Venezuela shuts down McDonald's

Venezuela's government has shut all branches of restaurant chain McDonald's for 48 hours, citing tax irregularities, officials have said.

The head of the country's tax agency, Jose David Cabello, said the chain had inconsistencies in its accounts.

The 115 branches in Venezuela were closed from Thursday to Saturday.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is a fierce US critic and last month was at the heart of tit-for-tat US-Latin American diplomatic expulsions.  More on BBC NEWS