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.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's de facto leader said he may give up his presidential duties for a week so voters can focus on an election that Washington hopes will help end a five-month-old political crisis.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran lawmakers will wait until after a November 29 election to decide whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya, delaying a vote central to a U.S.-led deal to end months of political crisis.

An alliance between Iran and Venezuela is a necessity at this point in time according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan officials said here Wednesday.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia captured four members of the Venezuelan National Guard on Colombian soil and said on Saturday it would send them home in a gesture aimed at lowering diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries.

Colombia detains 4 Venezuelan national guard troops, plans repatriation to calm relations. Four soldiers from Venezuela's National Guard captured in Colombian territory will be repatriated in a bid to ease tensions between the South American neighbors, President Alvaro Uribe's government said Saturday.

Hugo Chavez invites ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro to meeting of ALBA trade bloc in Havana. President Hugo Chavez is inviting former Cuban leader Fidel Castro to next month's meeting of the regional ALBA trade bloc being held in Havana.

WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Bringing APEC to Hawaii: summit of 'flowered shirts and grass skirts'. He couldn't bring home the Olympics, but he's nailed the funny shirt photo.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says he will join a team of Cuban scientists on flights to "bomb clouds" to create rain amid a severe drought that has aroused public anger due to water and electricity rationing.

Venezuelan official says nation exploring uranium deposits with Russia. Venezuela's science and technology minister said his country is working with Russia to detect deposits of uranium but withdrew an earlier denial that the country was also working with Iran.

Protests have been mounting here, as thousands of supporters of deposed President Manuel Zelaya took to the streets 90 days after his ouster and hopes faded for a way out of a tense standoff in the nation's capital.

South American nations agree on development bank with startup capital of $20 billion. Seven South American nations on Saturday signed an agreement to create a Bank of the South with startup capital of $20 billion.