Contributions from Carin Zissis
Negotiators for deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya and the interim government continue the slow march toward ending the political standoff. The two sides have exchanged proposals to resolve the sticky question of Zelaya's return to power. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking down to November presidential elections.
Leaders from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas met October 16 and 17 in Cochabamba, where they charted a course for implementing a virtual currency that could replace the dollar in commercial transactions. ALBA also imposed a blockade on Honduras.
Citing inefficiencies, poor service, and bloated costs, the government of Mexican President Felipe Calderón dissolved the country's second biggest electric company on October 11. But even as the move drew cheers, it also drew protests from unions and congressional opponents.