A meeting of the heads of state of the

Western Hemisphere

has ended without a joint declaration after leaders failed to reach agreement on whether Cuba should attend the next summit. The United States and Canada opposed demands by the Latin American nations to invite Cuba to the next Summit of the Americas. Communist Cuba was excluded from the Organisation of American States, which runs the summits, 50 years ago. The Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the subjects on the agenda, which included whether to back Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands, made agreement difficult.

"Who thought that an agreement would be reached here about the Falklands and Cuba? We all knew there would be no agreements, so there are no negative surprises."

The two main contenders for the French presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, have staged competing rallies in the run-up to next week's election. Mr Sarkozy warned that a victory by Mr Hollande would damage the economy. Mr Hollande accused the president of encouraging financial speculation to boost his political ends. A BBC correspondent says both candidates try to

appeal to

the 30% of the electorate which, polls say, may

abstain

.

Scientists have found that the glaciers in one of Asia's biggest mountain ranges have expanded in the last few years, defying the general tendency towards

shrinkage

. They say a detailed survey of the glaciers in the Karakoram range shows a slight expansion while glaciers in the neighbouring Himalayas have become smaller. The researchers say it appears that by a quirk in the weather pattern, the Karakoram are receiving less heat and heavier snowfalls.