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World in brief: February 21
The latest news stories from around the world

VENEZUELA: The oil-backed virtual currency called the petro was launched yesterday.

Caracas hopes the novel money will reduce its dependence on the US dollar for international trade, increasing the country’s resilience in the face of US sanctions and economic warfare.

Each petro is to have the initial value of a barrel of oil and the plan is to release 100 million tokens.

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