HAVANA, Nov 8, 2008 (AFP) - Hurricane Paloma, packing winds of 220 kilometers (140 miles) an hour, rolled over the Cayman Islands Saturday and prepared to slam into the coast of Cuba.

Cuban authorities issued maximum hurricane warnings for six provinces ahead of the arrival of Paloma, a Category Four hurricane on a scale of five, with hundreds of thousands expected to be evacuated.

About 3,000 foreign tourists are being sheltered on northern holiday islands in the central region of Ciego de Avila, Cuba's Civil Defense said.

Residents of the Cayman Islands, a British

MANILA, Sept 20 (AFP) - The Philippines will send officials to the Cayman Islands to assist in relief work for some 900 Filipino workers there affected when Hurricane Ivan cut a path of destruction across the Caribbean, the foreign office said Monday.

The diplomats are to be dispatched from the Philippine embassy in Washington and should arrive in the Caymans in a few days, the foreign office said quoting Deputy Foreign Secretary Jose Brillantes.

Hurricane Ivan left at least 108 dead in the United States and the Caribbean on its devastating 12-day rampage.

MIAMI, Sept 19 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Isidore strengthened Thursday and posed a threat to parts of Cuba as it appeared likely to become the second hurricane of the season in the Atlantic Ocean, the US National Weather Service said.

"It is very likely that Isidore will become a hurricane today," said forecaster Richard Pasch.

He said the intensification of the storm would likely halt when it hits Cuba. "However, since the terrain of Western Cuba is not that rugged, it should cause little if any weakening," he said.

The weather service issued a hurricane