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
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
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
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
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
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
Macri relishes more relaxed meeting with Pope Francis
Sunday, October 16, 2016 Macri relishes more relaxed meeting with Pope FrancisPope Francis poses with President Mauricio Macri, second from right, his wife Juliana Awada, second from left, and their children, Agustina Macri (left), Antonia Macri (centre) and Valentina Barbier (right) on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican yesterday. President remarks that ‘many people claim to represent the pope and they do not’ following meeting“Be strong and go forward,” was the piece of advice Pope Francis gave to President Mauricio Macri at the end of their second meeting this year yesterday at the Vatican, according to Argentina’s head of state. “It was a good meeting, as I believe they always have been — like those between two people who have known each other for a long time,” Macri said. Francis also appeared to lend his backing to the government’s controversial amplification of the so-called “war on drugs,” according to Macri. “It’s a battle that cannot be lost,” Francis reportedly told Macri during the meeting.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 04:52 UTC
‘Kirchner wanted to move away from Peronism’
Sunday, October 16, 2016 ‘Kirchner wanted to move away from Peronism’By Agustina LarreaHerald StaffJournalist Mario Wainfeld analyzes what the late president represented for his party, progressive forcesIn his recent book Kirchner. So, he had the chance and, unlike other political leaders, he accepted. Many other political leaders —of course not the fearful ones — would have done the same. But he never said, “I retract from Peronism.” He said, “I move away from pejotismo, I hate it.” Seeing this now one can say that Kirchner always wanted and could never move away from Peronism. So first with the “transversality” and then with the Concertación, Kirchner wanted to leave and couldn’t.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 04:52 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
The old order changeth
As I see it Sunday, October 16, 2016 The old order changethBy James NeilsonFor the HeraldLuckily for Hillary Clinton, the US election campaign is all about the sheer horribleness of Donald Trump. Thanks to Trump, she has been able to avoid talking about unpleasant issues that, in a less bizarre situation, would surely dominate the agenda. In Turkey, Iran and North Korea, ruthless characters eager to take full advantage of the superpower’s retreat are on the move. For millennia, the Chinese leaders placed themselves at the centre of world affairs and expected foreign potentates to pay them the tribute they deserved. The many who assume that a Chinese world order would be far more agreeable for their country than the one that is falling apart should bear this in mind.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 04:52 UTC
Scant job creation expected next year despite growth forecast
Sunday, October 16, 2016 Scant job creation expected next year despite growth forecastWorkers at a construction site to build an office building and shopping mall in a residential area in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 20, 2016. Job figures in the construction have been hit badly and there is debate about the scope of a recovery in 2017. “Workers will be given overtime again, suspensions from car manufacturers will be less likely, but job creation not so much,” he argued. “But you also have to factor in population growth,” she added. With the population growing, the half decade (and counting) of scant job creation starts looking like one of decline.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2016 04:52 UTC