Oil Exports Slump As Venezuelan Strike Drags on

Venezuela's open-ended general strike has entered its 10th day as the country's production of oil, of which it is the world's fifth biggest exporter, stood at just a quarter of normal levels.

The government and opposition were today trying again to negotiate an end to the general strike aimed at toppling President Hugo Chavez, after a night of rival street demonstrations by pro and anti-Chavez protestors.

"Let's both give in," urged health minister Maria Urbaneja. The government was ready to discuss a date for elections on Mr Chavez's rule, she said, if the opposition first ended the strike.

Fearful of violence and a meltdown of public order, the United States issued a travel warning urging citizens and non-essential embassy staff to leave the country.

Supporters and opponents of Venezuela's leftwing president took to the streets last night in Caracas trying to outshout each other about opposition demands for his resignation.

Yesterday saw panic buying at petrol stations and supermarkets and vast queues at banks as people withdrew money.

The defence minister, Jose Luis Prieto, made an impassioned televised plea for the strike to end, saying Mexico could usurp the country's place as an oil producer. "Fellow Venezuelans, let us get back to normal quickly, because otherwise the market will be taken away from us," he said.

But Cesar Gaviria, the secretary-general of the Organisation of American States and the man heading international mediations, reported no progress in yesterday's talks between the government and opposition. "I cannot say we have advanced," he said. Further talks are scheduled for later today.

With many stores shuttered for the strike and with oil exports virtually paralysed, many feared a turn for the worse.

For a second night, hundreds of noisy "Chavistas", as the president's followers are known, ringed the headquarters of the private Globovision TV network last night. They also rallied outside the state oil monopoly.

Elsewhere, thousands of Venezuelans opposed to Mr Chavez's four-year rule entered the streets after sundown, banging pots together. "We are all in mourning until Chavez leaves power," said Inez Quintera, 58, who marched with thousands of other presidential opponents.

That march started off peacefully but the evening protests were noisy affairs, with the separate rallies showing Venezuelans bitterly divided over Mr Chavez's rule. Three people were killed and 28 injured during shooting at an opposition rally last Friday.

Already the survivor of one coup earlier this year, Mr Chavez is again waging a battle to save his presidency. To end the strike, he seems to have two choices: to crack down using the military, or to negotiate an early vote on his rule.

But now many of Mr Chavez's foes said they now no longer want a mere referendum on early elections as some in the opposition once proposed. "We want Chavez to fall, nothing less," said Selina Palaver, 71, who tooted a black whistle and clutched a vial of vinegar as a possible antidote to tear gas.