WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush derided Raul Castro's reforms in Cuba Wednesday, saying if the regime were serious, it would initiate meaningful actions.

Addressing a Washington gathering recognizing the United States' solidarity with Cuba's people, Bush called the reforms announced the Cuban president -- such as allowing Cubans to use mobile phones, have access to computers and be able to buy toasters and other appliances in two years -- "the height of hypocrisy" because they lack real change.

If Cubans can be trusted with mobile phones, Bush said, "they should be trusted to speak freely in public."

Concerning the regime's signing a United Nations treaty on human rights, Bush said Raul Castro -- who took over running the country from his brother Fidel earlier this year -- "hasn't even attempted cosmetic changes."

The document is "a worthless piece of paper," unless Castro stops the "abuse of political dissidents and (releases) all political prisoners," Bush said.

"America refuses to be deceived and so do the Cuban people," he said.

Bush recognized several members of his cabinet and Congress, speaking in Spanish during some introductions.

Directing remarks to potential listeners in Cuba, Bush said, "All things are possible in a free society."

South African army ready to fight attacks

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 21 (UPI) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki approved troop deployments to help stop attacks on migrants that have claimed two dozen lives, his office said Wednesday.

Red Cross officials in South Africa said about 13,000 people have been displaced since the violence began last week, CNN reported.

Many of the victims are Zimbabweans and others from neighboring countries who have fled to South Africa for political or economic reasons.

The violence began in Johannesburg's Alexandra Township, police said, and has spread. Reports indicate mobs shoot, beat and burned some victims.

Some said the attacks stem from long-held feelings that the number of immigrants coming into the country results in shortages of jobs and essential needs, CNN reported.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu and Mbeki have both appealed for an end to the violence.

Chertoff calls border fence a useful tool

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Homeland Security (OTCBB:HSCC) Secretary Michael Chertoff called the fence being built along the U.S.-Mexico border a valuable tool in curbing illegal immigration.

In an interview with The New York Times (NYSE:NYT), Chertoff said the controversial border fence itself was not the ultimate answer to illegal immigration; however it was by no means a waste of resources.

"It is a useful tool that makes it more difficult for people to cross," Chertoff said Tuesday. "It is one of a number of tools we have, and you've got to use all of the tools."

Chertoff was responding to the latest legal challenge to the 670-mile fence project. The Texas Border Coalition filed a lawsuit Friday contending that the Department of Homeland Security failed to negotiate with local authorities and property owners in Texas before starting construction.

The organization, which includes border city mayors and other elected officials, told The Times that the fence project was pushed through without enough study and is overall an ineffective means of controlling immigration.

Obama crosshairs photo stirs blogger ire

ROSWELL, Ga., May 21 (UPI) -- A Georgia newspaper publisher says he won't be intimidated by the outcry over an illustration showing Barack Obama in the cross hairs of a sniper rifle.

The weekly Roswell Beacon itself became a target of the political blogosphere over the cover art on a story about threats against Obama made by white supremacist groups.

"Good, bad or ugly, we tell the truth," publisher John Fredricks told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday.

The May 15 article was spotted by bloggers who encouraged readers to complain to the Beacon and to its advertisers. Fredricks denounced the move as "liberal blogger thuggery."

DNC panel ponders delegate seating

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Arguments about seating delegates from Michigan and Florida will be presented to the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee.

The panel is scheduled to meet May 31 in Washington to hear all sides regarding how -- or if -- the delegates should be counted during the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. The DNC stripped the states of their delegates -- 210 in Florida and 156 in Michigan -- after the states advanced the dates of their primaries.

Challengers will have 15 minutes each to present their arguments to the committee before it considers the matter, the DNC said Wednesday in a release. Representatives from the state's parties and the presidential campaigns also may address the committee.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who won in both states, has argued that the delegates should be seated at the convention. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was not on the ballot in either state.

Arguments will be heard during the morning and the committee will deliberate during the afternoon, the DNC said.

U.N. chief en route to Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar, May 21 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, en route to Myanmar, said Wednesday that aid to the stricken country "should not be politicized."

Ban said he hoped to meet Thursday with Senior Gen. Than Shwe to convince him to allow assistance from the United Nations and Western countries, The New York Times reported. He said during a stopover in Bangkok that Myanmar is at a "critical moment" following Cyclone Nargis.

"Aid in Myanmar should not be politicized," Ban said. "Our focus now is on saving lives."

The cyclone claimed thousands of lives, with 100,000 people either listed as dead or missing.

Ban is also scheduled to attend a donors meeting Sunday in Yangon.

The military junta that rules Myanmar, the former Burma, has blocked most aid except from other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The general hasn't even been willing to talk to Ban on the telephone.

"The strings attached to the relief supplies carried by warships and military helicopters are not acceptable to the Myamarese people," the official newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, said Wednesday. "We can manage by ourselves. Myanmar has many good neighborly countries."