Mexico crime reporter found dead

27 July 2011 Last updated at 10:25 GMT Yolanda Ordaz had worked as a reporter for 20 years The body of a Mexican journalist who worked for the Notiver newspaper has been found dumped outside the offices of another newspaper in Veracruz state.

Crime reporter Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz had been missing since Sunday night.

Officials said organised crime was suspected in the murder of Ms Ordaz, who was found with her throat cut.

Last month, columnist Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco, who wrote about politics and crime for Notiver, was killed in his house in the port city of Veracruz.

His wife and son were also killed in the attack.

Ms Ordaz had been reported missing at the weekend. Her body was found on Tuesday outside the offices of another newspaper in Boca del Rio, a city next to the port of Veracruz.

Authorities are looking at links between her murder and those of Mr Lopez Velasco and his family.

The attorney general of Veracruz state, Reynaldo Escobar, said that "everything pointed to" organised crime being behind the killing of Ms Ordaz.

However, he denied that she had been killed because of her work.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that 15 reporters have been killed in Mexico since 2010. Four of these murders have been confirmed as relating to the journalists' work.

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Chavez in appeal to middle class

30 July 2011 Last updated at 01:50 GMT Chavez brought out a yellow shirt for his birthday The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, says he wants to open up his socialist political project to the middle classes and private sector.

Mr Chavez said his government had to convince Venezuela's middle classes they were needed.

Speaking by telephone on state television, he said he was entering a more reflective period of his life.

Mr Chavez recently underwent cancer treatment in Cuba, but plans to stand for re-election next year.

The Venezuelan leader made his comments a day after he celebrated his 57th birthday, when - appearing in yellow rather than his characteristic red shirt - he told a rally of cheering supporters that he was in no mood to leave office in the near future.

In Friday's telephone interview, Mr Chavez said the treatment to remove a tumour had led him to radically change his life towards a "more diverse, more reflective and multi-faceted" period.

He told his supporters to eliminate divisions and dogma, and end what he called the abuse of symbols such as the term "socialist".

"Why do we have to always have to wear a red shirt?" said Mr Chavez. "And the same goes for the word 'socialism'."

The president cited the example of a mayor in the governing party who inaugurated a "Socialist Avenue", which Mr Chavez described as "stupid".

"We need to reflect and introduce changes in our discourse and in our actions."

Cuban lessons

Mr Chavez, who came to power in 1999, said the private sector and the middle classes were "vital" to his political project.

He said it was a shame that attempts to be more inclusive of these groups in society had been criticised by some in official circles in Venezuela.

"Raul Castro is leading a process of self-criticism," said Mr Chavez, hinting that Venezuela could learn from the reforms being undertaken by the president of Cuba, who has made some concessions to the private sector since taking over from Fidel Castro in 2006.

Mr Chavez said his government needed to correct the perception that small businesses would be taken over by the state.

"We have to make sure no-one believes that," he said. "We have to convince them about our real project, that we need this sector and that we want to acknowledge their contribution."

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Big boots to fill

28 July 2011 Last updated at 00:06 GMT By Sarah Grainger BBC News, Caracas Hugo Chavez is the central and dominant figure in Venezuelan politics Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made it clear that he intends to stand for re-election in presidential polls scheduled for 2012, despite having treatment for cancer.

Speaking on his return from chemotherapy in Cuba, he said doctors had found no malignant cells.

"I haven't for a single moment thought about retiring from the presidency," he said. "If there were reasons for me to do that, I would."

Mr Chavez, who is celebrating his 57th birthday on Thursday, first came to power in 1999.

With his charisma and skills as a public speaker, he centralised government, basking in the political limelight.

His style of government has become known as "chavismo" and his followers are dubbed "chavistas".

"The president's capacity for leadership is extraordinary," Reinaldo Iturriza, a member of Mr Chavez's United Socialist Party (PSUV), told the BBC. "Without doubt, finding another Chavez will be quite difficult."

Few other members of his cabinet and of the PSUV are recognisable faces either within Venezuela or on the international stage.

Nevertheless, if the president's illness were to leave him unable to continue as head of state or run for re-election, the PSUV would be faced with seeking a successor.

So who would be in the running?

Credited with introducing his younger brother Hugo to the world of politics, Adan Chavez is the current governor of the family's home state of Barinas.

Adan Chavez is a year older than his brother

A university professor, he has served as both the minister of education and Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba in recent years.

"He is considered a favourite of the Castro regime," says Roger Noriega, former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs under US President George W Bush, and currently at the conservative US think tank, American Enterprise Institute.

His appointment would ensure the continuity of "chavismo" in name at least, and would mirror the handover of power in ally Cuba from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul in 2006.

When Hugo Chavez left for a first round of chemotherapy treatment in Cuba earlier this month, he signed over some powers to his vice-president Elias Jaua.

Hugo Chavez has handed over some powers to vice-president Elias Jaua since his illness

Constitutionally, the vice-president would be expected to step in and take over the reins should Chavez be unable to serve out his current term of office, due to end next year.

But analysts are sceptical that Mr Jaua has what it takes to lead the party and the country in the long-term.

"He's just a sheer placeholder," says Mr Noriega. "He's trusted by the Cubans but he doesn't have any charisma whatsoever."

Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has been at the president's side through his cancer diagnosis and treatment, shuttling back and forth between Havana and Caracas when Mr Chavez was recuperating from surgery to remove a tumour.

Other leading lights within the party include Rafael Ramirez, the energy minister, who holds the key to the source of most of the government's money, and Celia Flores, vice-president of the PSUV.

But none has a profile even close to that of the man they would have to replace.

Former army officer Diosdado Cabello helped Hugo Chavez to stage a failed coup in 1992 that presaged Mr Chavez's eventual election to the presidency.

During the early years of President Chavez's government, he served as interior minister before being elected as the governor of Miranda state in 2004 elections.

But he lost that position four years later to an opposition candidate and his political star seemed to be on the wane.

Nevertheless, Mr Caballo is a powerful member of the political elite and among those who has the president's ear.

"There are seven or eight people surrounding the president and accompanying him at the moment," says Nicmer Evans, a political analyst at Venezuela's Central University.

"Jaua, Ramirez, Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, Celia Flores are his inner circle right now."

Hugo Chavez spent 17 years in the army

Hugo Chavez rose through the ranks of the army.

He often appears in military uniform, emphasising the control he has over the organisation.

Could the military play a key role in deciding who would take over from him?

"The army is one of the various players in any future selection of a candidate," says Miguel Tinker Salas, a professor of Latin American history at Pomona College in California.

"The PSUV will have to balance various forces."

President Chavez has always been quick to point out that he represents the grassroots members of the PSUV.

He has emphasised his poor upbringing in the hot and dusty plains of central Venezuela and his mixed ethnic background.

The party may find the charismatic figurehead they need to galvanise their traditional power base from among local leaders.

"There are a lot of social movement leaders from poorer neighbourhoods like the Barrio 23 de Enero in Caracas," says Tinker Salas.

"They don't have the national standing so they would have much more difficulty in trying to win support."

But perhaps the party would chose to groom one of them for a leading role.

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Honduras finds submarine cocaine

29 July 2011 Last updated at 23:26 GMT Naval forces from the US and Honduras have recovered 2.5 tonnes of cocaine from a semi-submersible craft intercepted off the Honduran coast.

Honduran General Rene Osorio said there were more than five tonnes of cocaine on the vessel, and authorities would need two days to retrieve all of it.

The vessel is submerged because the crew tried to sink it after they were intercepted two weeks ago.

Honduras is on a key route used by cartels trafficking drugs to the US.

Coast guard officials intercepted the submarine-like craft off the Caribbean coast of Honduras near the province of Gracias a Dios.

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Former Colombia aide faces arrest

31 July 2011 Last updated at 01:40 GMT Uribe employed Moreno as his chief of staff for eight years A senior aide of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is facing criminal prosecution.

A judge has ordered the arrest of Mr Uribe's former chief of staff, Bernardo Moreno, for allegedly spying on judges, journalists and politicians.

It is the second such order this week. Andres Felipe Arias, a former agriculture minister, has been charged with corruption. He denies the allegations.

Alvaro Uribe left office last year.

Mr Moreno served as Mr Uribe's chief of staff for both of his presidential terms, from 2002-2010.

He now faces trial for criminal conspiracy, abuse of public office and other charges.

Mr Moreno would be jailed for at least three years, if convicted. He denies all the charges.

Mr Arias, 38, is suspected of diverting farm subsidies intended for peasant farmers to rich landowners.

He will be held at a jail in the capital Bogota while his case proceeds.

The Colombian Attorney General's office has already disqualified him from public office for 16 years because of what it deemed were irregularities in the subsidy scheme.

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Peru's Ollanta Humala is sworn in

28 July 2011 Last updated at 20:10 GMT Ollanta Humala takes over a richer Peru but deep problems remain Former army officer Ollanta Humala has been sworn in as Peru's new president, vowing to eradicate poverty and social exclusion.

His inauguration was being attended by regional leaders, although not by outgoing President Alan Garcia.

Mr Humala defeated right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori in June's second round.

Once a fiery nationalist, Mr Humala says his approach is now of the moderate left, modelled on Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Mr Garcia left the presidential palace, handing over the sash for his successor.

Breaking with tradition, he did not travel to Congress to attend the inauguration.

Mr Garcia had previously indicated he would not be present in order to avoid a repeat of 1990 when he was loudly booed when handing over to President Alberto Fujimori.

Then Peru was mired in hyperinflation and beset by a bloody leftist insurgency.

Mr Humala, 49, inherits a more prosperous Peru but faces a range of challenges.

In his first address as president, he vowed to keep existing free-market economic and trade policies intact, to provide a minimum pension for all Peruvians over 65 and to raise the minimum wage.

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In a ceremony attended by a dozen Latin American heads of state, Mr Humala paraphrased Nelson Mandela saying there could be no true democracy without real equality.

But he will face a baptism of fire as he tries to calm scores of conflicts over natural resources while trying to meet the demands of the extractive industries which are driving Peru's heady growth rate.

He has already vaulted one hurdle in appointing an investment-friendly and liberal cabinet.

He has called Brazil's former leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, an inspiration and perhaps in a nod to him, has appointed Susana Baca, a renowned black Peruvian singer as culture minister.

She will be the country's first black minister in almost 200 years of history.

"We want the term 'social exclusion' to disappear from our language and lives forever," Mr Humala said.

"Economic growth and social inclusion will march together."

Mr Humala campaigned on a pledge to increase the state's role in the economy and redistribute wealth to Peru's poor majority.

Strong performance

Economists Luis Miguel Castilla and Julio Velarde will be the new finance minister and central bank head respectively.

Sociologist Rafael Roncagliolo is to be foreign minister, while Afro-Peruvian music star and Grammy award-winner Susana Baca will be minister of culture.

Mr Humala indicated that he would seek to impose a windfall tax on the key mining sector to help raise revenue for social spending.

But with his party lacking a majority in Congress, he will need the support of other blocs to pass bills, including the mining tax.

Peru has been one of the top economic performers in Latin America in recent years, averaging annual growth of 7% during Mr Garcia's second term and with inflation held at under 3% a year.

Tensions over the use of Peru's natural resources have increased

But there has also been an increase in social tension and conflicts, especially over the exploitation of natural resources.

Protests, at times violent, have erupted over mining, logging and oil and gas extraction.

Another key issue facing Mr Humala is increased illegal drug production and trafficking.

Peru sees the US as a "strategic partner" in tackling this, Mr Humala has said.

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Air France crash crew 'lacked training'

29 July 2011 Last updated at 20:48 GMT F-GZCP, the Air France jet which crashed, is seen here in an undated image The pilots of an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 lacked adequate training, French investigators have found.

France's BEA authority said pilots had failed to discuss repeated stall warnings and did not have the training to deal with the hazard. Air France rejected the accusation.

BEA called for mandatory training in high-altitude stalling for all pilots.

All 228 people on board the Airbus 330 from Brazil to France were killed.

'No passenger alert'

BEA head Jean-Paul Troadec said that "the situation was salvageable" during the flight's final minutes.

Investigators said an account of those minutes, captured on flight recorders, concluded that the crew had failed to "formally identify the loss of altitude" despite an alarm ringing for nearly a minute.

"The first event which triggered it all is the disconnection of the automatic pilot following the loss of the speed indicators, very probably after they were frozen by ice crystals," said Mr Troadec.

"At this time the pilot should have initiated a procedure known as 'Unreliable IAS (indicated air speed)', a procedure which consists of taking an angle of five degrees, but the angle they took was far superior.

"That is why the plane flew upwards, the plane took a rapid vertical flight of 7,000 feet/minute... The angle they took was too much," Mr Troadec said.

The BEA report said the co-pilots in charge of the plane when the emergency began "had received no high-altitude training for unreliable IAS (indicated air speed) procedure and manual air craft handling".

The report also said that the pilots failed to alert passengers to the crisis as they struggled to regain control.

The authority issued 10 new safety recommendations, including mandatory training for all pilots in France to ensure they could handle a high-altitude stall.

A statement from Air France rejected the BEA's findings, saying that "nothing at this stage can allow the crew's technical competence to be blamed" for the crash.

"The crew on duty showed professionalism and stayed committed until the end to operating the flight. Air France salutes their courage and determination in these extreme conditions," it said.

Flight recorders were found this year

"The altitude-loss alarm was activated and deactivated several times, contradicting the real status of the aircraft, which contributed strongly to the crew's difficulty in analysing the situation," Air France said.

Airbus said it welcomed the report and would give full support to the process, so that the industry could "benefit from any lessons to be learnt from this event".

Air France and Airbus are being investigated for alleged manslaughter in connection with the crash.

"The BEA establishes the facts and makes recommendations based on those facts," AFP quoted Environment and Transport Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet as saying on RTL radio.

"As to who is responsible, that is up to the courts," she added.

Flight AF 447 went down on 1 June 2009 after running into an intense high-altitude thunderstorm, four hours into a flight from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris.

The wreckage of the plane was discovered after a long search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor.

1. 0135 GMT: The crew informs the controller of the flight's location

2. 0159-0206 GMT: The co-pilot warns of turbulence ahead before the captain leaves the cockpit for a rest break

3. 0208 GMT: The plane turns left, diverting from the planned route. Turbulence increases

4. 0210 GMT: The auto-pilot and auto-thrust mechanisms disengage. The plane rolls to the right. The co-pilot attempts to raise the nose. The stall warning sounds twice and the plane's speed drops. The co-pilot calls the captain

5. 0210 GMT: The stall warning sounds again. The plane climbs to 38,000ft

6. 0211-0213 GMT: The captain re-enters the cockpit. The plane is flying at 35,000 ft but is descending 10,000 ft per minute. The co-pilot says "I don't have any more indications", pulls the nose down and the stall warning sounds again

After location 6. 02:14 GMT: Recordings stop

Source: BEA. Note: Last known position = last known position before the plane's "black boxes" were retrieved

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