Venezuelan soldiers, students face off at anti-Maduro rallies

Venezuelan troops blocked students marching against President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday as pro-government supporters also rallied on the anniversary of 2014 protests that led to 43 deaths. National Guard soldiers and police fired teargas and buckshot in the volatile western city of San Cristobal against demonstrators tossing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Five security officials and three demonstrators were hurt in the nearly two-hour standoff, some shops vandalised, and four students arrested, witnesses and authorities said. More…