Obama will not meet Fidel Castro on trip

WASHINGTON • The White House has ruled out an encounter between President Barack Obama and Fidel Castro in Cuba this month and is confident the Cuban government will not create obstacles to a meeting between Mr Obama and dissidents in Havana, a top adviser says.

Mr Obama plans to hold talks with Cuban President Raul Castro during his historic March 20-22 visit, but will not meet Mr Castro's brother, who took power in a 1959 revolution and led Cuba for 49 years.

REUTERS

Call to indict Brazil's ex-president for graft

SAO PAULO • Prosecutors in Brazil asked on Wednesday that ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was questioned this week in a huge corruption probe, be placed under formal investigation.

The indictment against the influential leftist leader alleges that he hid ownership of a luxury apartment at a seaside resort in Sao Paulo state, a source in the Sao Paulo prosecutor's office said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE