Wife of Cuba's Acting Leader Dies at 77

HAVANA - Vilma Espin Guillois, the wife of acting President Raul Castro and one of the communist nation's most politically powerful women, died Monday, the Cuban government announced. She was 77.

As Raul Castro's wife, Espin was Cuba's de facto first lady for decades because Cuban leader Fidel Castro is divorced.

Cuban state television announced Espin died at 4:14 p.m. EDT Monday following a long undisclosed illness. An official mourning period was declared from 8 p.m. Monday until 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Born into a wealthy family in eastern Cuba, Espin became a young urban rebel who battled against Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship throughout the 1950s. After the 1959 …

Rajasthan beats Bangalore by 7 wickets in IPL

Naman Ojha hit an unbeaten 52 Thursday to guide the Rajasthan Royals to a seven-wicket win with five overs remaining against the Bangalore Royals Challengers in the Indian Premier League.

The 20-year-old Indian blasted three boundaries and three sixes in 38 balls as Rajasthan reached 107-3 after Bangalore was bowled out for 105 on the last ball of its innings at Centurion Park.

"I thought we batted extremely well and executed the chase well too," Rajasthan captain Shane Warne said, adding of his team: "It's mixing up nicely. The young players and the experienced guys are getting on well, which is the idea of this whole IPL."

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Get ready for more promising sets

And the hits keep coming. . . . The highly promising boxed setsI've only begun to dip into include:

Les Paul, "The Legend and the Legacy" (Capitol); Jimi Hendrix,"Stages '67-'70" (Reprise/Warner Bros.); Howlin' Wolf, "The ChessBox" (MCA); Benny Goodman, "The Birth of Swing" (RCA/Bluebird);Aerosmith, "Pandora's Box" (Columbia/Legacy); King Crimson, "TheEssential King Crimson/ Frame by Frame" (Editions EG); the Monkees,"Listen to the Band" (Rhino), and Glenn Miller, "The Complete GlennMiller and his Orchestra (1938-1940) …

African Bank: Unrest in north has hit growth

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The turmoil in North Africa has hit growth across the continent but may be prompting important indirect political changes, the chief economist of the Africa Development Bank said Monday.

In a speech, Mthuli Ncube said the unrest in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia is likely to reduce economic growth in North Africa this year to 0.7 percent from 4.7 percent last year. Overall, Africa's growth is estimated at 3.7 percent in 2011, down from 4.9 percent last year.

Further south, Ncube said economies have been affected by a drop in money sent home by Africans from elsewhere on the continent who had been working in North Africa. Niger, for example, had 200,000 citizens …

With the big cat away, Garcia primed to capture his first major

In betting parlors and inside the ropes, Sergio Garcia has never had greater odds of winning a major.

No one has more top-10 finishes in the British Open this decade than Garcia, who has gone into the final round within four shots of the lead six times in the last seven years. He is considered among the best ball-strikers in golf. He is not lacking imagination or creativity for the variety of shots required on links courses.

And it sure doesn't hurt that Tiger Woods isn't around.

"When you don't have the No. 1 player in the world playing here _ and, obviously, we know how good he is and how well he's done in the majors _ it gives you a little …

Fireworks, garden party and ceilidh A Massive community festival is planned for Aberdeen - as thousands of energy industry bigwigs prepare to descend on the city.

A Massive community festival is planned for Aberdeen - asthousands of energy industry bigwigs prepare to descend on the city.

The Energy Festival is being held to coincide with Offshore Europein September.

Alongside all the conferences, seminars and exhibitions, therewill be a huge marquee set up in Union Terrace Gardens with livemusic and other entertainment.

And a traditional Scottish Ceilidh will be held at Aberdeen'sMusic Hall on September 5.

The events will culminate in a fireworks display and carnival heldat Codona's Amusement Park at Aberdeen Fun Beach.

The council's deputy leader Kevin Stewart said: "There is a largeamount of visitors …

Visitors center in danger of closing

Several years ago, the businesses in Myerstown took up a collection to build a visitors center in the small town. A local hotel owner donated the land, and volunteers built the center off Interstate 78 and Route 501 in Lebanon County.

The center, owned and operated by the Hershey-Capital Region Visitors Bureau, opened in 2000. Now, the bureau says the center isn't receiving enough visitors to justify the expense of keeping it open.

Talk of closing the center has faced with stiff opposition. If the center closes, Lebanon County Commissioner Bill Carpenter said the county would withdraw from the bureau and take its $90,000 in hotel taxes.

The issue was expected to be …