Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó is offering amnesty to soldiers who back democracy and reject the current Maduro government.
At a news conference on Sunday, Guaidó said, "We are waiting for you, the soldiers of Venezuela. We are waiting for you and the commitment you have to our constitution."
Opposition followers - some shouting "Soldier friend, you're the only one missing" - handed out leaflets describing the amnesty plans at military and police posts.
Some of the soldiers threw away the paper or tore it up. But many Venezuelan military members have said they and their families are tired of the severe shortages of food and other basics.
Meanwhile, President Nicholás Maduro insisted Sunday the military is on his side as he watched military exercises using Russian-built rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft machine guns.
The Trump administration has lifted sanctions levied on Russian firms linked to the oligarch Oleg Deripaska despite a push by Democrats in the United States to keep the sanctions in place.
The Democrats and several Republicans had argued that the companies in question were under the control of Deripaska. But the U.S. Treasury Department said Sunday that the firms had reduced Deripaska's direct and indirect shareholding stake in these companies and severed his control.
It said the move ensured that most directors on the boards of the companies would be independent directors including Americans and Europeans with no ties to Deripaska.
Supporters of keeping the sanctions in place [argued] have argued that even with reduced ownership, Deripaska would continue to exert control.
This is VOA news.
Twin bombings Sunday at a cathedral in the restive southern Philippines killed 20 people and wounded more than 80. Police say earlier death tolls were incorrect because of double counting.
In a statement, the government said it would hunt down the attackers "until every killer is brought to justice and put behind bars." The statement said, "the ruthless perpetrators" will be shown "no mercy."
A hotel wall collapsed during a wedding celebration in Peru on Sunday, killing at least 15 people.
The national civil defense chief said dozens of people who had been dancing were caught under the collapsing wall and a roof early Sunday at the Alhambra hotel in the Andean city of Abancay in southern Peru.
At least 30 people had been pulled from the debris with injuries and were being treated at a nearby hospital.
The city had been battered by five days of rains, which led to the collapse of the wall.
Brazilian officials on Sunday resumed the search for hundreds of missing people after a massive dam collapsed on Friday. The search was suspended for several hours Sunday over fears that a second dam was at risk of breaching.
At least 37 people have been confirmed dead following the dam burst in the southeastern city of Brumadinho, which caused a mudslide that may have buried hundreds of mine workers who were eating lunch.
About 250 employees of the mine are still missing and are feared dead.
Some federal agencies in the U.S. are reopening after a 35-day-long shutdown came to an end. Most of them will be open by Monday. Some museums and national parks will reopen on Tuesday.
Aides to President Trump on Sunday challenged opposition Democrats to prove they want tough security on the southern border with Mexico now that the longest-ever partial government shutdown has ended and the clock is ticking on a three-week window for negotiations.
[Donald] President Trump's acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News on Sunday "This is a chance for Democrats to see if they believe in border security" to thwart illegal immigration and stop the flow of illicit drugs. Mulvaney said President Trump would secure the border "with or without Congress," including by declaring a national emergency if he has to.
He said the White House is [seeking Democra...] "seeing Democrats starting to agree with the president" on the need for a wall.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
