Chávez, Bush kept separated at summit

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — The staff for the Summit of the Americas was doing its best to keep some distance between President Bush and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, leaders less than warm toward each other.

Then came the class photo.

When the leaders of the 34 nations gathered for their official summit photograph, Bush was supposed to be in the front row, just off the center. Chávez was supposed to be behind him in the second row.

Before the leaders turned out for the picture (see below), set up on a hotel rooftop overlooking the ocean, summit staffers noticed the close configuration and decided it wasn't ideal. They moved Bush's name tag a few places to his left.

Chávez and Bush were also far apart during the summit sessions, thanks to seating arranged alphabetically in Spanish. Estados Unidos is on the other end of the alphabet from Venezuela.

Bush to talk trade with Brazil president

BRASÍLIA, Brazil — Trade talk and Brazilian barbecue will be on the table when the presidents of the United States and Brazil meet here Sunday after the Summit of the Americas in Argentina.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will honor his guest Sunday with a barbecue at the presidential residence — a gesture of confidence in Brazilian beef, which has been boycotted by 47 countries after an October outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in remote southwestern farms.

Bush's visit is expected to cement relations with Lula, who at first was distrusted by the U.S. because of his leftist origins. But Lula — a former shoeshine boy, lathe operator and union boss — abandoned his leftist rhetoric and has stabilized the economy of Latin America's biggest country.

To the surprise of many, Lula curbed spending and brought inflation down to less than 6 percent a year. But he also enacted programs to distribute food and boost education among the poor, his strongest base of support if he runs for re-election in 2006.

Bush praised Lula this week in interviews with Brazilian journalists and said that "when Brazil speaks, people listen carefully."

But Friday, hundreds of protesters burned an American flag and an effigy of Bush in front of the U.S. embassy.

Officials from the Catholic Church endorsed the protests.

"Bush represents war, the arms industry, and that opposes the main features of the Brazilian people, for we are for peace," said Bishop Demétrio Valentini.

Chávez, U.S. clash over F-16 fighters

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez warned this week he might share Venezuela's U.S.-made F-16 fighters with Cuba and China, accusing the United States of making it difficult for his country to obtain spare parts for the aircraft.

Chávez claimed the U.S. broke a contract to supply parts for Venezuela's fleet of 21 F-16s and pressured other countries not to help maintain them.

A U.S. Embassy official Friday denied the charge, saying the U.S. has continued to ship those parts necessary to maintain the safety of Venezuela's F-16 fighter jets in accordance with previous agreements.

A second official said a shipment of cartridges for ejector seats and other components arrived in Caracas two weeks ago.

Venezuela purchased its fleet of 21 F-16s in 1983. Until Chile acquired a fleet in 2003, Venezuela was the only Latin American country to possess the warplanes.

The Venezuelan president's comments, made during a ceremony announcing Venezuela's plan to launch a telecommunications satellite with the help of China, are the latest in a yearslong series of charges and countercharges that have strained relations with Washington. Chávez regularly claims the United States is trying to overthrow his government, an accusation the United States has dismissed.

Compiled from The Associated Press