
Venezuela's pro-government Supreme Court on Saturday revoked its controversial annulment of the opposition-led Congress amid international condemnation and protests against populist president Nicolas Maduro. Unprecedented pressure from other Latin American nations and dissent within its own ranks, and the military, appear to have been the catalyst for the court reversing its Wednesday ruling.

Venezuela's chief prosecutor broke with the government on Friday and rebuked a Supreme Court decision stripping Congress of its last vestiges of power, showing a crack in the unity of the embattled populist government of President Nicolas Maduro as it came under a torrent of international condemnation over what many decried as a major step toward dictatorship.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court's decision late Wednesday to take control of the opposition-controlled legislature has set off a wave of outrage, with some hemispheric neighbors, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina, denouncing the measure as a threat to democracy.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has asked for help from the United Nations to boost the country's supplies of medicines. Maduro said the UN had the expertise to normalize the supply and distribution of drugs in the country.

In an effort to handle its overdue debts, Venezuela is all but giving away oil assets. President Nicolás Maduro is reportedly so desperate to pay the US$ 3.7 billion in debts that he is selling off the assets to Russia.

Venezuela pulled CNN's Spanish-language television channel off the air on Wednesday, accusing it of spreading propaganda about an alleged visa racket at the country's embassy in Iraq. The state National Telecommunications Commission ordered the immediate suspension of broadcasts by the news channel CNN in Spanish in Venezuela, a government statement said.

The president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro is working to set up a meeting with Pope Francis in hopes of restarting talks with the Venezuelan opposition. Maduro is reportedly hoping to meet with the Pope at the Vatican, along with representatives from his opposition.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday shuffled his cabinet by naming a new economy czar to oversee the OPEC country's decaying populist system and a new oil minister to confront the economic difficulties caused by low oil prices. He also appointed a new vice-president, state governor Tarek El Aissami, a hard liner that could replace Maduro if he is forced to step down.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro reversed his decision to ban from circulation the 100-bolivar bill and gave the notes, which are worth between US$ 0.02 and 0.04 according to varying quotations, a two-week grace. The bills can now be used until January 2, Maduro said.

Diosdado Cabello, considered one of the three most powerful persons in Venezuela called Argentine president Mauricio Macri a coward, described the Argentine ambassador in Caracas as an enemy and suggested that if he had any dignity left he should pack his suitcase and leave Venezuela.