36 tennis player Sebastián Báez at the 2026 Australian Open. The 25-year-old fell by 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi after just under two and a half hours of play. However, coming from a three-hour grind against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, Báez visibly felt the Melbourne heat. The fourth set was more of the same, with a visibly more settled Darderi sealing the match without issue. It’s not the last we’ve heard of Argentine tennis stars in the 2026 Australian Open, as Cerúndolo and Etcheverry will feature in the third round, going up against Andrey Rublev (15) and Alexander Bublik (10) respectively.

Santa Cruz provincial government confirmed on Sunday that it had received a US$136 million loan from China in order to resume work on a hydroelectric dam, a project that has been paralyzed since December 2023. The total loan amounts to US$150 million, and comes from a consortium of banks led by ICBC and the Bank of China. While US$136 million was transferred to Santa Cruz, the other US$14 million will remain in China to pay suppliers. The dams are located 115 kilometers west of Puerto Santa Cruz. Last week, the Santa Cruz government held a meeting with representatives of Gezhouba and the Argentine Construction Workers’ Union (UOCRA), seeking to finalize the necessary agreements to restart the project.

Argentine authorities have confirmed the country’s first death associated with a new variant of flu, the influenza A (H3N2). Genomic analyses carried out by the Malbrán Institute confirmed 28 cases of the Subtype K, one of the variants currently being monitored because of its potential to cause serious illness. It caused the flu season to start earlier than usual in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, and unusually severe flu in those countries. Until the most recent weekly figures were released, Argentina had confirmed 11 cases in five provinces. Argentina’s latest epidemiological bulletin noted that only six people who had the new flu variant had been vaccinated against flu.

President Javier Milei defended the need for countries to engage in free enterprise capitalism and drop what he called “socialist” policies while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “That is, to make Argentina great again,” he stated, quoting United States President Donald Trump’s famous motto. Milei’s speech was part of the third day of the Davos forum and took place right after United States President Donald Trump’s presentation, which extended further than planned, delaying the rest of the scheduled activities. In 2024, just a month after he became president, Milei used his debut at the Davos Forum to warn the businesspeople and world leaders present about the “dangers” of socialism, feminism, and climate activism. On Wednesday, before taking part in the forum, Milei met with a group of CEOs from international banks and finance firms, including the leaders of Citigroup, BlackRock, and BBVA.

There’ll be at least two Argentine tennis stars in the 2026 Australian Open third round, as Francisco Cerúndolo (world No.20) and Tomás Etcheverry (61) won their respective games on Tuesday. Cerúndolo was the first to seal his ticket for the next round. I love playing tennis with this energy.”The win will undoubtedly help Etcheverry keep up his resurgence. Tirante and Comesaña outIt wasn’t all good news for Argentines in the Australian Open, as Thiago Tirante (103) and Francisco Comesaña (68) bowed out. The Argentine fell 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a rain-delayed affair played late into the Australian night.

First, the good news: for the second year running, the Milei government achieved a trade surplus in 2025, with a positive balance of US$11.286 billion, according to Argentina’s statistical institute, INDEC. December finished with a US$1.9 billion surplus, the second highest figure of the year, only surpassed by the November surplus. It means Argentina has accumulated 25 consecutive months with a trade surplus, which coincides exactly with the length of Javier Milei’s term as president. Exports of goods totaled US$87 billion in 2025 — close to the 2022 record of US$88 billion. However, even with that rise, last year’s trade surplus was 40% lower than the previous year, when it reached almost US$18.9 billion.

The European Parliament has voted to send the Mercosur-European Union trade deal to the EU’s top court to verify whether it complies with existing EU treaties. This means implementation of the agreement could now happen in at least two years from now, supposing it will be approved by the European Parliament. It is divided into two parts: a strictly trade-only pact, designed to be implemented right after the European Commission and European Parliament approve it, and a broader one, that includes investment and environmental sections, which needs parliamentary approval from each participating country. 334 parliament members backed the provision, 10 above those who rejected it, while 11 abstained. Farmers led mass protests on Wednesday outside of the European Parliament as the vote took place, signaling their disapproval of the EU-Mercosur deal.

The revelation is significant insofar as it targets one of President Javier Milei’s main policies. The brief identified an additional four “risks” to Argentina: lack of economic opportunity or unemployment, economic downturn (e.g., recession, stagnation), inequality (wealth, income), and social polarization. Last year, right-wing PRO party leader and former Argentine President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) denounced a deepfake AI video that spread on social media. The footage falsely depicted him encouraging the public to vote for presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni in the Buenos Aires City legislative elections. Macri took to his own social media channels to condemn the video, calling the matter “an attempt at electoral fraud” conducted by ruling party La Libertad Avanza.

A French mountaineer died on Monday near the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas and in the Southern Hemisphere, in Mendoza province. Guillaume Ferey, 33, collapsed and died at “La Cueva,” a spot located about 200 meters from the summit, at an altitude of 6,700 meters. Second death on AconcaguaThis is the second death on Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Andes Mountains, in 2026. The first occurred on January 4, when a 55-year-old Russian mountaineer died, also just meters from the summit. According to official figures, more than 55,000 people visited Aconcagua Provincial Park last season.

Argentine tennis star Sebastián Báez (ranked 36 in ATP singles) beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (61) on Monday, taking the total number of Argentines that made it to the 2026 Australian Open second round to five. However, the Argentine player broke the Frenchman’s serve early both in the first and second sets and raced to a two sets to none lead. As he had done in the first couple of sets, Báez took an early lead and physical issues stopped Mpetshi Perricard from forcing his way back. “I had the chance to wrap it up before but I wasn’t able to take it,” the Argentine player told the press after the match. He joins the other Argentines set to play in the second round starting Tuesday.

Several hotspots of the wildfire that began in the touristic area of Puerto Patriada, Chubut, in the Patagonia region, reignited on Monday due to the heat and dry weather. Almost 15,000 hectares of native forest and implanted vegetation have been consumed since the fires began on January 5. This means that, although there are still active hotspots, firefighters have been able to make a barrier around the fire’s perimeter to stop it from spreading further. The wildfire began on January 5 in Puerto Patriada, near the Epuyén lake, and spread to surrounding areas, affecting vegetation, animals and at least 20 homes. One man was arrested on Monday, accused of attempting to start a fire, although it remains unclear how the fires began on Saturday.

A group of 23 Argentine human rights organizations published a joint statement condemning a January decree issued by President Javier Milei granting the intelligence agency SIDE the power to arrest people. According to the human rights groups, this will turn the decree into “a tool for massive surveillance.” They urged Congress to discuss and vote against the decree. The CELS has also made presentations to local courts and the Inter-American Human Rights System. “This decree overrides a previous order banning intelligence sectors from carrying out ‘repressive’ and ‘compulsive’ tasks,” Morales told the Herald. “If an intelligence agent did the same, under the new decree, theoretically, there would be no legal consequences,” said Morales.

At least 19 people have been confirmed dead by the Chilean government as wildfires, that started on Saturday, spread through the south-central region of the country, devastating the Ñuble and Biobío regions. So far, over 50,000 people have been evacuated from fire-affected areas. The fires have ravaged heavily populated areas in Ñuble and Biobío, some 500 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, Santiago. Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde said the country is “facing a complex scenario,” with over 3700 firefighters working in the area. Boric travelled to the nearby city of Concepción to lead the firefighting operations, and has decreed a state of emergency in the area.

Iran warned Argentina that its decision over the weekend to label the Iranian military’s Quds Force unit a terrorist organization will “undoubtedly receive an appropriate response” from Tehran. The Quds Force is an elite unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the main branch of the country’s armed forces. See more The United States welcomes Argentina’s decision, under President Javier Milei’s leadership, to designate the Quds Force as a terrorist organization. This means that Quds Force members and allies could be subject to economic sanctions and be restricted in their ability to operate in Argentina. Days ago, Argentina also declared the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Jordanian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

President Javier Milei issued a decree ordering Congress to carry out extraordinary sessions during February, a month in which the parliament is normally on summer break. The extraordinary sessions will extend from February 2 until the 27th, finishing one day before the official reopening of Congress and the start of the ordinary period, on March 1. Milei already had Congress carry out extraordinary sessions during the last three weeks of December, right after the ordinary period ended at the end of November. Milei has called for extraordinary Congress sessions every summer since he took office to debate controversial issues. 2026 summer sessions agenda2026 will be no exception, as Milei — once again — has filed controversial bills for debate during the extraordinary sessions period.