Vina del Mar, Chile - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday told off representatives of the United States, Britain and Spain - seated before him at a summit in Chile - for causing the global economic crisis.

"My dear Gordon Brown, my dear Biden, my dear Zapatero, unfortunately you are more responsible (for the downturn)," he said, addressing them directly.

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Centre-left leaders from around the world said Saturday in Chile that they would demand from next week's G20 summit the imposition of urgent cross-border regulations regarding the financial sector, climate change and social protection.

"We cannot run the risk of postponing profound structural solutions," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Centre-left leaders from around the world were gathering Friday and Saturday at a special summit in the Chilean seaside resort of Vina del Mar to seek common ground ahead of next week's G20 summit in London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is on a world tour to seek consensus on financial strategies ahead of the meetings, is a key figure at the weekend summit in Chile.

The United States and European Union do not agree on how to handle the global recession.

New Delhi, Mar 16 : The President of Chile, Dr. Michelle Bachelet, arrived here on a five-day official visit on Monday morning.

Bachelet is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Minister of Agriculture and Women Empowerment and a business delegation.

During the visit, the President of Chile will call President Pratibha Patil, who will host a State Banquet in her honour on Tuesday at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Washington - US Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Chile and Costa Rica later this month for talks with Latin American leaders ahead of April's summit in Trinidad and Tobago, the White House announced Friday.

Biden will attend a governance conference in Chile that will be attended by several Latin American leaders during the March 27-30 trip, before heading to Costa Rica.

Santiago  - The Rally Dakar is set to be held in South America again in 2010, the Chilean government said Tuesday.

The Chilean government's Chief of Staff Francisco Vidal said Rally Dakar organizers had confirmed the plan, which would give Chile a larger number of stages than it had in the 2009 edition.

This year was the first time that the classic extreme motorsport competition took place completely outside Africa. Fourteen stages were held in January in Argentina and Chile, and proved to be very popular with local spectators.