World Briefs

BOGOTA, Colombia – President Barack Obama and Colombia's Alvaro Uribe spoke by telephone for 10 minutes Tuesday, discussing relations between Washington and the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the region.

The conversation was "constructive and cordial" and dealt with common issues shared by the allies, said presidential spokesman Cesar Mauricio Velasquez.

"We had a chance to go over the multiple issues we have in common as nations, obviously including the war on drugs and the Plan Colombia, but also trade issues like energy and the Summit of the Americas," Bermudez said.

BOGOTA, Colombia – The social-networking site Facebook removed a group on Tuesday whose title advocated raising money to hrie a gunman to "liquidate" Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales.

The group, created in August, had 8,069 members and had drawn the attention of at least one outraged blogger as of Tuesday, when The Associated Press alerted Facebook about it.

Its 20-year-old Bolivian creator, Hony Pierola, denied any malice. He told the AP he started the group "to laugh a little and wouldn't be so stupid as to do it with serious intentions."

JERUSALEM – President Barack Obama's new Mideast envoy called Wednesday for an end to Hamas weapons smuggling and a reopening of Gaza's borders, seeking to strengthen the shaky cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants.

Hours before George Mitchell met with Israeli leaders, warplanes pounded Gaza smuggling tunnels in retaliation for a Palestinian bombing on Tuesday that killed an Israeli soldier. After talks in Jerusalem, Mitchell said consolidating the cease-fire is "of critical importance." He said a longer-term truce should be based on "an end to smuggling and reopening of the crossings" into Gaza.

MEXICO CITY – Thieves apparently targeting people who exchange money at Mexico City's international airport shot a French citizen in the head on Tuesday, and authorities warned that gangs have put lookouts at exchange windows in the terminal.

The 55 year-old French biotechnology researcher, who works at a Mexican university, was attacked and robbed of euro4,800 ($6,336) on a street near the airport, assistant city prosecutor Luis Vasquez and police said. He is in serious condition at a local hospital.

Mexico City police chief Manuel Mondragon said criminal gangs have posted lookouts at some of the money exchange businesses inside the airport. The lookouts tip off associates waiting outside the terminal who rob the victims.