SAN ANTONIO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday blew up two makeshift foot bridges that stretched across the border to Colombia in the latest incident to stoke a diplomatic dispute between the Andean neighbors.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he planned to step down briefly over November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost their international legitimacy.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said Thursday that he planned to step down briefly during November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost its international legitimacy.

From a devastating food crisis in Guatemala to water cuts in Venezuela, El Nino has compounded drought damage across Latin America this year.

Low prices, weak dollar attracts international investors into US housing market. Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed prices.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will not be provoked into armed conflict with Venezuela despite its neighbor's aggressive rhetoric and dynamiting of two border bridges, Colombia's defense minister said on Friday.

The United States on Friday welcomed a move by interim Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti to step down briefly, saying it boosted chances for ending the months-long political showdown.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling a meeting of eight Amazon countries next week to forge a common stand ahead of next month's key climate talks, officials said Friday.

Today is Monday, November 23, the 327th day of 2009. There are 38 days left in the year.

A UN summit on the plight of the planet's one billion hungry opens here Monday, with activists warning it risks being a waste of time as leaders of the world's wealthiest nations are to be conspicuous by their absence.

A UN summit on the plight of the planet's one billion hungry opens here Monday, with activists warning it risks being a waste of time as leaders of the world's wealthiest nations are to be conspicuous by their absence.

Japan, the world's largest consumer of bluefin tuna, hailed a 40 percent quota cut agreed in Brazil in the hope that it will preempt a complete trade ban, a fisheries official said Monday.

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region, recognized as an independent state by Russia, has cut another of its ties with Georgia by adopting Russia's international dialing code.

A Boeing plane that used to transport cocaine from Venezuela to West Africa crashed in northern Mali earlier this month after a failed take-off, the representative of the UN's regional office on drugs and crime said Monday.

Think twice before investing in these places . Investors spend a good deal of time determining the best places to invest, but do you ever wonder which countries are the worst places in the world to invest? If you invest in mining companies, you should. After all, when you invest in a mining company, you?re not just investing in a company but also the government and communities in which the company is exploring for and developing deposits. So much about the success of a project depends upon the jurisdiction in which it exists that most institutional investors simply won?t put money into a company operating in certain countries. Sure you can find a deposit in Venezuela, for example, but leaders like Hugo Chavez, who are in the habit of decreeing bizarre legislation such as a recent ban on singing in the shower in Venezuela also have a penchant for stealing mineral deposits from whomever they please. The Fraser Institute?s Survey of Mining Companies 2008/2009 is one measure of how mineral

Venezuela military chief says Colombia was wrong to detain soldiers. A Venezuelan commander contends Colombia wrongly detained four of his soldiers last week along the border separating the South American nations.

Israeli president predicts Chavez, Ahmadinejad will 'disappear' before long. Israel President Shimon Peres predicts the people of Venezuela and Iran will make their leaders disappear before too long.

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - One of the world's greatest engineering marvels is being overhauled as work crews blast through hills to widen and deepen the Panama Canal to make room for a new generation of mega-ships.

Homecoming: Indians add Sandy Alomar Jr. to coaching staff; was All-Star catcher with club. Sandy Alomar Jr.'s baseball career has brought him back home.

Soft-spoken Royals ace Zack Greinke wins AL Cy Young Award with 16-8 record, MLB-low 2.16 ERA. Zack Greinke fidgeted a bit and spoke softly.