Five people killed in demonstrations in total

TWO DIE IN VENEZUELA DEMO

Two people have been killed as protests continue in Venezuela against the rule of President Hugo Chavez.

Protesters took to the streets after the country's electoral council decided the opposition had not collected enough signatures for a referendum on Mr Chavez's leadership.

Five people have died in five days of demonstrations in the capital.

Rioting over council delays had spread from Caracas to other cities before the decision and intensified immediately afterward.

Mr Chavez opponents say they submitted more than 3.4 million signatures. Some 2.4 million are needed for a recall election.

If Chavez, who was re-elected to a six-year term in 2000, loses in a referendum held before mid-August, the midway point for his term, new presidential elections must be held.

But if he loses in a vote held after mid-August, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel would take over for the rest of his term.

Opponents fear if that happens, Chavez would merely rule behind his right-hand man for the rest of his term, which ends in January 2007.