Caracas - Venezuelan tax authorities have forced the 115 McDonald's fast-food restaurants in the South American country to close shop for 48 hours until late Saturday, due to irregularities in their accounting.

David Cabello, head of the Venezuelan tax office Seniat, said late Thursday that the authorities detected "inconsistencies in the purchases and sales books relative to the Value Added Tax (VAT), following procedure to verify formal obligations."

Caracas - Former Venezuelan defence minister Raul Baduel, a current leader of the opposition to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was detained Friday for questioning in a corruption case, officials said.

Military prosecutor Nelson Morales said Baduel refused to appear before a court that is investigating an alleged misuse of public funds when he commanded the Venezuelan Army from 2004 to 2006.

Military intelligence officers were following the judge's orders as they took Baduel from the central Venezuelan city of Maracay, where the retired general lives, to the court in Caracas, Morales said.

Officials made it clear that Baduel was not arrested, as had originally been reported.

Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said that the global financial crisis has gone beyond the economy to become "a real threat for the world," a sort of perfect storm.

"The world crisis is complete, because it is not just economic, it is political, it is ethical, environmental, food-related, energy- related. This crisis is something like the crisis that no one wants, the perfect crisis (in which) all variants joined into one and it is a real threat for the world," Chavez said.

Later Wednesday, he sent a message of "solidarity" to the people of the United States whom he called "brothers."

Moscow- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is due to land in Russia on Thursday for a two-day visit as the two countries extend military ties and close rank in opposition to the United States.

Chavez travels to Moscow from China, and will meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at his country residence at 8 pm (1700 GMT), Putin's press office said.

On Friday the Venezuelan leader is set to fly to the southern Russian city of Orenburg, near the border with Kazakhstan, for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, who is on a tour of the regions.

Beijing - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday before the two sides signed an oil cooperation deal and several economic agreements.

The Chinese government gave no immediate details of the oil agreement but it said other documents covered economic cooperation, education and justice.

The Venezuelan government said more than 20 agreements would be signed during Chavez's three-day visit to China, which began on Tuesday.