Cuba seeks to buy US materials for Ike recovery

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba has asked for trade bans to be lifted so it can buy American materials to help in recovery efforts after Hurricane Ike. But it has turned down a U-S offer to send Cuba $100,000 in emergency aid.
    Ike damaged 200,000 homes before it left Cuba Tuesday. And earlier this month, Hurricane Gustav damaged more than 100,000 homes.
    But the possiblity of U.S. aid to Cuba is complicated by a half-century standoff between the two countries, which includes a broad U.S. trade embargo.
    Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has rejected the idea of lifting any aspect of the embargo.
    For the second time, Cuba also turned down a U-S offer to send a disaster assessment team to the island. Cuba insisted it could handle the damage assessment on its own.
    The Foreign Ministry accused the U-S government of acting “cynically,“ saying it assists many other countries without sending inspection teams to tour them.