Caracas, April 19 (RHC) -- President Hugo Chavez called on Venezuelans to remain united under the leadership of the “Batalla de Carabobo” Campaign Command, in preparation for the general elections on October 7.

Caracas, April 19 (RHC) Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expressed their support to Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for her country’s decision to nationalize 51 percent of the Spanish oil company Repsol YPF. President Chávez had a telephone conversation with President Fernández to personally express his support, as well as publicly supporting the decision in an official release on Monday.

Madrid, April 19 (RHC)-- The leader of Spain's United Left (IU), Cayo Lara, has called for a referendum to decide whether to continue with the monarchy or establish a Republican government.

Washington, April 19 (RHC)-- Top U.S. government and military officials have been forced to apologize to Afghanistan for conduct unbecoming of U.S. soldiers.  U.S. President Barack Obama says American soldiers shown in photos apparently abusing Afghan corpses in 2010 should be held accountable.  White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington that "the conduct depicted in those photos is reprehensible."  Carney also expressed disappointment that the images were printed.

Washington, April 19 (RHC)-- The CIA is seeking White House approval for a radical expansion of its drone-strike program inside Yemen.  According to The Washington Post, CIA chief David Petraeus has asked U.S. President Obama to give the CIA authority to launch drone attacks against so-called terror suspects, even if it does not know the identities of those who will be killed.

 Tel Aviv, April 19 (RHC)-- A top Israeli official has acknowledged that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad never said that Iran seeks to "wipe Israel off the face of the map."  The falsely translated statement has been widely attributed to Ahmadinejad and used repeatedly by U.S. and Israeli government officials to back military action and sanctions against Iran.

Brasilia, April 19 (RHC) -- Uruguayan President José Mujica travelled to Brazil on Thursday to meet with his counterpart Dilma Rousseff to discuss issues like complementary production, and bilateral cooperation in areas of energy, science, technology and innovation, and biotechnology. The two South American leaders will also review regional topics and the future of the South Common Market (MERCOSUR).

Bogotá, April 19 (PL-RHC) – On Thursday, the President of the Spanish Government, Mariano Rajoy, began an official visit to Colombia, where he will meet with his counterpart Juan Manuel Santos to revitalize trade relations.

Washington, April 19 (RHC)-- Three Secret Service employees are being forced out of the agency following a prostitution scandal that erupted last week and overshadowed U.S. President Obama’s trip to Colombia for the Summit of the Americas.

Beijing, April 19 (RHC)-- China has called on Sudan and South Sudan to immediately stop hostilities, expressing concern at the escalation of the confrontation between the two African countries.

Caracas, April 19 (RHC) About 2,500 Venezuelan youth will gather at Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas today to create a Youth Patriotic National Council, which is part of the process aimed to organize different social sectors that support the re-election of President Hugo Chavez.

Madrid, April 19 (RHC) Bartolomé Clavero, Spanish jurist and ex-member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, praised the advances of Bolivia in terms of policies against racism and discrimination.

Quito, April 19 (RHC) Representative of the National Coordination of Social Organizations in Ecuador, Marcelo Solórzano, publicly invited President Rafael Correa to participate in a parade on the May st to celebrate the International Workers’ Day.

Lima, April 19 (ANDINA-RHC) -- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said that Peru is much better prepared to face a new global crisis than in 2008, according to all fiscal, monetary, financial and social indicators, among other factors.

Jerusalem, April 19, (YNET-RHC), -- A two-minute siren sounded across the country at 10 am Thursday in memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.