CUBA . . . TALKS BEGIN (SHHH!)

U.S. officials sat down with a Cuban delegation in New York City to hammer out an agreement on the Cuban refugee crisis, but the first day of talks turned out to be hush-hush. Cuban diplomats said their government had ordered them not to talk with reporters during the negotiations. But there were indications the initial going will be rough: Walking in, chief U.S. delegate Michael Skol rejected Cuban suggestions that the discussions include lifting the 32-year-old U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. That's exactly the sine qua non that chief Cuban delegate Ricardo Alarcon publicly demanded as he left Havana for the talks yesterday.