The Cuban government on Saturday rejected a U.S. decision to keep Cuba on its blacklist of countries that allegedly support terrorism and accused Washington of sheltering the "real terrorists."

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the U.S. does not have "the least moral authority or right whatsoever" to judge Cuba, citing the case of a Cuba-born former CIA operative wanted for a string of bombings and residing in Miami.

The United States retained Iran and its ally Syria as well as Sudan and Cuba on a list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism Thursday, after blacklisting the countries the previous year.

In an annual report, the State Department said "Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010," citing "financial, material and logistic support" for militant groups in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday the cancer he has been battling has not spread, but admitted the chemotherapy treatment he is receiving had left him weakened.

"Chemotherapy hits hard," Chavez said in comments late Tuesday, noting that his body's defenses were down and that he had "areas of weakness" due to treatment he has been receiving in Cuba.

Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro turns 85 on Saturday amid celebrations in his honor that he so far failed to attend.

Cuba has been partying since Tuesday, with concerts, ballet performances and art exhibitions organized on behalf of the man who led the island nation for nearly 50 years before ill health led him to cede power to his brother Raul in 2006.

The currents in the Florida Straits finally proved stronger than the determination that had pushed Diana Nyad across vast stretches of open water before.

Nyad, 61, stroked through shoulder pain and floated on her back when asthma made it difficult for her to breathe on the attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West that she began Sunday.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that he has asked legislators to give him permission to return to Cuba for a second round of chemotherapy for his cancer.

The National Assembly's secretariat announced that the body would hold a special session Saturday to vote on authorization for Chavez to leave the country.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavezsang, danced and said he intends to stay in power for two more decades as he celebrated his 57th birthday looking ahead to months of cancer treatment.

Chavez rallied a crowd of cheering supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace on Thursday, waving a large Venezuelan flag and briefly wrapping himself in it. He said he expects to lose his hair soon as a result of chemotherapy and that a long process of treatment lies ahead.

Perched on a wooden dais in front of 600 workers rolling Cuba's legendary cigars, Grisel reads aloud -- poems, novels and even sex tips from the newspaper -- keeping workers entertained, their attention rapt, just the way it has been done for 150 years.

Grisel, 55, a petite former teacher who wears reading glasses she adjusts frequently, may have a job that predates electricity.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has returned home after receiving cancer treatment in Cuba, said in an interview published Monday that he will seek "with more strength than before" his re-election to the presidency in 2012.

"I have medical, scientific, human, romantic and political reasons to continue to lead the government and pursue the candidacy with more strength than before," Chavez told Correo del Orinoco newspaper.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday he has finished his "first cycle" of chemotherapy in Cuba and will begin the second of various phases of treatment.

Chavez vowed to overcome his cancer, saying he is confident of winning re-election next year and staying in power for at least six more years. He spoke in a telephone call carried live on state television during a speech by his vice president, Elias Jaua.