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Saturday, August 08, 2009 MEDELLIN: More than 400 Colombian flower growers participated in Medellin'sAnnual flower festival. The colourful even features dozens of growers, known as "silleteros," carrying decorative wreaths of flowers in a long parade.Bent under the weight of the blossoms, participants, like Piedad del Socorro, said it's become a family tradition. The flowers, placed on large wooden frames call "silletas," can weigh over 100 kilograms. The tradition began in 1957 and attracts numerous tourists, like Jorge Martinez. Colombia's famed flower industry is the largest in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world, after The Netherlands.

Saturday, August 08, 2009 CARACAS: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Saturday ordered his ambassador back to Colombia a few days after withdrawing him amid a crisis over plans to increase the number of U.S. troops in the neighboring country. In a surprise announcement after an hours-long late-night meeting, Chavez delighted a group of left-wing Colombian peace campaigners by reversing the decision. "Nicolas, our ambassador Gustavo has given you all the reports he was going to, let him go back to Bogota. Return to Bogota Gustavo," Chavez said to his Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and the ambassador, Gustavo Marquez.