Morning briefs

*Israel recalled its ambassador to Venezuela as the Venezuelan government increases its rhetoric against Israel’s attacks of Lebanon.

*Cuba's government is busy telling others that the government is stable and that Fidel is fine even though he has yet to be seen in weeks.

*Occidental Petroleum’s quarterly profit fell partly due to actions in Ecuador.

*Young artists from Uruguay are rapidly getting attention from the art world. (Such as the image on the right, a painting by Sergio Porro).

Latin America