Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro offered to hold a referendum on contested constitutional reforms in an apparent bid to calm critics
in his own camp as he resists opposition efforts to remove him from office. The surprise announcement late Thursday followed two months of deadly unrest during anti-Government protests and signs of division in the socialist leader's side. The opposition says his constitutional reform plan is a bid to cling to power — and key allies such as Attorney General luisa Ortega have broken ranks with him, arguing it is undemocratic.