International
Commissions of the Argentine Senate resume debate on key law for Javier Milei
The Law Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, the star project of the Executive of Javier Milei, faces a decisive week from this Monday in its discussion prior to its processing in the Senate.
A plenary meeting of the Senate General Legislation, Budget and Finance and Constitutional Affairs committees will resume this Monday at 3:00 p.m. local time (18.00 GMT) the debate of the law and the fiscal package that were approved by Deputies on April 30 and that the Executive needs to show governance and sustainability to its economic program.
At the same time, the ruling party’s negotiations continue with the other blocks of Senators and provincial governors to approve a law that the Executive had imposed as a deadline before May 25.
Times run against the ruling party because several opposition leaders question the level of the income tax on wages, the Incentives for Large Investments (RIGI) Regime and money laundering that are contained in the bills.
If the senators modify the bill, they must return to Deputies so that it is finally sanctioned.
The presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, defended the RIGI on Monday by indicating that “it is not the looting of the country,” “it does not help entrepreneurs to take money abroad,” “much less merge SMEs,” but will attract investments of more than 200 million dollars that “are not made if there is no tax and exchange rate stability” and “will give impetus to the economy, investments and employment,” and will allow “triple the level of exports in a decade.”
The senators of La Libertad Avanza, a far-right party led by Milei, are only seven, another 33 are opposition Peronists and the rest of the 72 legislators of the Upper House are composed of potential allies.
This is the second time that Parliament has debated the bill, since in February it was approved in general by the Chamber of Deputies, but later, in the face of a sure defeat in the vote article by article in the Lower House and a foreseeable subsequent rejection in the Senate, the ruling party chose to return the bill to commissions.
After successive negotiations, the Government submitted a new project with 232 articles (compared to the 664 of the original initiative), the first of which declares the public emergency in administrative, economic, financial and energy matters for a period of one year, giving the Executive delegated powers in those matters, much less than those initially claimed by Milei.
The initiative allows the reform of the State, enables the privatization of a dozen companies, involves controversial changes in labor and retirement legislation and includes incentives for the energy and hydrocarbons sector and for large investments.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
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