Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has backed US Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama's proposal for American troops to leave Iraq within 16 months, according to an interview with German magazine 'Der Spiegel'.

US backed Colombian president Alvaro Uriba has entered into a defensive pact with left-of-centre Brazil, aimed at fighting cocaine-funded Marxist rebels such as the FARC, a huge step forward in regional cooperation.

A Senate investigation revealed that faulty electrical work by private contractors on US bases in Iraq posed a bigger threat than the Pentagon initially disclosed. Electrocutions have led to at least one death and dozens of injuries among US forces.

Millions of people, including pop star Shakira, will demonstrate across Colombia and in the rest of the world against the FARC rebel group. It continues to hold hundreds of hostages.

US envoy William Burns (right) meets with chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili (centre) for talks in Geneva, a day after Condoleezza Rice said the US had modified its Iran position.

Phil Gramm, an advisor to presumptive Republican candidate John McCain (photo), resigned Friday following mounting criticism over his comment that the US had become a "nation of whiners" in relation to the economic woes confronting many Americans.

Mexican troops have seized nearly six tonnes of cocaine found in a makeshift fiberglass submarine - the first known use of a submarine for drug trafficking - traveling just beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has cancelled a controversial tax on soybean exports after the Senate rejected it following major farmers' protests.

A decree by Cuban President Raul Castro has granted farmers and agricultural cooperatives the right to work more land in an effort to increase food production on the crisis-ridden island.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged that the US has modified its position on diplomacy with Iran. Asked about the decision to send a senior envoy to talks in Geneva, Rice said "the US doesn't have any permanent enemies".

The first-ever Guantanamo war crimes trial, involving Salim Hamdan, is set for Monday after a US judge rejected a last-ditch attempt by Hamdam's lawyers to halt his trial. The Yemeni national served as Osama bin Laden's driver before 2001.

Thousands are displaced and isolated as massive flooding hits Central and Eastern Mexico, killing three.

Colombian authorities have refused to authorise Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to talk with FARC rebels after he accepted the rebels' offer to meet with them.

Haiti's lower house approved the nomination of Michele Pierre-Louis as prime minister, sparking hopes for a solution to a political crisis that has gripped the nation since the previous administration was ousted following the April food riots.

The International Court of Justice has asked the US not to execute Mexican nationals because they were not informed of their right to consular assistance. Jose Medellin, a Mexican on death row in Texas, is scheduled to be executed on August 5.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez-Kirchner saw her proposed tax on soybean exports defeated by one vote after weeks of farmers' protests over the disputed levy on the commodity.

Admiral Timothy Keating, the top US military commander in Asia, said US arms sales to Taiwan – a perennial sore point in US-China relations – has been frozen, amid warming ties between Beijing and Taipei.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has admitted that his army broke the Geneva Conventions and used the Red Cross emblem during the operation that secured the release of 15 FARC hostages including Ingrid Betancourt.

Washington has announced plans to send an envoy to Geneva this weekend to hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear programme, signalling a major shift in US policy.