CUBA

President Hugo Chavez denied on Sunday that he planned to censor or limit the Internet in Venezuela, saying on the contrary Web use had shot up more than nine fold during his decade in power.

Venezuela is not planning to censor the Web or to shut down social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, officials said on Monday, after President Hugo Chavez called for regulation of the Internet.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, who is criticized by media freedom groups, called on Saturday for regulation of the Internet and singled out a website that he said falsely reported the murder of one of his ministers.

U.S. officials said they were allowing U.S. technology companies to export chat and social media software to Iran, Sudan and Cuba, with the hope it will help their citizens communicate with the outside world.

The European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, has had a tough time since taking on the job four months ago, but will try to turn things around this week as she sets out her foreign policy goals.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flies to Latin America on Sunday, working to buff a lackluster U.S. image in a region where Brazil is emerging as a regional power with global aspirations.

The Obama administration bluntly urged the Congress on Thursday to steer clear of directing where terrorism suspects should be prosecuted, pushing back against efforts to require military rather than civilian trials.

Presidents and high-ranking representatives of 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries agreed to create a new organization without the United States and Canada on Tuesday.

Diabetes is moving from being a disease of developed countries to a disease in developing countries like India and China, and this could put pressure on healthcare systems through rising healthcare costs, said Philip Clarke, associate professor at University of Sydney's School of Public Health.

India and China are resisting requests to sign up for the Copenhagen Accord for fighting global warming that risks unravelling without clear support from major emitters.

A top White House official said on Sunday the plot to bomb a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day exposed errors but he played down the need for a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. security system.

Nigeria described on Monday as unfair its inclusion alongside Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen on a list of countries whose air travellers will face tighter screening on journeys to the United States.

The Cayman Islands are promising immigration incentives to keep foreign firms from quitting the Caribbean hedge fund hub, but locals want a bigger share of jobs in the lucrative financial sector.

Grammy-winning Cuban band Los Van Van are celebrating 40 years of salsa revolution with a long-awaited return to the United States.

A U.N. climate meeting in Copenhagen committed on Saturday to try and complete its work on agreeing a new global pact by the end of 2010.

Several developing nations rejected on Saturday a climate deal worked out by U.S. President Barack Obama and four major emerging economies, saying it could not become a U.N. blueprint for fighting global warming.

The United States plans to transfer six Yemenis held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba back to their home country in coming days, a move that could lead to repatriating dozens more, The Washington Post reported in its Friday edition.

It's too soon for Americans to plan a Cuban vacation of beach, mambo and mojitos, but the U.S. travel industry is gearing up for a return to its largest Caribbean destination before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

Switzerland will accept a detainee from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after the United States requested the Alpine country and other states to house prisoners.

The Obama administration said on Tuesday it will move some Guantanamo Bay detainees to an Illinois prison and hold U.S. military commission trials there in plans immediately criticized as risky by Republicans.

Cuba and Venezuela signed cooperation deals worth nearly $3 billion on Saturday, underscoring Caracas' role as the communist-run island's closest political and commercial ally.