
Untied States universities dominate the Times Higher Education global rankings for 2012-13, occupying seven of the top 10 spots, but Asian institutions are on the rise while only four Latin American figure among the best 400.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he had a pleasant meeting and discussion with the opposition candidate Enrique Capriles, whom he invited Monday evening to the presidential Palace following his re-election victory on Sunday.

Nine people who put up bail for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, including two members of the British aristocracy and a Nobel Prize winner, were ordered to pay 93,000 pounds on Monday after Assange took refuge in Ecuador's embassy.

The IMF cut its growth forecasts on Monday for Latin America and its largest economy Brazil, against a backdrop of deteriorating global growth and contagion risks if the Euro zone crisis deepens and China's growth slows more than expected.

The Paraguayan Senate will be addressing on Thursday the Ushuaia II Protocol and the Unasur Additional Protocol on democratic commitment, both instruments used by Mercosur and Unasur last June to have Paraguay suspended from the two organizations.

Argentina’s intention of having the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty issue included in the agenda of the Americas Defense ministers’ conference currently taking place in Uruguay was rejected, mainly because of the positions from the US, Canada and several Caribbean states.

The head of the Unasur delegation sent to Venezuela to follow Sunday’s electoral process, Carlos Alvarez said that the country had given the world a lesson of democracy because of its extraordinary electoral system and the attitude of the opposition, among other positive elements.

President Federio Franco said he trusted Paraguay would be fully re-incorporated to Mercosur before the general election scheduled for 21 April 2013. Paraguay is currently suspended from the trade block following the removal of Fernando Lugo as president, a decision voted almost unanimously by the country’s Senate but condemned by Mercosur and Unasur.

President Hugo Chavez won re-election on Sunday, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles, Venezuela's electoral council said. With most votes counted, Chavez had more than 54% of the vote, and Capriles had 45%, National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena said. Turnout was 81% of the nearly 19 million registered voters.

The IMF has cut its global growth forecasts for this year and 2013 and called on politicians in the Euro-zone and the US to take decisive steps to restore confidence, a German newspaper said Friday.