Break in Venezuelan governing coalition

One of the parties in the governing coalition in Venezuela has withdrawn its support from the president, Hugo Chavez, less than two weeks before general elections.

The leftwing Fatherland for All Patria para Todos party, or PPT, said it was leaving the coalition because Mr Chavez had broken the terms of the electoral pact by criticising several of it's regional and parliamentary candidates.

Mr Chavez dismissed the move as irrelevant, and correspondents say it is likely to have little effect on his chances of reelection.

But they say it casts doubt on the cabinet position of the Energy minister and OPEC president Ali Rodriguez, who is a PPT member.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service