Hurricane Gustav is churning through the Caribbean and is on course to strike south-west Haiti shortly with powerful winds and rain, forecasts say.
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Cuban dissidents warn EU about lifting sanctions ... The US National Hurricane Center said Gustav had winds of 140 km/h (85mph).
Haitian authorities urged people to take precautions amid fears the storm would bring trigger landslides.
Haiti, hit a week ago by a tropical storm that left more than two dozen dead, is vulnerable to mudslides because of widespread deforestation.
At 0500 local time (1000 GMT), the centre of Gustav was some 160km (100 miles) south-south-east of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, the Miami-based NHC said.
The storm, which strengthened to a category one hurricane earlier on Tuesday, is set to gain further strength. It could bring rainfall of up to 64cm (25 inches) in some areas, forecasters said.
Help sought
Haitian officials warned people to be ready to be evacuated from vulnerable areas.
Haitian Interior Minister Paul-Antoine appealed for international bodies to help his government manage the risks and from the storm.
Haiti is still recovering from the last storm, Fay, which swept across the Caribbean and the south-eastern US last week.
Neighbouring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has also issued a hurricane warning for the south-west of the country.
The hurricane is expected to be just south of Cuba by Wednesday, the NHC said.
The Cuban authorities have issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.
Gustav is the seventh tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
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(BBC)
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