Hugo Chavez

The gesture makes Maradona the latest in a long list of global celebrities and political figures to be honored with an obituary in the Balkans, following the likes of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro, pop star Michael Jackson and actor James Gandolfini, late star of the popular US crime drama Sopranos.

Eight South American countries that are part of the regional PROSUR bloc are coordinating their response to the new coronavirus, said Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, quoted by the DPA.

Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru and Guyana have agreed to "unify measures for the entry of people into each country," Moreno wrote on Twitter.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido renewed calls for President Nicolas Maduro to resign on May 31 while campaigning in the birthplace of former leader Hugo Chavez, following inconclusive talks in Norway to end the country's crisis.    

A mysterious four-hour Athens stopover of a Venezuelan state aircraft carrying Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on 2 March was reported by Greek SKAI television and radio today.

The aircraft had taken off from Caracas and arrived in Greece without a flight plan. It had previously been denied permission to land in both Portugal and Switzerland (Geneva).

Thousands of Venezuelans accompanied the incumbent for his official registration.

Supporters of President Nicolas Maduro gathered Tuesday in several locations across Caracas to accompany the incumbent as he registered as a candidate for the April 22 presidential elections.

In the conditions of high inflation, covering the whole of Venezuela, the authorities in one of the municipalities in the metropolitan area of ​​Katia decided to put into circulation their own currency.

Venezuelan military train civilians how to handle weapons. At the same time, there were military exercises with airplanes, tanks and 200,000 employees of Bolivar National Armed Forces.

Venezuela's future constitution, to be written by a new assembly packed with allies of President Nicolas Maduro, will be put to a referendum, the pro-government lawmakers said Thursday, according to The Manila Times. 

Venezuela, hit by economic devastation and political turmoil, is one of the most troubled countries today. Its situation has lately become so dire that 90% of its citizens are reported to have trouble affording food. Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials have “embezzled billions.” Venezuela currently ranks as the most corrupt country in Latin America.

The new constitutional assembly assumed even more power in Venezuela by declaring itself as the superior body to all other governmental institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress.