Bolivian businessmen call on Banzer to quit

Bolivian business leaders have called for the immediate resignation of President Hugo Banzer, who is undergoing cancer treatment in Washington.

The head of the Confederation of Private Businesses, Carlos Calvo, said Mr Banzer's absence and his fragile health were seriously affecting the economic and political situation.

Earlier, it was announced by the minister of information that the president would return to Bolivia next month to deliver his annual state-of the-nation address during Independence Day celebrations. The Vice-President, Jorge Quiroga, has been in charge in Bolivia since the 75-year-old president went to Washington earlier this month.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service