Bolivia is dropping its bid to host the Miss Universe pageant because it would cost more than anticipated. President Evo Morales has lobbied foreign leaders to help him bring the glamorous contest to the impoverished South American nation. But Culture Minister Zulma Yugar said Sunday that a ...

After reinventing Bolivia's government to reflect the country's multi-ethnic, Indian majority, President Evo Morales is championing gender parity at the highest levels of government. Women now account for half of Bolivia's Cabinet ministers — 10 out of 20 — as Morales embarks on his second term following his Jan ...

Powerful Mexican drug cartels are facing their first-ever "existential threat" thanks to a nationwide clampdown by government troops and police, the neighboring United States said Monday. Mexican President Felipe Calderon deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to take on drug gangs after he took office in late 2006, but the government crackdown has failed to stem a wave of drug-related ...

The United States is shifting its strategy on opium production in Afghanistan from eradication of crops to a broader focus involving interdiction and alternative agriculture, an official said Monday. The shift seeks "to move away from our focus on eradication" to law enforcement and efforts to "develop fully alternative livelihoods with a very strong emphasis on subsistence agriculture," said David ...