Venezuela’s Supreme Court decided that it isn’t necessary for  President Hugo Chavez to be sworn in on Thursday and that the ceremony can be postponed. According to the Court, Chávez was reelected, therefore the swearing in is simply a “formality” and the current administration can continue until Chávez can resume his duties.

The President still hasn’t been released from a hospital in Cuba where he underwent surgery early in December and then developed a respiratory infection.

According to the Supreme Court President, Luz Estella Morales, “there is neither temporary nor absolute absence” in this case; the president will need to be sworn in, but there’s a difference between that act and the new constitutional period, “they are two different issues,” she said.

It’s no secret that the buildings that serve as headquarters for Colombia’s Senate and House of Representatives are in desperate need of repairs and remodeling. The problems have been apparent for years now, but a number of issues have made it impossible to carry out large projects of this nature, such as difficulty in getting the necessary permits.

Any work done on the Capitol building depends on permits issued by the Ministry of Culture. “It may seem unbelievable,” said Roy Barreras, the president of Colombia’s Congress, “but the facade can’t even be washed without the permits, because the water could damage the marble and pillars.”

The intense heat of the past few days led environmental authorities to declare an orange alert in Antioquia. “We already have a few villages in rural areas where streams have dried up”, the manager of Public Services in Antioquia, Astrid Barrera, said.

The situation is severe in locations like Santafé de Antioquia, Ebéjico, Sopetrán and Anzá; other affected areas include portions of the Lower Cauca region and Urabá.