Xinhua world news summary at 0830 GMT, Oct. 31

ABU DHABI -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Abu Dhabi late Friday for a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during which he will meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the official WAM news agency reported.

Abbas was received upon his arrival by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, senior UAE officials and Palestinian Ambassador to UAE Khairi Al Aridi, the report said. (UAE-Palestinians-Visit)

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MEXICO CITY -- Latin American countries on Friday hailed the agreement reached between de facto Honduran leader Robert Micheletti and ousted President Manuel Zelaya on Thursday night to solve the Honduran political crisis.

The pact includes a power-sharing government and a congressional decision on Zelaya's brief reinstatement ahead of a presidential election slated on Nov. 29. (L.America-Honduras-Agreement)

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LOS ANGELES -- In what was the fourth largest takeover by regulators in the United States this year, the Los Angeles-headquartered California National Bank was acquired by regulators Friday night. However, its business will go on as usual.

The acquisition took place as the 68-branch fourth biggest bank in California suffered from hefty loss in buying preferred shares issued by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was taken over by the U.S.Bank unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. (US-Bank-Takeover)

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BOGOTA -- Colombia and the United States signed an agreement Friday to boost the United States' presence by up to 1,400 people across seven military bases in Colombia, a deal that has prompted objections from its neighbors.

The agreement was announced in person by Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez. The ministry also released images of Bermudez and U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield signing the deal. (Colombia-US-Military Base)