Large anti-Maduro march held in Caracas,Venezuela

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to protest against President Nicolas Maduro.

Opposition supporters, staging their largest rally for two years, called for Mr Maduro's removal.

They blame him for Venezuela's economic crisis and accuse the electoral commission of delaying a referendum that could shorten his stay in power.

The opposition said close to a million people turned out for their march, that authorities dubbed the "Takeover of Caracas", but the government disputed the figures.

"We have shown to the world the importance of Venezuela and how much it wants change," said opposition politician Jesus Torrealba.

Dressed predominantly in white, they chanted "we are going to bring down Maduro".

Protesters said they had enough of the policies of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

"We are going to defeat hunger, crime, inflation and corruption. They've done nothing in 17 years. Their time is finished,"

The opposition hopes the march will pressure the electoral authorities into allowing them to launch the second petition needed to trigger the recall referendum as soon as possible.

Timing is key as the date when the referendum is held will determine what happens next.

If a referendum should go against the president before 10 January, new elections will be held, which the opposition hopes to win.

But if it is held after that date and Mr Maduro is recalled, his loyal vice-president will serve out the end of his term until 2019.