Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Saturday she was annoyed at meddling comments by former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who wrote in an article that Chile snatched Bolivia's only sea access in the 19th century.
Venezuelan armed forces started on Friday moving to polling stations in Caracas to guarantee security during the upcoming Sunday referendum that would abolish term limits of elected leaders and could allow President Hugo Chavez to seek re-election indefinitely.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro met with visiting Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Thursday said she found him very active and in good condition and very much interested in Chilean affairs.

Headlines: 'An accident waiting to happen'; Desire rig prospects improve; New passport stamp for visitors.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is under pressure over his links with former HBOS chief Sir James Crosby, who quit earlier as deputy head of the Financial Services Authority.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that former Polish president and Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa won't be allowed to visit his country.

In the first session of the year the Mercosur Parliament seated in Montevideo, Uruguay, nominated as its pro tempore president the Paraguayan lawmaker Ignacio Mendoza Unzain.

Brazilian president Lula da Silva admitted this week that trade with Argentina is facing problems, but discarded specific measures against Argentine exports adding that any differences between the two countries will be solved in Mercosur deliberations.

Cuban dissidents expressed disappointment that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is not interested in meeting with them during her official visit to the island, adding that her personal history as victim of political persecution makes the issue even more regretful.

Argentine diplomacy is working on plans for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to address the Falkland Islands sovereignty claim when she travels to London at the beginning of April, for the G-20 summit on the global financial crisis hosted by PM Gordon Brown.