Sin categoría
Argentina rest Messi for World Cup qualifiers
AFP
Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi, who recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection, was on Wednesday left out of Argentina’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia, with the twice former winners already qualified for Qatar 2022.
Argentina will play Chile in Santiago on January 27 and Colombia at home on February 1 with both opponents still in contention to qualify for the tournament.
Messi contracted the virus whilst on holiday in his hometown of Rosario in Argentina in December.
On January 5, PSG announced that Messi, who joined them from Barcelona last year, was back in France after testing negative.
This week, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and Argentina captain was back in full training for the French club.
He missed the French Cup match against Vannes and two league games, the 1-1 draw with Lyon and last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat of Brest.
In all, Messi has missed 10 league matches since his arrival at PSG in August, and will make his first appearance of 2022 on Sunday against Reims.
Messi is the only one of his fellow Argentine PSG team mates not to be called up for the qualifiers, with winger Angel Di Maria and midfielder Leandro Paredes among the squad announced by coach Lionel Scaloni.
There were few changes to the 27-strong squad, with Christian Romero of Tottenham out injured, and only two Argentine club players, both from River Plate: veteran goalkeeper Franco Armani and forward Julian Alvarez, who was voted the South American Footballer of the year in 2021.
Central America
Salvadoran heroes who provided aid in Turkey return home
February 19 |
After nine days away from home, the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) El Salvador and the Humanitarian Rescue Unit (HRU) of the Armed Forces, made up of 111 rescuers, military and health personnel, who carried out search and rescue work in Turkey, returned to Salvadoran soil.
This nation was strongly affected last February 6 by two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.6 on the Richter scale, and El Salvador was one of the first countries to send rescue support.
The Salvadoran heroes landed on their return flight on Saturday afternoon at the San Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport, where they were received by the authorities of the Ministries of the Interior, Defense, Health, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the directors of Civil Protection and Firefighters.
“Thank you, a great job, it is a pride to work with you, it is a pride to have you at home, welcome heroes”, were the words of the Minister of the Interior, Juan Carlos Bidegain.
He added that thanks to the work done, El Salvador was able to demonstrate in Turkey that it has highly prepared teams that have now been placed among the elite USAR teams around the world.
“We are the ones who are grateful to you, what you have done, what you have done is incredible, what you have done is wonderful,” said Bidegain.
For his part, Erick Vázquez, lieutenant of the USAR-EL SALVADOR group, in his report to the authorities, highlighted the rescue of two people alive.
“We have done a job with all the logistics involved, we went to put into practice everything we learned. We had the joy of performing two rescues, a minor and a woman of approximately 30 years of age, we are proud to have done it”, celebrated Vázquez.
He explained that during their stay in Turkey, from February 9 to 17, they worked in 15 buildings, in which the canine unit and the rescuers did the work they were assigned to do, earning the respect and admiration of USAR groups from the rest of the world.
“Leaders of other USAR groups around the world have told us that we have positioned ourselves among the best, along with France, Germany and Egypt, among others,” Vazquez said.
The recognition given by the leaders of other USAR groups was also shared by Defense Minister Rene Francis Merino Monroy.
“I want to highlight the level of the two search teams of El Salvador [USAR and UHR] to provide assistance to other countries,” said the official.
At the same time he added: “We have in El Salvador a response team that can highly prepared to help foreign countries”.
Merino Monroy congratulated the USAR and UHR team of the Armed Forces for putting the name of El Salvador on high and fulfilling the mission entrusted to them.
“The mission that was entrusted to them, to the USAR and UHR group of the Armed Forces, to rescue lives was fulfilled, in addition to reviewing and cleaning each of the buildings in which they worked,” said the minister.
Turkey’s ambassador to El Salvador, Gül Büyükerşen, also received the heroes and expressed her gratitude for the support of the Salvadoran teams, as well as to President Nayib Bukele’s willingness to help from the first moment.
“President Nayib Bukele was one of the first leaders who spoke with my president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, by phone (after the earthquakes),” said the diplomat.
In addition, he stressed that “El Salvador may be a small country (in territory), but it has a big heart”.
Sin categoría
Biden promises Zelensky advanced air defense systems
AFP
US President Joe Biden on Monday promised to provide advanced air defense systems to Ukraine after Russian missiles rained down on the capital Kyiv and other cities, the White House said in a statement.
Biden spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky and “pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems,” the statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened more “severe” attacks against Ukraine after the biggest wave of strikes in months killed at least 11 in retaliation for an explosion that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
After speaking with Biden, Zelensky tweeted that “air defense is currently the number 1 priority in our defense cooperation.”
Kyiv said Russian forces had fired more than 80 missiles on cities across the country and that Russia had also used Iranian drones launched from neighbouring Belarus.
Biden “conveyed his condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured in these senseless attacks,” the White House said.
“He also underscored his ongoing engagement with allies and partners to continue imposing costs on Russia (and) holding Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities.”
Sin categoría
Top Argentina lawmaker named economy ‘super minister’ as crisis drags on
AFP
Argentina’s government on Thursday appointed the head of the country’s lower house of Congress, Sergio Massa, as the new economy “super minister,” as Buenos Aires attempts to surmount an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation.
Massa’s appointment brings together three ministries under his supervision: economy, development and agriculture.
Some 37 percent of Argentina’s population of 45 million live in poverty, while inflation for the first half of the year topped 36 percent.
Massa, a 50-year-old attorney by training who has been in politics for years, will take over his new post once he has properly stepped down from his seat in Congress, the office of President Alberto Fernandez said in a statement.
The previous economy minister Silvina Batakis, who had just returned from Washington where she held talks at the International Monetary Fund over Argentina’s debt, will shift over to run the state-owned bank Banco Nacion.
Argentina, which earlier this year renegotiated repayments on a $44-billion loan with the IMF, has committed to reducing its public deficit from three percent in 2021 to 0.9 percent by 2024.
On Thursday, thousands of people demonstrated in Buenos Aires for a “universal salary” worth 67,000 pesos (around $490 at the official exchange rate), which amounts to the cost of two basic food baskets, for the country’s lowest earners.
“Poverty has taken control of the country,” Monica Sulle, a leader of the Socialist Workers’ Movement (MST), told AFP.
“This unstoppable inflation is taking a seat at the family dinner table at every level of society, but in the poorest sectors, it’s a catastrophe,” said Vilma Ripoli, a leader of the Workers’ Leftist Front (FIT).
Ecuadorian lawyer’s murderer convicted of femicide
Venezuelan President activates plan for rainy season
Indigenous woman wins award for campaign against mining companies in the Amazon
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Media join “I stay home” and “Together we will move forward El Salvador”
Panama has suspended international flights for another month
-
International3 days agoEcuadorian lawyer’s murderer convicted of femicide
-
International4 days agoEarthquake shakes the Panama-Colombia border
-
International3 days agoVenezuelan President activates plan for rainy season
-
International4 days agoPeruvian president summoned to testify for protest deaths
-
International4 days agoIndigenous woman wins award for campaign against mining companies in the Amazon