ARGENTINA: Banks Offer Free Accounts As Stickups Surge.

BLOOMBERG/     Robberies of people leaving banks, known as “salideras,” are on the rise, up 24% so far and already more than all of 2009.
    Because of rising crime, the central bank introduced regulations this week to encourage use of the financial system instead of cash for real estate, cars and other big-ticket items. Banks must now offer free accounts and keep charges low.
      Historically Argentines have a “cultural” mistrust of banks thanks to a history of losing bank savings. “Argentines are notoriously adverse to bank transactions,” said a bank analyst. “About 80 percent of all savings are in dollars in Argentina, some in local banks, some in foreign banks and a lot ‘under the mattress.’”

CUBA: TV Series on Fidel Castro Assassination Attempts.

LAHT/    Cuban state television has begun airing an 8-part series about attempts to murder strongman Fidel Castro. Called "El que deber vivir," it examines some of the alleged 638 attempts to kill him. The first 70-minute prime-time episode was broadcast Sunday and covered the earliest attempts before Castro's rebel forces defeated dictator Fulgencio Batista’s army in 1959.