venezuela

The Germans defeated Venezuela 3-1 in the first match for Group D on Day Two in front of 1 858 supporters.

Germany wasted no time opening up the score board through Madeline Gier with the first goal just two minutes into the game.

Venezuela fought back after 23 minutes to level the score 1-1 through Mariana Speckmaier.

16 minutes later Venezuela's Idalys Perez again attempted to score from a back flip kick few meters out but failed to find the net.

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon said if the talks failed, it could lead to both sides "putting people on the streets".

He said such a result would be very dangerous.

It comes after President Maduro rejected calls for an early election.

"From our point of view [the dialogue] really is the last best effort to try to find a negotiated, peaceful solution to this," said Mr Shannon.

President Nicolas Maduro is attending the talks, which are being supervised by a Vatican envoy and other mediators.

The opposition is demanding a referendum be allowed to take place on whether Mr Maduro should step down.

For its part the government wants the opposition to renounce violence and reject right-wing economic policies.

The meeting, at a museum in the west of the capital, Caracas, follows a general strike and huge opposition rallies.

In a special session on Sunday, the Venezuelan National Assembly, which is made up mostly of opposition parliamentarians, approved a measure that declared "there has been a breakdown of constitutional order and a continued state of coup led from the highest level of government by President Nicolas Maduro."

Tensions between the government and the opposition are sky high after a drive to hold a recall referendum on Maduro has been halted.

The nomination came just a day after Gen Reverol was indicted by a US court on charges of abetting cocaine trafficking.

He served as interior minister once before, under the late President Hugo Chavez, and more recently headed the National Guard.

Mr Maduro dismissed the charges against Gen Reverol as a "US conspiracy".

'World record'

The president said Gen Reverol "broke the world record for capturing traffickers" when he was the head of Venezuela's anti-narcotics agency.

It said the opposition had succeeded in gathering 1% of voter signatures in all 24 of Venezuela's states.

The move is the first part of the opposition's push for an early end to President Maduro's term in office.

In a further twist, the supreme court suspended opposition activity in the country's parliament.

It said activity would be frozen until three opposition members being investigated for vote-buying were removed.

Venezuela is going through a political and economic crisis, which has led to shortages of basic goods and looting.

Last week 35,000 crossed over for the first time since the border was closed a year ago by President Nicolas Maduro to fight cross-border crime.

Officials said at least that many had entered Colombia on Saturday.

Many basic goods are in short supply in Venezuela because of a severe economic crisis in the country.

Venezuela re-opens border with Colombia

President David Granger says he has received reports of what he called "extraordinary military deployments" along what Guyana considers its western border. He said Tuesday that defense officials were meeting to discuss a response.

Guyana has asked the U.N. to mediate the border dispute and Granger is expected to raise the issue at the upcoming General Assembly.

Venezuela has long claimed a resource-rich jungle territory known as the Essequibo that comprises about two-thirds of Guyana.

Even as the diplomats met in this Caribbean coastal resort, motorists in the Colombian city of Cucuta complained of long gas lines as Venezuela's security offensive cuts off trade, legal and otherwise, between the two nations.

Across the border, scores of Colombians packed their belongings into suitcases and prepared for an army escort out of Venezuela, joining the estimated 1,000 of their compatriots who have already been deported.