International

Thousands of Argentines protest soaring inflation

AFP

Thousands of Argentines brought central Buenos Aires to a standstill on Thursday in another massive protest against the South American country’s soaring inflation.

The “Federal march for work and salaries, and against hunger and poverty” was bolstered by thousands of people arriving from outside the capital, heeding the call from multiple unions and left-wing groups critical of center-left President Alberto Fernandez’s social policies.

Calls to protest have become more frequent since the start of the year, as the Argentine economy shows no signs of stemming its inflationary trend.

In the first four months of 2022, prices rose 23 percent, including a 6 percent jump in April, according to figures published Thursday.

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Having already recorded inflation of over 50 percent in 2021, the current rate would surpass even the worst estimates of 60 percent by the end of the year.

Protesters are also angry at the government’s budgetary restraint, a necessity during debt renegotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will see the country reduce its annual deficit from three percent of GDP in 2021 to zero by 2025.

Argentina’s left and far left have little clout at the ballot box but a great capacity to organize street protests.

They are vehemently opposed to repaying Argentina’s $44 billion IMF debt, and demand more generous social aid packages.

One of their main slogans is: “the debt is to the people.”

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While the administration has tried to limit expectations of more aid, splits have begun to appear in the government coalition, with Vice President Cristina Kirchner, the former president, openly criticizing Fernandez.

“I don’t think we will honor all the expectations, all the confidence, all the hope that has been placed in us,” she said several days ago, in a veiled barb at the president.

In recent weeks, Fernandez boosted by 50 percent food vouchers for the poor, increased pensions for those working in the informal sector, and also hiked the minimum wage from 38,940 to 45,540 pesos ($319 to $373).

International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.