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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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010989
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01098900.028
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 37 GRAPEVINE
NO CIGAR. Fidel Castro gave up his trademark Havanas in 1985,
but only now has the reason been disclosed: according to Soviet
officials, doctors discovered a small malignancy in a lung. Castro,
62, is under regular treatment that has slowed but not checked the
course of the cancer. His public appearances have become less
frequent, and he seems to have lost weight. Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev, who canceled a trip to Cuba last month after Armenia's
earthquake, wants to reschedule as soon as possible, perhaps as
early as this month. High on Gorbachev's Havana agenda: a
discussion of possible successors to Castro.
THOSE SOUTHERN NIGHTS. Vietnamese officials may not admit it,
but Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has become the country's
unofficial winter capital. Virtually the entire 14-man Politburo,
including 75-year-old General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, prefers
the balmy climate of the former imperialist bastion to the damp
cold of Hanoi, the capital, which is 700 miles to the north. But
the old warriors are careful to maintain appearances: when they
have to receive foreign ministers and issue government
announcements, Politburo members return -- briefly -- to Hanoi.
MR. NICE GUY. Later this year West German Chancellor Helmut
Kohl will launch a program to refurbish U.S. military bases and
improve community relations with American troops in the Federal
Republic. Why is Kohl playing Mr. Nice Guy? Bonn sources say he is
concerned that shabby barracks and lack of contact with German
civilians can turn G.I.s into ambassadors of ill will when they
return home. He also hopes to head off any "German bashing" by Bush
over Bonn's contributions to its own defense.
HOW ABOUT GOLF? Amin Gemayel is a man in search of a purpose.
After his six-year term as President of Lebanon ended in September,
Gemayel left the country because of pressure from the Phalangist
militia once controlled by his murdered brother Bashir. Gemayel is
now staying in Paris, where he receives visitors in a friend's
well-guarded luxury apartment. A wealthy man, Gemayel talks
vaguely of moving to the U.S. and taking English-language courses
at Harvard.