Pressure builds on Venezuela's Maduro amid opposition campaignAugust 2, 2016 - 11:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Venezuela's national election council has announced its approval of the first step in an opposition campaign to recall President Nicolas Maduro, BBC News reports. 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. The inflation rate is one of the highest in the world and there are long queues outside shops. The election council said Maduro's opponents had cleared the threshold of obtaining 200,000 valid signatures on a petition demanding that the president face a recall referendum. The council did not set a date for the next stage of the lengthy recall process - when the opposition will need to collect four million signatures in just three days. The opposition accuses Maduro's administration of mismanaging the economy. Maduro was elected in April 2013 and his term runs until 2019. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |