As the protest death toll tops 115, many in Venezuela are wondering how much longer their country must suffer violence and misrule, write Anne-Marie Slaughter and Fabiana Perera

Venezuelan opposition leaders have called for supporters to escalate street protests after more than 7.1 million people rejected a government plan to rewrite the constitution and consolidate its power.

The ruling clique is prolonging the agony by rejecting a democratic transition. The desperate, and repressed Venezuelan people deserve their country back, writes Enrique ter Horst.            

The former Exxon Mobil oil giant boss has more influence than most presidents and knows how to cut a deal. He would be an able secretary of state, says Amir Handjani

Brent crude hit an 11-year low of $36.20 this week, in part because Opec has ceased to function.

Ecstatic opposition leaders vowed to use their new majority in Venezuela’s legislature to free jailed opponents of the Socialist government, but also said they would not move to dismantle popular welfare policies.

Venezuela’s opposition has won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, delivering a major setback to the ruling party and altering the balance of power after 17 years of socialist rule.

People in Venezuela took to the polls yesterday in what seems to have become a tightening race for control of the country’s national legislature.

It ended with Carl Frampton enjoying that most familiar vantage point, the elevated view of his surroundings as trainer Shane McGuigan raised him aloft in victory.

Olympic champion Katie Taylor is convinced her best is yet to come as she prepares to lead Ireland into the inaugural European Games in Baku next month.

Some of the more unusual news from around the globe.

A small Dachshund named Razor is being hailed as a hero after helping to rescue his friend - a St. Bernard called Jazzy - who got herself stuck in two feet of mud.

Carl Froch has opted to vacate his IBF super-middleweight crown – leaving the door open for compatriot James DeGale to fight for the title in the coming months.

You would have to go a long way before you find anybody with a bad word to say about Andy Lee.

Dressed in a black tracksuit with matching baseball cap, Andy Lee looks out from the vast balcony in his penthouse suite at the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan.

CONTROVERSY IN VENEZUELA OVER CHAVEZ PRAYER

Arial, Times New Roman ... and now the ‘Hugo Chavez’ font

Mexican marines have detained one of the leaders of the La Familia drug gang which controlled Mexico State, near Mexico City, a senior security official said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is known for his devotion to late leader Hugo Chavez – and admits he sometimes sleeps in the mausoleum where his mentor’s remains are kept.

Late socialist leader Hugo Chávez’s chosen successor Nicolas Maduro won Venezuela’s presidential election by a whisker, but faces opposition protests plus a host of economic and political challenges in the Opec nation.

Defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles has demanded a recount after he was beaten by Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor as president in a razor-thin election battle today.

Venezuela’s acting president Nicolas Maduro said his mentor Hugo Chavez had fought for his life “until the last second” and called for a probe into the leader’s death.

WHEN you think about it, the really surprising thing is how surprised we all were.

It is undoubtedly true that Hugo Chávez changed for the better the lives of millions of the most deprived people in Venezuela — his mass support being testament to that.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles has launched his bid to succeed Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president, despite the objections of the opposition who said the move violated the country’s constitution.

From Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Cuba’s Raul Castro, about 30 heads of state joined the funeral of Hugo Chávez in a last goodbye to the charismatic but divisive Venezuelan leader who changed the face of politics in South America.

World leaders, athletes and left-wing celebrities gathered at a music-filled state funeral honouring Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez today, with multitudes waiting outside the venue.

Venezuela’s opposition says it will not attend the swearing-in of Hugo Chavez’s anointed successor as interim president.

Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in as acting president of Venezuela today after a state funeral is held for Hugo Chavez.

President Hugo Chavez died of a heart attack after great suffering and inaudibly mouthed his desire to live, said the head of Venezuela’s presidential guard.

Venezuela’s acting president has said Hugo Chavez’s embalmed body will be permanently displayed in a glass casket so that “his people will always have him”.

President Hugo Chavez died of a massive heart attack after great suffering and inaudibly mouthed his desire to live, the head of Venezuela’s presidential guard has said.

Some marked Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez’s death with tears; others with cheers.

It was with much sadness that I learnt of the death of the President of Venezuela, a man whom put himself forward to the people 14 times.

Many of those interested in politics or how our world works will be familiar with the anecdote about the diplomat from Maoist China on a visit to Paris some decades ago. When asked how he thought the 1789 French Revolution had worked out he answered: “It’s far, far too early to say.”

A flag-draped coffin carrying the body of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez floated over a sea of supporters in Caracas today on its way to a military academy where it will lie in state.

A week of mourning has been declared in Venezuela after the death of Hugo Chavez. The army and police have been deployed to guarantee the peace.

President Michael D Higgins has said his thoughts are with the people of Venezuela after the death of Hugo Chavez.

President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela and crusaded against US influence, died on Tuesday at the age of 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.

A new and severe respiratory infection has hit cancer-stricken Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his breathing has deteriorated.

IT SEEMS that Hugo Chávez is on his last legs. Venezuela’s president has been battling cancer since the summer of 2011.