Residents of the southern United States and Cuba are bracing for yet another storm as Hurricane Ike strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane and turned north of Haiti heading towards Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico.

In a move which is likely to be seen as a riposte to the arrival of NATO ships in the Black Sea, Russia is to carry out joint naval maneuvers with Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea in November, the Venezuelan navy announced.

On a four-nation tour of North Africa, including a historic visit to Libya, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has pushed for closer counter-terrorism cooperation in a region that is no stranger to Islamist attacks.

Rejecting a US offer to send storm victims aid through relief organizations, Cuba has instead called on Washington to sell it relief supplies, which would entail an amendment to the US trade embargo on Cuba.

In a rousing closing speech at the Republican Convention, John McCain accepted his party's presidential nomination and laid out his vision for change while emphasizing his record as a maverick politician.

Spanish police have arrested Colombian Edgar Guillermo Vallejo Guarin, one of America's most-wanted drug traffickers, according to the US embassy in Madrid. The US had offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

US agents placed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (photo) under surveillance, according to an upcoming book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, famous for his role in helping to uncover the Watergate scandal in the '70s.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called for a general election on Oct. 14, saying parliament has become dysfunctional. The upcoming vote comes at a time of economic difficulties and marks the country's third election in four years.

US Vice President Dick Cheney has arrived in Kiev where the pro-Western government is threatened by a row between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over Ukraine's response to Russian influence in the region.

Outgoing top US general in Iraq David Petraeus told the Financial Times that "conditions permitting", US combat troops could leave Baghdad by July 2009.

FRANCE 24's weekly review of the Americas brings you to Mexico, where football is been played the Maya way with Pok ta Pok. Also in this week's show: the US getting fond of slow food and the repercussions Gustav on the Republican Convention.

Official figures show that 2,700 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico so far this year. According to the finance minister, crime is scaring investors away from the country.

Condoleezza Rice's visit to Libya on Friday, the first by a US secretary of state in 50 years, marks a return to relations with Tripoli after their suspension in 1981 and signals US approval of Libya's pledge to abandon sensitive weapon programmes.

While business owners were allowed to enter the storm-battered city of New Orleans, most residents were told they would have to wait until Thursday to return to their homes. President George W. Bush is expected in Lousiana on Wednesday.

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said on Monday that her single, 17-year-old daughter Bristol (pictured) is pregnant. Alaska Governor Palin is seen as a guardian of conservative values. Scroll down to read our analysis.

Energy minister Edson Lobao said that he told ambassador Moshen Shaterzadeh in a meeting two weeks ago that Brazil "does not envisage" the possibility of joining the organization of oil exporting countries.

Argentina's president Cristina Kirchner gave instructions to the Central Bank to use its available reserves to pay off its 6.7 billion dollar debt to Paris Club creditors who helped Argentina following its 2001 economic crisis.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez praised "mother Africa" during his first visit to South Africa and signed energy deals with his counterpart, Thabo Mbeki, in plans to foster oil trade between their two countries.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid flowers at a Japanese memorial to atomic bombing victims. Pelosi is the highest-ranking sitting US official to pay respects at the site in Hiroshima, the first city to witness the world's first nuclear attack.