International
Milei denies that Scholz has mentioned the social impact of the reforms in Argentina
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, denied on Monday that the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has mentioned to him, at the meeting they held in Berlin, the impact on the social situation of the strong reforms he is making to lower inflation.
“He never mentioned that to me,” “at no time,” Milei replied in an interview on Mitre radio in Argentina, since the official German statement indicated that Scholz stressed the importance of the “social compatibility” of the reforms undertaken by the president.
Milei met with the head of the German Government during the third stopover of his European tour – which the Argentine president describes as “an excellent trip” – which began in Madrid, continued in Hamburg, and after passing through Berlin, he will meet this Monday with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the conservative Petr Fiala.
“Afar from questioning social policy, (the German authorities) weigh it, because they understand that in the face of an adjustment of this caliber and the initial conditions, social policy has had to be extremely good, because in the face of what we have done, it would have been a catastrophe if we had not acted correctly,” Milei explained in another section of the interview.
Milei has managed to reach the fiscal surplus in the first five months of the year, from a deficit of 6% of GDP in 2023, at the expense of a hard adjustment, which allowed him to slow inflation at a rate of 4.2% monthly last May and 276.4% year-on-on-year.
“It was a very productive meeting” and “extremely positive,” Milei said when talking about his meeting with Scholz, the first he has with a social democratic leader since he took the presidency, on December 10.
“The German minister asked us about how the economic program was working, given that (Germany) has an important weight in the IMF,” since Argentina intends to renegotiate (with the IMF) the financing program for more than $41 billion, and “what were the prospects for the future,” Milei explained.
“We have talked about the inconveniences of German companies in Argentina and how we were making progress in solving those problems,” Milei added.
Germany is the eighth foreign investor in Argentina, with interests in the manufacturing, mineral and oil extraction and retail and wholesale sectors, and with the presence of companies such as Siemens, Volkswagen and Bayer.
President Milei also referred to the “issue of natural resources, of extreme importance for Germany,” which “woust be motivating many investments to be made in Argentina,” since both leaders addressed global energy security and the importance of having critical minerals.
Milei mentioned that, as indicated in the official statement issued at the end of the meeting, Argentina’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the integration of Mercosur with the European Union (EU) was also discussed.
In addition, they talked about Argentina’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and agreed that Russia has in its hands to end the war of aggression against Ukraine.
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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