Panama, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina ) The Public Ministry of Panama on Thursday confirmed the disappearance of Spanish Cardinal José Luis Lacunza, bishop of the Diocese of David (province of Chiriquí), who was last seen on Tuesday afternoon.

La Paz, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) Downtown La Paz remains blocked on Thursday by interdepartmental bus drivers in rejection of the national roadblocks imposed, above all, by peasants from Cochabamba, who demand the resignation of "self-appointed" magistrates.

Damascus, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) The self-styled Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US mercenary separatist militia, reported numerous casualties and withdrew from an important oil field after an attack by armed tribesmen in the northeast of Syria, in the northeast of this Levantine nation.

Islamabad, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) An explosion shocked the province of Balochistan, in Pakistan, on Thursday, a week before the general elections, according to police reports.

Damascus, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) The new Syrian representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Qusay Al-Dahhak, on Thursday expressed his country's interest in maintaining the existing relations of constructive cooperation with the United Nations.

United Nations, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) Recent reforms to forestry and wildlife legislation in Peru today threaten the physical and cultural survival of indigenous peoples, according to a UN human rights expert.

Barcelona, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) The president of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonés, today declared the emergency phase in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, due to the historic drought it is suffering. A measure that was seen coming owing to the lack of rainfall in a sustained manner, which has left the water reserves at a critical level, in this region of northeastern Spain.

Bogota, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) The temperature increase in Colombia, caused by the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon, is forcing the Colombian government´s entities to take measures to minimize the occurrence of fires.