Washington's Havana Headaches

You can't win 'em all, especially with a Cold War-era game plan: Washington's resolution condemning Cuba was slapped down at a U.N. human rights forum yesterday, but the news from Europe was better -- the EU is dropping its World Trade Organization complaint against the Helms-Burton Act. Europe is fiercely opposed to the law's provision for U.S. sanctions against foreign firms doing business with Cuba. "The administration knew Helms-Burton is bad policy but felt trapped into signing it," says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan. "Very little has been done to actually implement the law, and the President has repeatedly waived key provisions." Now the two sides appear to have reached a compromise to avoid wrecking the World Trade Organization, which has served both parties well. And while no one is revealing the details, don't expect the U.S. to make trouble for Europeans doing business with Havana any time soon.