News stories by Humberto Márquez, page 6

The vigorous comeback of the opposition in Venezuela's newly elected parliament strengthens pluralism in this oil-rich country, although it may presage a new political crisis in the medium term, according to analysts.

The opposition is getting ready for a comeback in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Venezuela, although President Hugo Chávez's allies seem set to win a comfortable majority, perhaps as much as two-thirds of the seats.

Franklin Brito, who held several long hunger strikes since 2004 to defend ownership of his farm, became the first Venezuelan to fast to the death.

The campaign for Venezuela's Sept. 26 legislative elections is officially on, and the opposition, which boycotted the last vote five years ago, is back in the running, hoping to win enough seats to act as a counterweight to President Hugo Chávez.

The latest political and diplomatic conflict between Colombia and Venezuela has coincided with celebrations of the bicentennial of the two countries' independence, won by their common liberator Simón Bolívar, whose ideals of integration continue to be undermined.

Dark oil slicks are spreading from the middle of Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo towards the shores -- the wetlands, mangroves, beaches and docks. Oil is permeating fishing nets, coating the garbage dumped into the water, killing off wildlife and driving away residents and tourists.

The break in diplomatic relations between neighbours Colombia and Venezuela, ordered Thursday by the latter's President Hugo Chávez, bodes an escalation of tensions -- the outcome of which largely will be decided by Colombia's president-elect Juan Manuel Santos.

When out-going Colombian President Álvaro Uribe charged Thursday that leftist guerrilla commanders from his country are in hiding in neighbouring Venezuela, he went a long way towards ensuring that his successor, Juan Manuel Santos, will inherit a volatile diplomatic dispute.

Standing between two wooden planks that shore up the front of her small makeshift house, 40-year-old Maribel Huerta talks about her family.

The environment remains a second-tier matter in Latin America and the Caribbean despite being interwoven with persistent poverty and stalled economic development in the region, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme.