Alleged mastermind of 2001 attacks refuses to play any part as proceedings open at Guantanamo military tribunal

The Lucky One (101 mins, 12A)

Two actors from a prize-winning film about Cuban defectors have emerged from hiding to confirm that they themselves are seeking political asylum in the US.

A healthy-sounding President Hugo Chavez called Venezuelan state television from Cuba yesterday to dispel rumours fanned by a nine-day silence that he had died undergoing cancer treatment at a hospital in Havana.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has been out of sight for a week, speaking only through Twitter messages and written statements while undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba.

Hugo Chavez thrives on drama. After coming to power thirteen years ago, the former military officer has survived a coup, likened a US president to the devil and used a combination of charisma and oil revenues to sweep away all serious opposition. But today his raging invincibility is in doubt.

For the first time since the 1959 coup, Cubans are able to buy and sell property, set up businesses and farm their own land. Could these new liberties signal a move towards a free-market economy? Don't count on it, says Margareta Pagano.

Accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four suspected co-conspirators were directed today to stand trial before a Guantanamo war crimes tribunal on charges that could carry the death penalty, the Pentagon said.

Hope of political reforms dismissed as Benedict XVI meets Raul Castro on tour of the island

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, gently pressing the island's long-time communist leaders to push through "legitimate" reforms their people desire.

Cuban authorities detained a prominent dissident and dozens of her colleagues, then rounded up more activists while they staged a weekly protest march through Havana just days before a visit by Pope Benedict XVI.

Raymond Scott, who died on 14 March, was a flamboyant antiques dealer who was jailed for handling a stolen first edition of Shakespeare's plays. Scott, who passed himself off as a wealthy playboy before his conviction, was pronounced dead after being found unconscious in his cell at Northumnberland Prison, where he was serving an eight-year sentence.

Hot Wire opens like gangbusters with the one-two punch of "Duty to the Debtor" and "Little Man", surely the best opening ever to a Hue and Cry album; but by the end, the impact has been dissipated by a little too much polemic, a few too many languid funk moves, and a drab attempt at emulating Steely Dan.

'Sweet moment' for Cuban-born athlete as she finally tastes success for Britain in triple-jump