With crisis escalating, Venezuela's Maduro to meet opposition

By Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Kai CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was to sit down on Sunday with opposition representatives and foreign mediators, a gesture his foes suspect is a time-wasting tactic to ease pressure on the unpopular socialist leader. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition has stepped up protests since authorities scuttled its push for a referendum this year on Maduro's rule, which polls showed he would have lost, triggering a presidential election. M