Brasilia, July 31 (RHC) -- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez met at the Extraordinary MERCOSUR Summit in Brasilia on Monday, where Venezuela officially joined the regional block.

Damascus, July 31 (RHC)--  Syrian Army forces continued to sweep through the city of Aleppo, located in the northern part of the country, taking over positions in areas previously held by armed rebel groups.

Sanaa, July 31 (RHC)-- A firefight erupted Tuesday between Yemeni security forces and gunmen dressed in police uniforms, who had been surrounding the headquarters of the interior ministry. 

New Delhi, July 31 (RHC)-- Hundreds of millions of people have been left without electricity in northern and eastern India after a massive power breakdown.  More than half the country has been left without power after three grids collapsed -- one of them for the second consecutive day.

Tel Aviv, July 31 (RHC)-- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has drawn international criticism for suggesting that a superior culture -- not occupation -- explains the gap between the Israeli and Palestinian economies.

Charleston, July 31 (RHC)-- Protesters in the U.S. opposed to mountaintop removal coal mining have shut down operations at a controversial West Virginia strip mine with a series of coordinated lock downs, tree-sits and banner drops.

La Paz, July 31 (RHC) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales stated that certain television stations have been converted into instruments of the opposition.

Santiago de Chile, July 31 (RHC) -- At least eleven indigenous Mapuches were detained by the Chilean police in the Padre Las Casas sector while three women and one girl continued the peaceful occupation of the UNICEF site in Santiago for the fourth day.

Lima, July 31 (RHC) -- Peru's President Ollanta Humala has marked his first year in office by pledging to increase social spending to help the country's poorest people. In the annual presidential speech to Congress, President Humala said he aimed to cut Peru's poverty to 15% by the end of his term in 2016. He said his government had not yet achieved all it set out to do.

United Nations, July 31, (RHC), -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an end to the violence in Syria, condemning the recent attack on a convoy of the UN Supervision Mission in the Arab country.

Sana’a, July 31, (RHC), -- At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in clashes between the Yemeni security forces and gunmen belonging to a group of army defectors at the Yemeni interior ministry on Tuesday morning.

Madrid, July 30 (RHC)-- The Spanish economy remains stuck in its second recession in three years after contracting 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2012 from the previous three months, according to official data.

Mexico City, July 30 (RHC) -- Presidential candidate for the leftist Progressive Movement, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said Monday that he will continue his struggle for the democracy and dignity of Mexico, during one of 142 information meetings held in the country.

Tel Aviv, July 30 (RHC)-- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney continued a foreign trip over the weekend with a visit to Israel.  Romney’s campaign drew headlines after a top aide initially announced on Sunday that Romney would announce his support for a "pre-emptive" Israeli military attack on Iran should Israel deem it necessary to stop Iran’s alleged nuclear activities.

Beijing, July 30 (RHC)-- China and Russia have reached a two-point consensus on a fishery issue and the detained Chinese fishermen may return home soon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Monday in Beijing.