International

During talks between French and Venezuelan government officials on Thursday in Paris, during which the two countries reached ten bilateral cooperation agreements, France asked Venezuela to facilitate dialogue between the European Union and Iran.

The presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil met in Manaus, Brazil, on Tuesday to advance the economic and political integration of the South American continent. They discussed plans for expanded infrastructure, the formation of new banks among nations in the Global South, and the impact of the world financial crisis on their countries.

In a phone call, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez congratulated Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa for the ratification of a new national constitution by 63.9% of voters in a nation-wide referendum Sunday.

Continuing on a world tour that started with Cuba and China, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez concretized plans for a joint energy company and bank with Russia, strengthened political ties with France, and secured the importation of one million laptop computers from Portugal this Thursday and Friday.

Over the past week, Venezuelan government officials, labor union leaders, and journalists criticized what they say are inaccuracies in the report on Venezuela that the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) published last Thursday.

Venezuela and China signed accords Tuesday to increase the flow of Venezuelan oil to China, increase Chinese investments in Venezuelan telecommunications and agriculture, and double the size of a previously established joint investment fund.

Scores of solidarity campaigners picketed the US embassy in London on Wednesday night before a huge rally at the National Union of Journalists head office to demand an end to US interference in Latin America.

Venezuelan government officials rejected the U.S. government's renewed placement of Venezuela on a list of principal countries where illegal drugs are transported or produced, calling it a political maneuver meant to weaken the Venezuelan and Bolivian governments.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the leaders of 11 other South American nations held an emergency meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in Santiago, Chile, Monday to form a joint strategy to deal with the violent destabilization waged by wealthy right wing separatist groups in Bolivia.

Reacting to the expulsion of its ambassador to Venezuela, the Bush administration attempted to retaliate by expelling the already withdrawn Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S.