Havana - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with the ailing former Cuban president Fidel Castro, whom he said he found "very lucid and active."
Lula and the elderly Castro - who formally stepped down from the Cuban presidency in February to pursue his recovery for unspecified health problems - met for some two hours just before the end of the Brazilian's less-than-24-hour visit to Cuba.
Washington - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama vowed to close the Guantanamo prison camp for suspected terrorists but provided no timeframe for shuttering the controversial facility.
"I want to close Gitmo as quickly as we can do it - prudently," Obama said in an interview on CNN aired Friday, using the abbreviated name for the naval base that houses about 270 detainees. "I am not going to give a time."
Rome - A consortium of private Italian investors on Friday made a binding offer to purchase the state's controlling stake in struggling airline Alitalia, according to a consortium statement cited in news reports.
The offer was presented to Alitalia's bankruptcy administrator, Augusto Fantozzi a few hours before a deadline at midnight local time (2300 GMT).
The bid came after talks between the Compagnia Aerea Italiana (Italian Air Company), or CAI, consortium, and unions representing Alitalia employees.
Wellington - The first nest of eggs laid by tuatara reptiles - living fossils who are descendants of the dinosaurs - has been found on the New Zealand mainland in more than 200 years, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary reported on Saturday.
Staff found four ping-pong-ball-sized leathery white eggs while doing routine maintenance work near the 8.6 kilometre predator-proof fence around the 225-hectare sanctuary in suburban Wellington, manager Raewyn Empson said.
Brussels - European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel called Friday for an international summit meeting to resolve the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Only a political solution that roots out the causes of the conflict can bring stability," he said after talks with Congo President Joseph Kabila and his Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame.
Michel said the meeting should be held under UN auspices in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
New York - The second largest US oil company Chevron on Friday reported record third quarter profits as it benefited from high oil prices.
Profits nearly doubled to 7.9 billion dollars, the San Ramon, California-based firm said. Revenue rose 43 per cent to 78.9 billion dollars.
Chevron joins the other energy companies that have reported record profits this month. Rival ExxonMobil recorded the largest quarterly profit in US history at 14.8 billion dollars.
Havana - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with the ailing former Cuban president Fidel Castro, whom he said he found "very lucid and active."
Washington - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama vowed to close the Guantanamo prison camp for suspected terrorists but provided no timeframe for shuttering the controversial facility.
Rome - A consortium of private Italian investors on Friday made a binding offer to purchase the state's controlling stake in struggling airline Alitalia, according to a consortium statement cited in news reports.
Wellington - The first nest of eggs laid by tuatara reptiles - living fossils who are descendants of the dinosaurs - has been found on the New Zealand mainland in more than 200 years, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary reported on Saturday.
Brussels - European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel called Friday for an international summit meeting to resolve the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
New York - The second largest US oil company Chevron on Friday reported record third quarter profits as it benefited from high oil prices.
