Sao Paulo will stage the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12 but an accident in late November which killed two workmen means delivery has been put back until mid-April.

Cycling: Hofland wins Paris-Nice second stage

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SAINT-GEORGES-SUR-BAULCHE (AFP) - Dutch rider Moreno Hofland won a sprint finish for the 205km second stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race to Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche in Burgundy on Monday.The 22-year-old crossed ahead of Germany's John Degenkolb, already second on Sunday, and France's Nacer Bouhanni, winner of the first stage.Bouhanni leads the overall standings with a two-second advantage on Degenkolb and Hofland now 4sec off the leader.Last week it was special to be in front with the favourites at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, said the winner, who finished second to one-day classic specialist Tom Boonen in the Belgian race.Today it's even better to beat them. I was badly placed with 1.2km left, in about 30th position.I thought it was over but then with a teammate, I threaded my way through and got back up, I still don't know how.I found myself on Degenkolb's wheel and I made my move 300m out.Bouhanni said he was still feeling the effects of the crash he suffered on Sunday's opening stage, when he crossed the finish line with his knee covered in blood.I struggled especially in the first 100km when my knee was still cold but after that I got better and better, said the 23-year-old overall leader, the French champion in 2012.In any case, it didn't affect me in the sprint. I was just lacking a bit of strength in the final 200m against Degenkolb.The Frenchman might have lost the overall lead but for a disastrous final 11km for Belgian Gianni Meersman.The Omega-Pharma Quick Step rider had picked up enough bonus seconds in intermediate sprints along the stage to make him the virtual leader but a crash 11km from home cost him dearly.He made it back to the peloton for the final sprint but was deemed to have done so only thanks to getting an illegal tow from his team car, and organisers hit him with a 1min 10sec penalty that dropped him outside the top 100.In sunny conditions, French rider Anthony Delaplace and Latvia's Aleksejs Saramotins led a long breakaway of over 200km after taking the lead just 2.5km after the race got underway at Rambouillet, outside Paris.Delaplace pulled ahead with 12km to go but Saramotins resisted until the final 3km.The pair had built up a lead of nearly 11 minutes on the peloton controled by Bouhanni's FDJ team and then Omega Pharma, whose chase proved ultimately futile.Tuesday's 180km third stage will run between Toucy and the Magny-Cours circuit.

Elephants can tell difference between human languages

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - African elephants can differentiate between human languages and move away from those considered a threat, a skill they have honed to survive in the wild, researchers said Monday.The study suggests elephants, already known to be intelligent creatures, are even more sophisticated than previously believed when it comes to understanding human dangers.African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest land animals on Earth and are considered a vulnerable species due to habitat loss and illegal hunting for their ivory tusks.Researchers played recordings of human voices for elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya to see how they would respond, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Some of the voices were from local Maasai men, a group that herds cattle and sometimes comes into conflict with elephants over access to water and grazing space. Occasionally, elephants are killed in clashes with Maasai men, and vice-versa.Other recorded voices were from Kamba men, who tend to be farmers or employees of the national park, and who rarely represent a danger to elephants.Still other voices tested on the elephants included female Maasai speakers and young boys.All were saying the same phrase: Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming.The recorded voices were played for hundreds of elephants across 47 family groups during daylight hours.When elephants heard the adult male Maasai voices, they tended to gather together, start investigative smelling with their trunks, and move cautiously away.But when elephants heard females, boys, or adult male Kamba speakers, they did not show concern.The ability to distinguish between Maasai and Kamba men delivering the same phrase in their own language suggests that elephants can discriminate between different languages, said co-author Graeme Shannon, a visiting fellow in psychology at the University of Sussex.That is not the same as understanding what the words mean, but still shows that elephants can decipher the more sing-songy Maasai language from the Kamba tongue, perhaps based on inflections, use of vowels, and other cues.It is very sophisticated what the elephants are doing, said Keith Lindsay, a conservation biologist and member of the scientific advisory committee of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project.A lot of animals will take flight at just the general threat posed by people, but a smart animal doesnt do that, he told AFP.Their response to hearing Maasai men talking was to be alert, to move away, but not to run away in total fear, added Lindsay, who was not involved in the study.It is suggesting that elephants are capable of thinking, (of) recognizing that if Maasai men are talking, they are not likely to be hunting because if they were hunting, they would be quiet.Elephant groups with older matriarchs in their midst did best at assessing the threat from different speakers, further bolstering the presumed role of learning in the animals behavior.The elephants also did not act the same way as they did when recordings of lions were played, as was shown in a previous study.In those scenarios, they bunched together so that juveniles -- those most at risk from a lion attack -- were in the center, and moved toward the sounds as if to scare the lion away.When it comes to recognizing people, elephants may not be alone in this ability. Other research has suggested that wild bottlenose dolphins in Brazil have become so familiar with humans that they engage in cooperative hunting with artisanal fisherman.Great apes, crows and even prairie dogs have also been shown to differentiate between humans on some level.A separate study published last month in the journal PLoS ONE showed elephants even have specific alarm calls for when humans are near, suggesting the relationship between people and elephants has reached a troubling point and that conservation efforts are more important than ever.We have become a formal enemy of the elephants, said Lori Marino, an expert on animal intelligence at Emory University.They can not only make some distinctions between us, but we are now on their list of species to watch out for.

World Bank ready to provide $3 billion aid to Ukraine

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The World Bank said Monday it is prepared to offer $3 billion in aid to Ukraine this year to support economic reforms and development by its beleaguered new interim governmentThe Bank received a request from the Kiev authorities, which took power last month after Ukraine's former Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.We are committed to supporting the people of Ukraine in these difficult times and very much hope that the situation in the country stabilizes soon, Bank president Jim Yong Kim said.We are moving forward with our pipeline of projects and aim to support the government to undertake the reforms badly needed to put the economy on a path to sustainability.The bank said the Ukraine economy faces some serious challenges that will require urgent action in the short term, as well as sustained reform over the longer term.It said the key priorities are restoring macroeconomic stability, shoring up the country's banks, reforming to the energy sector and seriously tackling corruption.The $3 billion for 2014 would be in addition to an ongoing multiyear Bank investment and guarantee program in Ukraine that totals about $3.7 billion and supports development of crucial infrastructure such as the water supply, sanitation, power and roads.The World Bank offer comes amid a growing effort involving at least the International Monetary Fund, the United States, and European powers to help strengthen the new authorities in Ukraine.Washington has already offered $1 billion in loan guarantees and last week European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso announced aid of at least 11 billion euros ($15.3 billion).The IMF has been pushed into the forefront of efforts in part to ensure the country undertakes adequate and transparent reforms to its finances and institutions.After two days of talks with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his economic team, IMF European Department Director Reza Moghadam said Friday he was positively impressed with their sense of responsibility and commitment to economic reform.The IMF stands ready to help the people of Ukraine and support the authorities' economic program to put Ukraine firmly on the path of good economic governance and sustainable growth while protecting the poor and vulnerable.Yatsenyuk said he inherited a government with virtually empty coffers and dangerously low reserves.

Oil prices drop after weak Chinese trade data

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Global oil prices fell Monday as weak Chinese trade data stoked concerns over demand in the world's second largest economy.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April, sank $1.46 cents to $101.12 a barrel.And in London Brent North Sea crude for April fell 92 cents to stand at $108.08 a barrel in London deals.The sharp decline in Chinese exports in February is fueling fears that the global economy could be slowing down, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.That said, the February data are distorted by the Chinese New Year celebrations, meaning that the situation will only become really clear once the figures for March have been published.Chinese official figures released Saturday that showed the world's second biggest economy recorded an unexpected $22.98 billion trade deficit in February.The figure compared with what analysts expected would be a surplus of $11.9 billion.Any time there are concerns about China's growth and the numbers point that way, that will obviously put downward pressure on oil prices, especially Brent prices, David Lennox, resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, told AFP.Investors continue to keep a close watch on the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, as pro-Russian activists clashed with pro-Kiev supporters in mass rallies across the ex-Soviet state Sunday.Meanwhile in Libya authorities stopped a North Korean-flagged tanker as it left a rebel-held port on Monday with an illegal shipment of crude, a military source said.

Dollar, euro hold steady amid Ukraine worries

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar traded virtually unchanged against the euro and yen Monday amid fresh worries about the Japanese and Chinese economies and ongoing tensions in Ukraine.At 2100 GMT the euro was at $1.3875, compared to $1.3874 late Friday. The dollar bought 103.26 yen, barely up from 103.24, while the euro was at 143.28 yen, compared to 143.31 yen Friday.The greenback was flat against the Swiss franc. at 0.8777 franc per dollar.Only the British pound among majors changed much: falling to $1.6642 from $1.6711 against the greenback.Earlier, a lowered estimate of Japan's fourth quarter growth, and weak inflation and trade data in China, boosted concerns about their ability to help the global economy strengthen.The march toward a secession vote showdown in Ukraine's Crimea also left traders cautious.

England's Root out of World Twenty20

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LONDON (AFP) - England batsman Joe Root will miss the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and be replaced by Ian Bell, the International Cricket Council announced on Monday.Rising Yorkshire star Root, 23, broke his thumb batting against the West Indies in last weeks one-day international in Antigua and England officials have decided he will not recover in time for the World Twenty20, which starts on Sunday.Bell, who replaced Root in the Caribbean, has now been granted approval by the ICC to be included in the England squad.The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 has approved Ian Bell as a replacement player for Joe Root in the England mens squad for the tournament that will be staged in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April, a statement from the global governing body said.Bell has represented England in seven Twenty20 internationals, in which he has scored 175 runs at an average of just under 30.Englands opening World Twenty20 group match is against New Zealand on March 20.Before then they conclude a three-match series against reigning World Twenty20 champions the West Indies in Barbados with fixtures on Tuesday and Thursday.England lost the first match of the series, also at Barbados Kensington Oval, by 27 runs on Sunday.Stuart Broad, Englands Twenty20 captain, will miss the remainder of the West Indies series after suffering a knee injury but the fast bowling all-rounder said Sunday he expected to be fully recovered in time for Bangladesh.

Cuban revolutionary heroine Melba Hernandez dies

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HAVANA (AFP) - Cuban revolutionary heroine Melba Hernandez, one of only two women to accompany Fidel Castro in a 1953 assault widely seen as the start of the countrys communist revolution, has died, official media reported Monday. She was 92.Hernandez died late Sunday in Havana following complications from diabetes from which she suffered for many years, state-run newspaper Granma reported.Hernandez participated in the famed Moncada Barracks assault in which a young Castro and more than 100 rebels attempted to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.The bid was unsuccessful, but Castro eventually toppled Batista in 1959, launching the Americas only communist regime.Hernandez, a lawyer by training, and Haydee Santamaria were among the first women to join Castros fight and the only to participate in the July 26, 1953 assault in the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba.After the assaults failure, Hernandez was arrested and later released in February, 1954.Melba held a critical role in the compiling and editing of notes Fidel took in prison, then in their clandestine printing and distribution, Granma said.From Mexico, she also participated in preparations for Castros 1956 expedition in which he set out for Cuba with a small band of 80 militants on a dilapidated yacht called Granma, launching the guerrilla campaign that she would subsequently rejoin.After the revolutions success, Hernandez helped found Cubas Communist Party, serving most notably as a deputy and ambassador to Vietnam.Hernandez had asked to be cremated and that her ashes go to the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago de Cuba with the other Moncada Barracks assailants, Granma said.
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