Caracas/Port of Spain  - President Hugo Chavez warned Thursday that Venezuela and "other countries" will veto the final declaration of the Summit of the Americas that is set to take place from Friday in Trinidad and Tobago.

"Venezuela vetoes the declaration of the Americas," he said in the eastern Venezuelan town of Cumana.

Beijing  - Chinese President Hu Jintao and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged to strengthen bilateral ties in energy, trade, and science and technology, local media reported Wednesday.

Chavez arrived in Beijing Tuesday night for a two-day which is expected to focus heavily on oil.

Doha - Arab and Latin American leaders gathered in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday to boost economic ties, but it was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, long the darling of the Arab world for his defiance of the United States and his stances during Israel's wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, who grabbed the headlines.

Caracas  - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday denied having offered a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean as a base for the Russian Air Force.

A senior officer of the Russian Air Force said Saturday that the force was considering temporarily basing long-range bombers on Cuba or in Venezuela.

Cuba alone had four or five suitable bases, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had offered a base on La Orchila island, Major- General Anatoly Shikharev was quoted as saying.

Caracas, Feb. 28 : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said 82-year-old former Cuban leader Fidel Castro seemed to be in a "very, very good shape" during their latest meeting in Cuba.

"Fidel is - well - very, very, very good. Very good. He was much better than all the times I''ve visited him in the past three years, two and a half years," the Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

Havana - In an unscheduled trip to Cuba, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met twice with ailing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, Cuban television reported Saturday.

The visit was described as a working visit by Chavez, who was met Friday at the airport by Fidel's brother, President Raul Castro, and other members of the Cuban leadership.

The visit had not been officially announced beforehand.