Page 11 - MIN.TTC MARCH 9,2015

WORLD NEWS A11
Monday 9 March 2015

Venezuela to install finger scanners to tackle shortages

A woman waits in line to check out at the Dia a Dia hension of all of Venezue- for huge gains. of world oil prices by nearly
supermarket in the Propatria neighborhood of Caracas, la, to understand this prob- In recent days, those prof- half since November is also
Venezuela. Venezuela will begin installing some 20,000 lem, because there is a its have become juicier diminishing the supply of
fingerprint scanners at supermarkets nationwide in a bid to lot of manipulation taking as a result of Venezuela’s dollars available to import
stamp out hoarding and panic buying. place,” Maduro said at the tanking currency. The bo- everything from milk to
inauguration of a state-run livar has slid 35 percent in cars. Crude oil accounts
(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) supermarket. the past two weeks on the for 95 percent of Venezu-
Economists say the effort is black market and now ela’s exports. As Venezue-
bound to fail. They blame trades at nearly one-forti- la’s economic crisis deep-
decade-old price controls eth the official rate used ens the government is in-
for destroying local manu- to import food, according creasingly lashing out at its
facturing and attracting to DolarToday, a website opponents and the United
smugglers who can resell that tracks the illegal rate States, which it says is trying
the goods on the black based on currency trades to sow instability and set
market and in Colombia along the border. The fall the stage for a coup.q

HANNAH DREIR the rationing system for
Associated Press months at state-run super-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) markets along the west-
— Venezuela will begin in- ern border with Colombia,
stalling some 20,000 finger- where smuggling of price-
print scanners at supermar- controlled goods is a major
kets nationwide in a bid to problem.
stamp out hoarding and On Saturday, President
panic buying, which the Nicolas Maduro said that
government blames for seven large private re-
long lines and widespread tail chains had voluntarily
shortages of basic goods. agreed to install the scan-
The oil-rich nation has ners.
been selectively rolling out “I ask for the the compre-

Colombia, rebels announce
plan to remove land mines

ANNE GARCIA of sites while working under
Associated Press the supervision of a team
HAVANA (AP) — Colom- that will include two mem-
bia’s government and the bers each from the gov-
country’s biggest rebel ernment, the Revolutionary
movement announced Armed Forces of Colombia
an agreement Saturday and affected communi-
to begin a pilot program ties. “The proposal for de-
for removing land mines as mining is a first step, but a
part of efforts to lower the giant step toward making
intensity of a conflict that peace,” said Humberto de
has lasted a half century. La Calle, spokesman for
The announcement came the government.
at the end of the latest Ivan Marquez, the chief
round of peace talks that negotiator for the rebel
began in Cuba’s capital movement known as the
since in November 2012. FARC, said the deal would
Under the agreement, the help remove unexploded
Colombian army battalion mines — explosives that
that specializes in remov- “have taken the dreams of
ing mines will clear explo- thousands of people living
sives at a selected number in our country.”q