376-After nearly a year of cancer treatment that has forced President Hugo Chavez to step back from the spotlight, a burly former bus driver with a dark mustache and affable smile is emerging more than ever as the president's stand-in. In recent weeks, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has led news conferences, touted a new labor law and criticized the U.S. government with gusto.

377-WASHINGTON (AP) - A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is challenging a new law that allows the indefinite detention without trial of suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens seized within the United States. The unusual coalition of Democrats, libertarians and tea partyers on Wednesday unveiled an amendment to the 2013 defense budget that would end the indefinite detention.

261-NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Global Plumbing Fittings and Fixtures Industry http://www.reportlinker.com/p087333/Global-Plumbing-Fittings-and-Fixtures-Industry.

412-European Commission - Press release High Representative Catherine Ashton appoints 17 new Heads and Deputy Heads of Delegation Brussels, 16 May 2012 - Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, announced today her intention to appoint 15 new Heads of the European Union Delegations around the world, and 2 new Deputy Heads of Delegation.

214-In Kunsthal KAdE is van 26 mei tot en met 26 augustus 2012 de tentoonstelling 'Who More Sci-Fi Than Us, hedendaagse kunst uit de Cariben' te zien. De tentoonstelling is samengesteld door gastcurator Nancy Hoffmann.

478-L'impasse politique grecque précipite la zone euro tout entière dans la tourmente. L'urgence presse l'Europe de trouver une solution rapidement. Quelle qu'elle soit, elle sera pénible. Les dirigeants européens ont lancé des ultimatums à la Grèce. Si elle n'applique pas l'austérité exigée, les aides financières internationales seraient coupées, empêchant la Grèce de rembourser ses toutes prochaines échéances de dettes et précipitant le pays dans la faillite.

429-MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Whatever they may have thought of his politics, anyone lucky enough to have conversed with author Carlos Fuentes couldn't help but be taken by his patrician good looks and his love affair with language. I was struck by this the first time I met Fuentes at his Mexico City home in 1989 following the publication of "Christopher Unborn," his Orwellian story of the "Makesicko Seedy" capital narrated by a fetus.

394-How do you value a change in the social, economic, and political landscape? With the IPO looming, many think about Facebook in too limited a way. This company's product speeds communications between people and even alters the definition of friendship. It gives businesses a newly-efficient way to target ads and customer messages. For citizens, it is a powerful tool for political organization.

253-Koert Lindijer, Sunny Bergman en Kadir van Lohuizen zijn de drie genomineerden voor de Dick Scherpenzeel Prijs 2011, een prijs die wordt uitgereikt aan journalistieke producties die inzicht geven in ontwikkelingsvraagstukken en/of niet-westerse landen.'

458-European Commission - Press release MEDIA and 'Creative Europe' in the spotlight at 65th Cannes Film Festival Brussels, 16 May 2012 - Eighteen films supported by the European Commission's MEDIA programme are in the Cannes Film Festival's 'Official Selection' this year, of which seven are in competition for the Palme d"Or, notably "Amour" by Michael Haneke, "The Angel's Share" by Ken Loach and "Jagten" (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg (full list in annex).

428-MEXICO CITY (AP) - Whatever they may have thought of his politics, anyone lucky enough to have conversed with author Carlos Fuentes couldn't help but be taken by his patrician good looks and his love affair with language. I was struck by this the first time I met Fuentes at his Mexico City home in 1989 following the publication of "Christopher Unborn," his Orwellian story of the "Makesicko Seedy" capital narrated by a fetus.

445-Ten prominent New York City chefs are teaming up this week with 10 culinary entrepreneurs from Havana's budding private restaurant scene, cooking up savory and sweet multi-course meals from an improvised kitchen built in a shipping container. The diners are mostly foreigners in town for a major art exhibition and Cubans who are being invited to participate in the free meals by the visiting chefs who meet them during the course of their stay.

471-Hardinxveld-Giessendam - 16-05-2012 - In Hardinxveld-Giessendam is een Afri- kaans koor actief, dat op dinsdag 29 mei 2012 een open repetitie avond houdt. Dit gebeurt in het kader van het ROK-festival. Onderdeel van dit festival zijn ook bijzondere activiteiten en een daarvan is deze repetitie avond. Het festival duurt nog tot en met 30 juni 2012. Op dinsdag 29 mei aanstaande is iedereen van harte welkom die mee wil zingen of wil kennismaken met de Afrikaanse muziek.

458-TweetTweet Onlangs verschenen drie boeken over actievoeren voor een betere wereld. Sybe Schaap, VVD senator en filosoof, schreef een boek over de opmars van het rancuneuze gif   bij maatschappelijke bewegingen; Micael Parenti, een Amerikaanse politicoloog en publicist roept mensen op te ageren tegen de 1 % rijken die de wereld regeren en de Belgische vakbondsman Lieven Vanhoutte schreef over zijn ontmoetingen met actievoerders in derde en eerste wereld.

459-Brookwater Announces Management Update");//]]-- Mr. Said is a Professional Engineer and has structured and financed over $200 million in equity transactions over the past three years. His recent focus has included M&A transactions and overseeing capital markets operations. Additionally, he has been involved in various host government negotiations and asset acquisitions in Brazil, Colombia, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Chad, Jamaica, Guyana, Turkey and Nigeria. Mr.

238-The widening of the Panama Canal will bring increased business to Gulf Coast ports, even if most of them aren't deep enough to handle the world's biggest container ships, regional port directors told the Gulf South Bank ConferenceTuesday.

483-Het is niet omdat je je onafhankelijkheid onder aan een reisreportage vermeldt, dat je ook onafhankelijk bent, schreven enkele lezers. TOM NAEGELS geeft hen ten dele gelijk. Het ene brengt het andere mee, dat is voor een ombudsman niet anders dan voor een gewone sterveling. In mijn bijdrage van vorige week had ik kort aangegeven dat onder de reisreportages in DS Magazine sinds kort een disclosure staat afgedrukt, die zegt: 'De Standaard doet aan onafhankelijke reisjournalistiek.

413-Carlos Fuentes, Mexico's elegant public intellectual and grand man of letters, whose panoramic novels captured the complicated essence of his country's history for readers around the world, died on Tuesday in Mexico City. He was 83. His death was confirmed by Julio Ortega, his biographer and a professor of Hispanic studies at Brown University, where Mr. Fuentes taught for several years. No cause was given. Mr.

403-MEXICO CITY (AP) - Author Carlos Fuentes, who played a dominant role in Latin America's novel-writing boom by delving into the failed ideals of the Mexican revolution, died Tuesday in a Mexico City hospital. He was 83. Enlarge This Image Daniel Aguilar/Reuters Carlos Fuentes at his Mexico City home in 2003. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.