Industrial decline continues in August as sector plunges by 6.6% on the year
mild improvement on monthly comparison Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Industrial decline continues in August as sector plunges by 6.6% on the yearIndustrial output registered another plunge in August, the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) said yesterday in a report measuring activity in the sector. The year-on-year comparison with August 2015 showed a 6.6 percent decline, the latest indication of how the sector has struggled so far in 2016. That drop was bigger than the average so far this year, as industrial output has declined by 4.7 percent since January when compared to the same months last year. The report showed that no sector is really safe from the current industrial struggle, as they all recorded declines in the yearly comparison. Industrial production has been in decline in the country for some years now, with several factors explaining the fall.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2016 05:18 UTC
Avruj denies claims of human rights budget cuts
After complaints from activists Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Avruj denies claims of human rights budget cutsHuman Rights Secretary Claudio Avruj denied yesterday that the Let’s Change (Cambiemos) administration is cutting funds to human rights organizations, in the face of claims to the contrary by activists. It’s a reorganization,” said Avruj yesterday. Several human rights organizations accuse the government of wanting to cut funding to such groups by 15 percent in the government’s 2017 budget. Yet Avruj denied the claim, alleging that the 2016 budget had been overestimated. “The Haroldo Conti Cultural Centre only needs seven million pesos to function, but the 2016 budget gave it 28 million pesos, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo University was given 75 million pesos, but it only needs 18 million,” he said.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2016 02:37 UTC
Macri ratifies the end of state-run soccer
Domestic League Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Macri ratifies the end of state-run soccerThe government said yesterday that free broadcasts of Argentine League soccer will end in January 2017. Macri has already said that he will try to include this clause in the new agreement with private partners. The confirmation was known amid the battle between soccer club officials and the AFA normalizing commission, whose members are accused by some club presidents of acting according to what the Pink House orders them to do. “The reason to name a normalizing commission was to put the administration in order, but I don’t see any improvement. The normalizing commission had specific commitments: to reform the rules and call for elections.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2016 02:03 UTC
Fears for civilians as battle for Mosul begins
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Fears for civilians as battle for Mosul beginsSmoke rises as people flee their homes during clashes between Iraqi security forces and members of the Islamic State group fightng for control of Mosul, in Iraq, yesterday. Islamic State militants were preventing people fleeing Mosul, they said, and one said they directed some towards buildings they had recently used themselves. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said that it was known that civilians were being used as human shields. The Syrian Army, meanwhile, accused the coalition of planning to allow Islamic State militants to flee across the border. US President Barack Obama said it would be a difficult fight but Islamic State “will be defeated in Mosul.”Obama is hoping to bolster his legacy by seizing back as much territory as he can from Islamic State before he leaves office in January.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2016 01:18 UTC
Concern Over Planned Spending Cuts in 2017 Budget
Rights groups have expressed concern over a proposed 15% decrease in funding for human rights issues in the 2017 budget. According to the draft budget bill presented by Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay, the Human Rights Secretariat will receive $110m less than it was assigned in 2016. The draft budget only delegate 0.6% of total expenditure to the Ministry of Science and Technology, whereas the budget allocation oscillated between 0.7% and 0.8% between 2009 and 2016. Last Thursday, 12 officials from the Ministry of Agroindustry resigned over proposed budget cuts to small-scale “family agriculture”. In the budget draft, the projected GDP growth for 2017 is 3.5% (up from an estimated -1.5% this year), with inflation forecast to come between 12% and 17%.
Source:The Argentina Independent
October 18, 2016 19:07 UTC
Real Salaries Down, Unemployment Up According to INDEC
Latest figures released by statistics office INDEC show significant job losses and a declining average real salary for workers. More than 118,000 jobs in the formal have been lost since President Mauricio Macri took office representing the Cambiemos coalition, with the official unemployment rate ticking up to 9.3%. Wages were up by just over 35% compared to the same period of the previous year, but annual inflation was 43.5%, leading to decreased purchasing power for workers and a decline in real salaries of nearly 10%. Macri has vowed to reform INDEC, the national institute for statistics and the census, which had come under fire for providing unreliable data during Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government. Unions Debate StrikeThe latest labour market data was released as the country’s leading umbrella unions debate whether to take action against the government.
Source:The Argentina Independent
October 18, 2016 13:30 UTC
Good players, but not a national team
Monday, October 17, 2016 Good players, but not a national teamBy Eric Weil / For The HeraldThe general and perhaps obvious verdict after games against Peru and Paraguay in soccer’s South American World Cup qualifying group is that Argentina cannot play without Lionel Messi. He helps to organize the team, yet does not score so many goals as for Barcelona as he plays in a different position. National team coach Edgardo Bauza is looking at a pool of 40 players to make changes, but changes are not likely to improve teamwork. The theory may work in other countries, but not in Argentina where all the good players have to play abroad and even promising ones leave before they have fully developed. Other players were no better and Sergio Agüero even failed to net a penalty, although he did face a very good goalkeeper.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 03:11 UTC
Under-fire Icardi misses penalty
SOCCER — ITALIAN LEAGUE Monday, October 17, 2016 Under-fire Icardi misses penaltyInter loses at a San Siro, banners insulting Argentine striker on displayMILAN — Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi can do no right, it seems, and a missed penalty in a 2-1 defeat against Cagliari in Serie A yesterday won’t help at all. Inter vice-president and club great Javier Zanetti has hinted Icardi could even lose the captaincy. The situation has got so bad that Inter fans even cheered after Icardi sent his penalty woefully wide of the right post in the 26th minute after he had been pushed over by Bruno Alves. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow (today), calmly, with respect to the player and respect to the fans,” Inter coach Frank De Boer said. The match between Chievo and Milan in Verona was a fight for third spot in Serie A.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 01:52 UTC
North Carolina GOP office vandalized
Monday, October 17, 2016 North Carolina GOP office vandalizedA local Republican Party office in the US state of North Carolina was damaged by fire and graffiti of an anti-GOP slogan referring to “Nazi Republicans,” authorities said yesterday. Repucblican candidate for president Donald Trump accused his political rivals on Twitter: “Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP.” Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, tweeted, “The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.” — Herald with AP
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 01:07 UTC
Temer vows fiscal discipline at BRICS summit
Monday, October 17, 2016 Temer vows fiscal discipline at BRICS summitLeaders of BRICS countries, from left, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma clasp hands for a group photo at the start of their summit in Goa, India, yesterday. Temer said yesterday that Brazil needs to prioritize cutting the deficit in order to secure that economic growth returns to the country. But ultimately, he said, that social responsibility comes down to fiscal responsibility too. The BRICS leaders adopted three agreements, including two to set up separate research networks for developing agriculture and railways. “In a world of new security challenges and continuing economic uncertainties, BRICS stands as a beacon of peace, potential and promise,” Modi said.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 01:07 UTC
The time when nobody will need to work
Monday, October 17, 2016 The time when nobody will need to workBy Liliana PalermoFor the HeraldA world without work is coming – it could be utopia or it could be hellMost of us have wondered what we might do if we didn’t need to work – if we woke up one morning to discover we had won the lottery, say. Preparing for a world without work means grappling with (9) the roles work plays in society, and finding potential substitutes. First and foremost (10), we rely on work to distribute purchasing power: to give us the dough (11) to buy our bread. People who write that kind of story are a dime a dozen / I don’t need friends like him; they are a dime a dozen. In British English slang, the word means “money,” which you use to buy “bread” to be able to satisfy the basic need of nutrition.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 01:07 UTC
SNL finally goes too far for Trump who calls for its retirement
Monday, October 17, 2016 SNL finally goes too far for Trump who calls for its retirementKate Mckinnon as Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump in SNL’s latest skit on the presidential elections. He didn’t even have much to say when SNL called his supporters racist multiple times on the same show, for example. After this weekend’s show, SNL is now part of the media conspiracy trying to rig this election, according to Trump. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. During SNL’s cold-open sketch about the presidential town hall debate, Alec Baldwin, playing Trump, is asked about whether he likes kids.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 01:07 UTC
Iraqi PM signals start of operations to liberate Mosul
Monday, October 17, 2016 Iraqi PM signals start of operations to liberate MosulIraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of military operations to liberate the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants last night, launching the country on its toughest battle since US troops left nearly five years ago. State TV aired a brief statement in the early hours Monday announcing the start of the widely anticipated military offensive to drive IS out of Iraq’s second-largest city. — Herald with AP
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2016 00:22 UTC
Tens of thousands march in Paris against same-sex marriage
In hopes to influence election debate Monday, October 17, 2016 Tens of thousands march in Paris against same-sex marriagePARIS — Tens of thousands of people have marched in Paris to call for the repeal of a law allowing gay marriage, six months before France’s next presidential election. The protesters ended up at Trocadero Plaza, near the Eiffel Tower. They were also protesting yesterday against the use of assisted reproduction techniques and surrogate mothers to help same-sex couples have babies. The group organizing the march presents itself as promoting the traditional family model of “one mother and one father.” It hopes to influence the debate before the presidential election next year. The 2013 law allowing gay marriage exposed deep divisions in French society, prompting big protests for and against such unions.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 20:15 UTC
The Francis factor
The Week Sunday, October 16, 2016 The Francis factorBy Martín Gambarotta - News EditorPolitics & LabourThose with an interest in Argentina and how its finanancial and political future will unfold should keep this in mind: Pope Francis is a factor. Francis then recently released a video addressing Argentines to tell them that he will not visit his homeland next year. The private meeting between Francis and Macri lasted for nearly an hour. Now Francis seems to be preaching the same kind of moderation when it comes to Macri, the leader of a centre-right coalition. Stories about Francis’ Peronist leanings abound.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 04:52 UTC