La AFA suspende el San Lorenzo-All Boys

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

La Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) suspendió el partido del domingo próximo entre San Lorenzo y con All Boys de la Liga de Primera División a raíz de la agresión de vándalos al jugador sanlorencista Jonathan Bottinelli, informaron fuentes de la federación.

El partido fue aplazado a petición del Comité de Seguridad mientras se instruyen actuaciones por el incidente, ocurrido durante el entrenamiento del miércoles en instalaciones del San Lorenzo y que podría desembocar en sanciones deportivas al club, indicaron. El presidente de San Lorenzo, Carlos Abdo, negó que el club atraviese por una «crisis institucional» y confirmó que presentará una denuncia penal por el ataque a Bottinelli en vista de que el jugador se abstuvo de hacerlo.

Bottinelli fue atacado a golpes por tres miembros de la «barra brava» (grupo violento) del San Lorenzo que se acercaron a un grupo de jugadores para recriminarles el flojo desempeño del equipo, que marcha en los últimos puestos de la clasificación. Abdo subrayó han sido despedidos los responsables de custodiar las instalaciones del club y que Bottinelli cuenta con el apoyo de la institución y se le ha dado una licencia «para que se recupere emocionalmente».

El dirigente de San Lorenzo reconoció que Bottinelli fue agredido por «personas que no tenían nada que hacer» en las instalaciones del club y sostuvo que se han tomado medidas para «garantizar» que no se repitan estos hechos. Además evitó comentar rumores según los cuales el defensa y otros miembros de la plantilla han decidido emigrar a otros clubes disgustados por las amenazas y agresiones de la «barra brava».

El sindicato de futbolistas ha reclamado que se investigue si los vándalos que atacaron al defensa y amenazan a los jugadores del San Lorenzo son socios del club o son amparados por los dirigentes. En los últimos años se han repetido las amenazas y agresiones de grupos de vándalos a jugadores de equipos de todas las divisiones del fútbol de Argentina, donde se han registrado más de 220 muertos en hechos de violencia en los estadios en los últimos setenta años

Fuente: EFE

La UCR y un momento histórico, ¿tocó fondo?

Chiara Oct 28, 2011

Desde el retorno a la democracia hasta la actualidad el radicalismo nunca había realizado un año electoral tan paupérrimo a nivel gobernadores. De tener al mando 9 provincias en 1999, en 2011 perdió en todas.

El proceso electoral de la Unión Cívica Radical el pasado domingo 23 de octubre terminó por confirmar que el 2011 fue el peor año electoral a nivel provincias del centenario partido.

Los números son irrefutables y las experiencias electorales de este año han marcado un quiebre en el radicalismo. Desde el regreso a la democracia hasta la actualidad, el espacio de la boina blanca nunca había realizado una tan mala producción electoral en las diferentes provincias.

Agencia de Noticias CNA los invita a repasar los diferentes procesos electorales desde 1983 hasta la actualidad para legitimar que el año electoral de la UCR fue muy magro.

En el 1983, cuando Raúl Alfonsín logró llegar a la presidencia, el radicalismo consiguió el triunfo en siete provincias. Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Misiones, Río Negro Chubut y Córdoba.

Ya en 1987, el número se acorta y solamente quedaron tres provincias en manos de dirigentes radicales: Córdoba, Río Negro y Tucumán.

Cuatro años más tardes, en 1991, el radicalismo puede mantener Córdoba y Río Negro, pero pierde Tucumán. A pesar de esto, logra el triunfo en Chubut y Catamarca.

A mediados de la década del 90, en 1995, cuando Carlos Saúl Menem es reelecto a la presidencia de la Nación, el radicalismo consigue mantener Córdoba, Chubut, Río Negro y Catamarca y se suma Chaco.

Luego de esto, llega el año 1999 y el triunfo de Fernando de la Rua encabezando la Alianza. En esta oportunidad la UCR alcanza el tope de provincias gobernadas desde 1983 a la fecha, se quedó con ocho gobernaciones: Chaco, Chubut, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Río Negro, Chubut, San Juan y Formosa. En 2001, ganó Corrientes.

Luego de esta trepada, todo se desmoronó en el radicalismo. La salida de De la Rua antes de tiempo hizo que también se perdieran varias gobernaciones. En 2003 cuando Néstor Kirchner ganó la carrera presidencial, el centenario partido se quedó con solo 4 de las 9 provincias que gobernaba: Catamarca, Chaco, Mendoza, Río Negro y se agregó Tierra del Fuego.

En 2007 se sintió aún más la caída del radicalismo, solo pudo quedarse con el triunfo en Río Negro y Catamarca, ambas provincias formaron parte de lo que se llamó Concertación y los gobernantes fueron reconocidos como radicales K.

En este 2011 el radicalismo tocó fondo, no ganó en ninguna de las provincias y perdió las dos que tenía, Río Negro y Catamarca.

Síntesis de un final que se venia venir pero que nadie parece que se percató dentro del radicalismo y ahora deberá volver a hacerse fuerte empezando prácticamente desde cero.
Fuente: www.agenciacna.com

Brasil: policías y estudiantes se enfrentaron en la Universidad

Chiara Oct 28, 2011

Policías y estudiantes se enfrentaron en el campus de la Universidad de San Pablo (USP), durante la represión de los efectivos a una protesta de alumnos por la detención de tres de ellos que fumaban marihuana.

La policía reprimió con gases lacrimógenos la protesta, originada por que detención de tres alumnos dentro de la ciudad universitaria por fumar marihuana y el aumento de la ocupación policial en el campus.

La prensa local, citada por la agencia Ansa, señala que tras los enfrentamientos entre policías y estudiantes, decenas de alumnos ocuparon el edificio de la administración de la Facultad de Historia y Geografía.

Según la versión policial, una patrulla que llevaba a los tres alumnos que tenían marihuana fue agredida por varios jóvenes, lo que habría generado los incidentes.

La USP, considerada una de las universidades públicas más importantes de Brasil, firmó recientemente un acuerdo con la policía del estado para aumentar el patrullaje en la ciudad universitaria.
Fuente: diariohoy.net

Moyano recordó a NK con críticas al Gobierno

Chiara Oct 28, 2011

Homenaje inusual a Néstor Kirchner fue el que llevó adelante ayer el líder sindical Hugo Moyano. El secretario General de la CGT reflotó el reclamo de que los trabajadores tengan participación en las ganancias de las empresas.

En el acto que organizó ayer para recordar al ex presidente Néstor Kirchner, el titular de la Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Hugo Moyano​, reflotó el reclamo de que los trabajadores tengan participación en las ganancias de las empresas.

«El mejor homenaje que podemos hacerle a Néstor Carlos Kirchner es que los trabajadores participen en las ganancias», aseguró el titular de la CGT durante un discurso que brindó en la sede que la Central tiene sobre la calle Azopardo.

Continuando con sus declaraciones lanzó: “Los trabajadores tenemos que lograr la participación en las ganancias; esa es la verdadera profundización del modelo”.

El proyecto, lanzado el año pasado desde la central obrera, fue motivo de debate público hasta que el Gobierno nacional decidió dejarlo de lado. Ahora lo reflotó Moyano quien se animó a darle consejos a la presidenta Cristina Fernández para su próximo mandato. Tras señalar que “no es posible que los trabajadores no logren participar en las ganancias”, marcó como temas “a mejorar, la reducción de la cantidad de desocupados y la gente que todavía trabaja en negro”.

En tanto, su hijo Facundo, diputado nacional electo, adelantó que cuando asuma en su banca solicitará que el piso del Impuesto a las Ganancias,que hoy está en 7.900 pesos para una persona casada y con hijos, se eleve a 12.600 pesos.

Los reclamos moyanistas se producen justo cuando en el seno de la CGT, con el auspicio del Gobierno nacional, se ha comenzado a debatir la continuidad del líder camionero al frente de la central obrera.

Antes del acto, los gremialistas estuvieron en la Plaza de Mayo y cantaban: «si lo tocan a Moyano que quilombo se va a armar».
Fuente: www.agenciacna.com

Para contener la demanda de dólares, el Banco Central redobla los controles

Chiara Oct 28, 2011

Con el objetivo de desalentar la demanda de dólares y redoblar los controles, el Banco Central dictó dos resoluciones estableciendo nuevas exigencias para quienes adquieran más de 250 mil dólares en un año y más requisitos para la compra de empresas o inmuebles por parte de no residentes en el país.

Con estas exigencias, el Central apunta a frenar la sangría de reservas que tiene la entidad que preside Mercedes Marcó del Pont y que supera los 4.500 millones de dólares en el año.
En un comunicado, el directorio del Central explicó que los nuevos requisitos para la adquisición de dólares apuntan a «profundizar las regulaciones existentes para la compra de moneda extranjera sin destino específico, con el fin de restringir las operatorias con fondos provenientes de la informalidad que buscan eludir las normativas cambiarias».
La medida vinculada con la compra de propiedades por parte de no residentes tiene como objetivo «incorporar en un pie de igualdad para el requisito de ingresar en el mercado de cambios divisas originadas en diversas fuentes, a la venta de activos y empresas de residentes locales a extranjeros».
Al respecto, explicó que en los casos de compras de empresas locales, aportes de capital o adquisición de inmuebles por parte de no residentes, se deberá registrar el ingreso de los fondos en el mercado local de cambios al momento de efectuar la inversión.
«Para una eventual repatriación al exterior de los fondos sin la conformidad previa del Banco Central, se deberá haber registrado el ingreso de las divisas en el mercado local de cambios al momento de efectuar la inversión inicial», dijo el BCRA.
De esta manera, si una empresa no residente compra una empresa local, y con posterioridad decidiera vender la misma a un residente, para poder remitir al exterior esos fondos sin requerir la conformidad del Banco Central se deberá demostrar que fueron ingresados los recursos en el mercado local de cambios al momento de comprar la empresa local en cuestión.
Este nuevo requisito no alcanza a las inversiones realizadas con anterioridad a la fecha, a las inversiones que no se materializan con un desembolso de fondos, así como tampoco será necesario para el giro al exterior de las rentas generadas por las inversiones.
A través de otra decisión, se profundizan los requisitos que ya debían cumplir quienes compran en un año calendario activos externos por montos superiores a los US$ 250.000, orientados a demostrar que los fondos aplicados a la compra están justificados fiscal y patrimonialmente.
«En lugar de establecer la compatibilidad de las compras de moneda extranjera con las declaraciones de bienes personales —según fija la norma hoy en vigencia— en adelante se deberá demostrar que se cuenta con fondos específicos justificados para aplicar a la compra de moneda extranjera», precisó.
En el caso de las personas jurídicas se establece una capacidad de compra anual en función del patrimonio neto, deduciendo las inversiones en activos externos, participaciones en sociedades locales y depósitos locales en moneda extranjera, ajustando ese monto por las distribuciones de utilidades y dividendos posteriores al cierre del balance, las ganancias del período y las ventas de billetes en el mercado local de cambios del período.

NA

Toms defends Couples’s Woods pick for Presidents Cup

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

United States team member David Toms has defended captain Fred Couples’s faith in Tiger Woods for next month’s Presidents Cup, following a barrage of criticism over the struggling former world number one’s selection.
Couples preferred Woods over a number of in-form candidates for one of his two captain’s picks, including U.S. PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, despite the 14-times major champion’s failure to win a tournament in two years and ongoing form woes as he grapples to master a rebuilt swing.
Internationals captain Greg Norman and team member Geoff Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open champion, have both questioned Couples’s pick, with the former adding fuel to the fire by saying he thought Woods incapable of winning another major.
Toms, a 13-time PGA Tour winner, said Woods would be the «best player in the world» if fit and in form.
«So if he’s working on his game and he feels healthy, I think he’s a great addition to the team,» the 44-year-old told reporters in a conference call on Thursday.
«Any time that there’s a captain’s pick involved, there’s going to be a deserving player that gets left off because you can’t pick everybody.
«I guess really the only way to do it would just be to take the 12 and just make it — the top 12 guys make the team, no captain’s picks, and that’s the easy way out.
«But I think obviously something that Fred thought long and hard about. He’s talked to Tiger quite a bit about it, and I still think that Tiger in a match play format is very, very difficult to beat.
«And I’m not sure as an opponent you’d want to play him. So I think it’s a great pick.»
Woods has been a shadow of his former self since revelations over his marital infidelities at the end of 2009 led to the breakdown of his marriage. His last tournament win came at the Australian Masters in 2009 and his world ranking has since slipped to 55.
But the American has played every Presidents Cup since 1998 and was dominant as the U.S. won the last edition in San Francisco in 2009.
Couples urged Woods to justify his selection by playing himself into form ahead of the November 17-20 tournament in Melbourne, and the 35-year-old obliged by making a rare appearance in the PGA Tour’s Fall Series at the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club, California.
Woods hit three successive scores in the 60s at the tournament, his first after a two-month break following an erratic, injury-hit season, but still finished 10 strokes behind winner Bryce Molder.
The American’s Presidents Cup credentials will come into much sharper focus days before the tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, when he headlines the Australian Open in Sydney, where he will clash with Internationals Norman, Ogilvy, Adam Scott and Jason Day.
buenosairesherald.com

Report: 6 killed after flooding ravages parts of northern Italy

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

At least six people have died and several others are missing after rains triggered severe flooding in northern Italy, state-run news agency ANSA reported.

Heavy rains continued to fall Thursday night in Milan and other spots across the southern European nation, according to the Servizio Meteorologico, Italy’s official weather agency. That includes an alert from the agency about intense, widespread rainfall — potentially with strong wind gusts and hail — in the regions of Calabria and Basilicata, as well as the eastern part of Sicily.

Meanwhile, Monterosso al Mare — between Genoa and Pisa on Italy’s northwest coast, in the Cinque Terre region of Liguria — has been «isolated, accessible only by sea» because of earlier rains and floods, Mayor Angelo Betta told ANSA.

So, too, is the nearby town of Vernazza, with even bulldozers and cranes still not able to reach it.

That said, Betta reported some progress Thursday thanks to round-the-clock efforts by emergency workers and volunteers to clean up the town. One volunteer in that community died in the flood Wednesday.

«The situation is much better compared to yesterday,» Betta said.

Italy’s defense ministry noted Thursday on its website that 348 military personnel have deployed to the provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia to assist in the wake of flooding here.

Three people were killed after a house collapsed in La Spezia, the news agency stated.

ANSA also reported that prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation related to the deaths of two people from flood-related injuries in Aulla. Authorities are assessing whether their deaths had anything to do with faulty work that may have caused the Magra River to overflow.

The weather has also caused major travel headaches throughout the region. A mudslide that trapped a truck driver, who was eventually freed, has caused the A12 highway in Liguria to be blocked since Tuesday. Train service in Liguria has been halted, too, due to mud and debris on the tracks.

Source: CNN

Moon & 3 Planets Offer Halloween Skywatching Treats on Friday

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Look towards the southwestern horizon just after sunset on Friday night (Oct. 28) and you’ll see a triple feature of Venus, Mercury, and the two-day old moon. And there’s another planet treat in time for the pre-Halloween weekend, too.
You’ll need a good low horizon and a clear sky to see the first three objects since they will be very low in the sky, less than 10 degrees up. Binoculars may help. For reference, a closed first held out at arm’s length covers about 10 degrees of the night sky.
The accompanying sky map of the moon and planets here shows their locations on Friday evening.
The moon will be a razor-thin crescent, and the so-called «dark» side of the moon — actually its far side facing away from Earth, which is not always dark — should be well lit by sunlight reflecting off the Earth.
Venus should appear very bright, weather permitting. This may be the first glimpse you get of it this season, but it will soon be blazing bright every evening. Mercury will be directly under Venus.
All three objects will be very low because of the shallow angle the ecliptic — the path the sun takes across the sky — makes with the horizon on Friday. Notice that the sun is setting well to the south of the west point on the horizon, now that we’re more than a month past the fall equinox.
The only days the sun sets due west is right on the equinoxes, which were March 20 and Sept. 23 this year.
A few minutes after sunset, turn around and look at the eastern horizon. You will see Jupiter rising there slightly north of due east, the brightest object in that part of the sky.
At 10 p.m. EDT on Friday (0200 GMT Oct. 29), Jupiter will be opposition, exactly opposite the sun in the sky. On this night, Jupiter rises at sunset and sets at sunrise, so is visible all night long.
Binoculars or a small telescope can reveal Jupiter’s four bright moons, allowing you to follow them as they constantly shift position, orbiting around the giant planet.
If you have a telescope, be sure to train it on Jupiter. You should easily see Jupiter’s two main equatorial belts.
If you’re lucky, you may see the Great Red Spot, looking more like a pale indentation on the south side of the South Equatorial Belt. Many observers this year are reporting dense dark markings called «barges» within the North Equatorial Belt.
As always, keep your eye peeled for shadows of Jupiter’s moons passing across the planet’s face.
If you miss the show Friday night, don’t despair. The moon will move on in its orbit, but Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter will remain in pretty much the same positions over the next few weeks.
This is a particularly good opportunity to spot Mercury, since it will be within a few degrees of brilliant Venus for nearly three weeks. Again, binoculars will be a great help in spotting Mercury’s tiny speck of light.
Editor’s note: If you snap an amazing view of the moon, Mercury and Venus together, or of Jupiter or any other astronomical sight, and would like to share them with SPACE.com for possible stories or a gallery, contact managing editor Tariq Malik at: tmalik@space.com.
This article was provided to SPACE.com by Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu.
More Night Sky Features from Starry Night Education
Stunning Northern Lights Photos of 2011
Haunting Photos: The Spookiest Nebulas in Space

YPF Gets Dividend ‘Wake-Up Call’ on Argentine Decree, Itau Says

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

YPF SA, Argentina’s largest energy company, may face more hurdles to making future dividends after the government ordered oil companies to keep all export revenue within the country, Banco Itau BBA SA said.

YPF pays most of its annual $1.3 billion in dividends outside Argentina and also has “significant” import costs, Itau BBA analysts led by Ricardo Cavanagh in Buenos Aires said today in a note to investors. Yesterday’s decree will probably force YPF to coordinate currency transactions with the central bank to pay future dividends and import costs, the bank said.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner yesterday ordered oil, natural-gas and mining companies such as Xstrata Plc and Pan American Energy LLC to repatriate all future export revenue to try and stem accelerating capital flight from South America’s second-largest economy. YPF exports about $1.5 billion of fuel a year, or about 12 percent of its total sales, limiting the economic impact of the decree to exchange-rate costs, Itau said.

“This is perhaps the most important wake-up call this decree represents, Cavanagh and Paula Kovarsky wrote in the report, referring to the dividends. “Still, our view is that a reduction of YPF’s ability to pay dividends would be the last thing to take place.”

YPF, based in Buenos Aires, would only struggle to pay its dividends under “extremely adverse economic and financial circumstances,” according to the report.

YPF’s American depositary receipts rose 2.2 percent to $35.99 at 9:51 a.m. in New York. The shares declined 4.3 percent yesterday after the decree was announced.

Top Stories: TOP Most-read Argentina News: MNI ARGENT Argentina markets: OTC ARS

–Editor: Dale Crofts, Jessica Resnick-Ault

To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Price in Buenos Aires at lprice3@bloomberg.net; Rodrigo Orihuela in Buenos Aires at rorihuela@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net

Source: Bloomberg

Argentine Markets Soar As Investors Join Europe Deal Celebration

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)–Argentine stocks and bond prices soared Thursday as investors across the globe celebrated an agreement reached by European leaders in their bid to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis.

Argentina’s Merval Index of leading shares jumped 4.3% to 3,005.52 points amid very heavy volume of 400 million pesos ($95 million) as investors flooded into riskier markets like Argentina. That’s almost ten times the volume seen on a typical quiet day of trade in Buenos Aires.

Steel tube maker Tenaris (TS) surged 9.5% to close at ARS83.25, while Banco Macro (BMA) shot up 6.4% to settle at ARS11.70.

Money also poured into bonds due to the investor cheer and in anticipation of more buying over the short term as local insurance companies comply with a government order to bring their cash back home, Financial advisors Estudio Ber said in a market note.

Argentina’s government on Thursday gave insurance companies until the end of the year to repatriate all of their investments held offshore in the latest move by President Cristina Kirchner to stem pressure on the country’s international reserves.

According to the insurance regulator, SSN, insurers had investments of 55.3 billion pesos ($13.1 billion) at the end of June, of which about 15%, or ARS8.4 billion, was invested abroad.

Kirchner has stepped up measures to force companies to convert their foreign currency holdings into pesos, in order to increase the supply of U.S. dollars on the local foreign exchange market.

On Wednesday, Kirchner issued a presidential decree ordering oil, gas and mining companies to repatriate all of their export sales effective immediately. The decree is seen adding about $3 billion a year in dollars to the exchange market.

The Central Bank of Argentina has sacrificed a portion of its international reserves to keep the peso steady in the face of heavy capital outflows this year. Reserves closed at $47.7 billion on Wednesday, down from $50 billion at the end of August.

The peso closed unchanged from the previous session at ARS4.2355 on Argentina’s MAE foreign-exchange wholesale market Thursday, for a year-to-date loss of 6.1%.

The peso-denominated GDP warrant rose 1.3% to ARS16.05. The 2018 Bogar bonds jumped 3.5% in price terms to ARS217.50. The 2017 dollar-denominated Bonar X bonds gained 3.4% to close at ARS402.

-By Shane Romig, Dow Jones Newswires; 54-11-4103-6738; shane.romig@dowjones.com

Source: Buenos Aires Herald

Call to bar any corrupt officials from World Cup preparations

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

A British investigative journalist who has accused FIFA of massive corruption has told Brazil’s Senate that the country should freeze corrupt officials from soccer’s governing body out of preparations for the 2014 World Cup.
Andrew Jennings, who has been investigating FIFA for a decade, said the involvement of its top brass in the next World Cup after allegations they had taken millions of dollars in bribes would be a stain on the soccer celebration.
«It’s time the government said to FIFA, you stink, you smell, we don’t want our president to be photographed with these crooks,» Jennings told a Senate committee which had invited him to present his evidence of fraud at FIFA.
Jennings said Brazil should take responsibility for the preparations away from senior FIFA officials, including Ricardo Teixeira, head of Brazil’s football confederation and the nation’s front man for World Cup preparations. He says Teixeira may have amassed $9.5 million (5.9 million pounds) in bribes from now-defunct FIFA marketing firm ISL.
«It is in the best interests of your country to get these people out and appoint honest bureaucrats and clean people to run the World Cup,» he said.
Jennings featured in an investigative report by BBC’s Panorama programme that accused Teixeira and former FIFA president Joao Havelange of taking millions of dollars in bribes from ISL to retain the company as FIFA’s sole official marketer.
He says Havelange, who is Brazilian, may have amassed $50 million or more in bribes through a facade company called Sicuretta.
Jennings also says he has evidence that it was Teixeira and Havelange who ended a Swiss legal investigation into the case by paying 2.5 million Swiss francs (1.8 million pounds) to charity and confessing in writing to taking bribes.
Teixeira, who is facing a Brazilian federal police investigation related to the case, has denied the allegations. The BBC said that Havelange did not respond to its request for a comment.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced a long-awaited anti-corruption plan last Friday that included a pledge to re-open the case into ISL’s collapse.
Jennings said the Swiss judiciary would likely release documents related to the case in the next 12 months and added that Brazil should submit a separate request to obtain them.
«It could take up to 12 months. Then you will have a massive international scandal hanging over your World Cup, two Brazilians and President Blatter,» Jennings told the Senate committee on Wednesday.
He also said Brazil should refuse Blatter and others entry visas to Brazil. Blatter is due to visit Brazil in November to finalise details of legislative changes needed to host the World Cup, including ticket pricing and trademark rights.
FIFA’s request that legally enshrined half-price ticket rights for elderly Brazilians and students be overruled for the World Cup has sparked a backlash in Congress, which must pass the legislation.
«Who are these Neanderthal bums from Switzerland to come and tell you that anyone working on the World Cup preparations loses their right to labour protection laws?,» Jennings said.
buenosairesherald.com

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Nayef

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Eight years ago, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s long-serving interior minister, summoned a small group of dissidents to his office in Riyadh.

At the time, the group had begun to agitate for modest political reforms in the kingdom, including calling for the creation of a constitutional monarchy. Then-Crown Prince Abdullah, the country’s de facto ruler, was willing to entertain their demands in a series of «dialogues» with the reformists.

Nayef’s response was less accommodating. «What we won by the sword, we will keep by the sword,» he said, according to participants in the 2003 meeting.

True to his word, within a year, several leaders of the reform movement, including academics Abdullah al-Hamid and Matrouk al-Faleh, had been arrested for their activities.

Over the years, the septuagenarian Saudi royal has earned a reputation as a traditionalist who is opposed to changes in the country’s power structure. On Thursday, he was named the new crown prince.

Nayef, who was born in Taif, in western Saudi Arabia, in 1934, was appointed governor of Riyadh when he was barely 20 years old, and held briefly before entering the interior ministry. After a stint as deputy, he was elevated to interior minister in 1975, when his brother Fahd left the post to become crown prince.

‘Ambivalent about elections’

Nayef is generally described as a «conservative,» often in opposition to Abdullah. His work as interior minister has focused on stamping out what he perceived as threats to Saudi Arabia’s stability. He controls security services that employ more than 130,000 people.

«Nayef’s power base is among the Islamists and the security services, which he uses to leverage himself against the other royals,» said Toby Craig Jones, a professor at Rutgers University who has written extensively on Saudi Arabia. «He has gone on the record as being ambivalent about elections, about political reform.»

Nayef is popular with some Western government for efforts to combat al-Qaeda. His son, Muhammad bin Nayef, the deputy interior minister for counterterrorism, was targeted by a suicide bomber in 2009.

But he also reportedly considers political reformists a threat. Many leaders of the 2003 reform movement have been repeatedly detained. More recently, security services under Nayef’s control arrested women who defied the country’s ban on female drivers, and cracked down on Shia protests in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Traditionalist ruler

Nayef has strong support among Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi clerics. But he is said to have little sympathy for political Islamist groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood, which he views as a threat to the ruling family’s grip on power.

Although Sultan, who died on New York on Saturday, was nominally in charge of the «Yemen file», both Nayef and his son played a major role in shaping Saudi policy towards its southern neighbour.

Earlier this year, they reportedly assumed control over Saudi Arabia’s patronage network in Yemen, through which the kingdom distributes payments to favoured tribal elders and politicians.

Diplomats in Riyadh say Nayef has described education as the key to Saudi Arabia’s future, echoing a line from Abdullah. They said he has said little about political reforms, women’s rights or other contentious issues.

In the run-up to Saudi Arabia’s 2005 municipal elections, it was Nayef who decided that women should not be allowed to vote.

Scholars say he may pursue policies that expand his base of support within security services and Islamist groups.

An October 2009 diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Riyadh, obtained by WikiLeaks, described Nayef as a «a conservative pragmatist convinced that security and stability are imperative.»

It went on to describe him as “elusive, ambiguous, pragmatic, unimaginative, shrewd and outspoken.”

Source: Al Jazeera

UN: Leaded fuel to be gone by 2013

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Leaded gasoline, once so widespread it was sold at U.S. pumps as «regular» fuel, is expected to be eradicated globally within two years, the United Nations Environment Program announced Thursday.
With the end of leaded gasoline in sight, public health and environmental advocates are claiming victory in a fight that stretches all the way back to when it was first added to gasoline in the 1920s.
Leaded gasoline is still used in six nations. Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, North Korea, Myanmar and Yemen are expected to complete the phase-out by 2013, said the U.N., which is assisting those nations.
The elimination of leaded gasoline has increased IQ scores, lowered lead-in-blood levels by up to 90 percent and prevented the premature deaths of more than 1.2 million people annually, according to a new study by Thomas Hatfield, chairman of California State University, Northridge’s department of environmental and occupational health.
«We live in a time when politicians and lobbyists make sport out of pitting the economy against public health,» said Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. «This study flies in the face of those petty politics.»
In 2002, the NRDC and the U.N. Environmental Program began a final push to eradicate leaded fuel by founding the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, which helps developing nations with the switch to unleaded gasoline.
Most of the six nations still using leaded gasoline are only using small amounts, said Jim Sniffen, a U.N. Environment Program spokesman. They are working with the U.N. and partner agencies to conduct blood testing for lead levels and develop plans to phase out leaded fuel, he said.
Lead became the gasoline additive of choice in the 1920s, after General Motors, DuPont and Standard Oil of New Jersey, the forerunner of Exxon, chose it over clean-burning ethanol and other alternatives as a way to make engines run better. It became universal despite warnings from public health advocates and a scandal over the deaths in 1924 of six refinery workers in Newark, New Jersey, who were poisoned while manufacturing it and «were led away in straitjackets,» said Bill Kovarik, a journalist and communication professor at Radford University who researched the history of leaded gasoline.
«Historically, there are only a handful of major environmental victories like this,» Kovarik said. «It took 90 years to eradicate what was always a well-known poison from a product that everyone uses. It’s a great achievement, but it really says something about how public health works globally, that it took so long … Benjamin Franklin complained about lead poisoning in print shops.»
The industry falsely claimed that there were no alternatives to lead, which was more profitable, and gained control over the government’s scientific study of it, Kovarik said.
Eventually, exposure to airborne lead was found to cause brain, kidney and cardiovascular damage. In children, it was found to lower IQ levels and shorten attention spans.
A public health crisis again erupted around lead in the 1960s as the environmental movement bloomed. A lawsuit filed by the NRDC in 1973 lead to the Environmental Protection Agency regulating lead in gasoline and finally banning it as an additive in 1986.
«This is an environmental issue that was rediscovered and it was finally phased out, but it could have been done early on with even the slightest precaution, because everyone knew about lead poisonings,» Kovarik said.
«As we look to some future of environmental sanity, this is a great example of where we could have done better. We have to learn from this.»

French Foreign Minister says Astiz sentence is ‘an honour to Argentina’

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

France´s Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Juppe smiles as he leaves the Elysee presidential palace after the weekly cabinet meeting on October 26, 2011 in Paris.
French Foreign Affairs Minister, Alain Juppé praised this morning the life sentence declared yesterday by the Argentine justice system against former navy spy, Alfredo Astiz, for the crimes against humanity, tortures and kidnappings he committed during the last military dictatorship. Juppé said the decision “honours Argentina.”

“I salute this decision, which honours Argentina in its fight against the impunity of the crimes committed during the military dictatorship and for justice,” stated the French Foreign Minister today.
The sentence made against Alfredo Astiz, aged 59, and known as “the Angel of Death,” included the kidnapping, torture and disappearance of the French nuns Léonie Duquet and Alice Domon during the last military dictatorship which took place between 1976 and 1983.
After remembering the “permanent support” given by France to the Argentine government after their decision in 2003 to lift the Amnesty Laws, the French Minister newly praised “the political will which encourages the Argentine authorities to bring the dictatorship trials to an end.”
buenosairesherald.com

More Evidence Shows Newer Forms of ‘Pill’ Raise Clot Risk, FDA Says

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

(HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it «remains concerned» that a newer generation of birth control pills may raise the odds for serious blood clots more than older forms of the Pill.
The announcement concerns oral contraceptives containing a newer type of progestin hormone called drospirenone, which includes Bayer’s Yaz or Yasmin. According to the FDA, the new study found a higher risk of venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) — potentially dangerous clots — in women on the drospirenone-containing pills vs. those on older forms of oral contraceptives.
The FDA-funded review involved the medical histories of more than 800,000 American women, all of whom were on some type of birth control between 2001 and 2008. The study found that women taking the newer oral contraceptives experienced a higher rate of clots than women on older forms of the contraceptive pill.
The review also found that women on two other forms of birth control — the Ortho Evra patch from Johnson & Johnson and the NuvaRing vaginal ring from Merck — had a higher rate of clots.
For now, the FDA is not advising that most women switch to another form of contraception. «If your birth control pill contains drospirenone, do not stop taking it without first talking to your health care professional,» the agency said. «Contact your health care professional immediately if you develop any symptoms of blood clots, including persistent leg pain, severe chest pain or sudden shortness of breath. If you smoke and are over 35 years of age, you should not take combination oral contraceptives because they increase the risk that you could experience serious cardiovascular events, including blood clots.»
Thursday’s announcement was not the FDA’s first word on this issue, nor is likely to be the last. The agency issued a similar warning in September, and in a statement released Thursday said that, «given the conflicting nature of the findings from six published studies evaluating this risk, as well as the preliminary data from the FDA-funded study,» it plans to host a public meeting on the issue on Dec. 8.
The announcement Thursday comes a day after the release of a study in BMJ that also found newer birth control pills were tied to a higher risk for clots.
In that study, researchers reviewed data on all Danish women, aged 15 to 49, who were not pregnant between January 2001 and December 2009. During that time, more than 4,200 first episodes of VTEs occurred.
Women taking birth control pills with a newer progestin hormone had twice the risk of clots compared to those who took the older form of contraceptive pills.
Compared to women who did not use birth control pills, the risk of VTE was three times higher among those who used pills with levonorgestrel and six times higher among those who took pills with drospirenone, desogestrel or gestodene.
But the absolute risk of VTE associated with taking the newer pills remained relatively low, about 10 per 10,000 women, according to the University of Copenhagen researchers.
For every 2,000 women who switched from using newer pills to pills with levonorgestrel, there would be one less case of clots a year.
While some doctors may choose to prescribe birth control pills with a lower risk whenever possible, it is crucial not to exaggerate the risk of VTE, Dr. Philip Hannaford of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, wrote in an accompanying editorial in the journal.
«Oral contraceptives are remarkably safe and may confer important long-term benefits in relation to cancer and mortality,» he said in a journal news release.
Dr. Glenn Jacobowitz, vice chair of the division of vascular surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said: «The information for Yaz is not new. That has recently already been shown in studies to have an increased risk of blood clots than other oral contraceptives. The information on NuvaRing and Ortho Evra would be a new, but similar finding. This is certainly worrisome, particularly for women over age 35 and for smokers.»

NBA: Owners meet with union to try to broker labor deal

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

There is renewed optimism the NBA season could soon resume after players and owners spent more than 10 hours locked in discussions about reaching a labor agreement.
Talks had broken off last week with little sign of progress toward ending a lockout that has been in place since July 1 and forced the cancellation of the pre-season and first two weeks of regular season games.
Commissioner David Stern rejoined the discussions, after he had missed the last meeting with the flu, which also included players union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisher, NBA TV reported on Wednesday.
Last week’s meeting ended when it was reported the owners demanded a 50-50 split of revenues. The players had lowered their demands from 57 to 52.5 percent.
It was anticipated that Stern would announce further cancellations this week. His failure to yet do so could be seen as a positive sign though it is unclear whether an 82-game season could still be salvaged.
buenosairesherald.com

Tunisian Islamist election win marred by clashes

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

The Islamist Ennahda party was officially declared the winner of Tunisia’s election, setting it up to form the first Islamist-led government in the wake of the «Arab Spring» uprisings.

But the election, which has so far confounded predictions it would tip the North African country into crisis, turned violent Thursday when protesters angry their fourth-placed party was eliminated from the poll set fire to the mayor’s office in a provincial town.

Ennahda has tried to reassure secularists nervous about the prospect of Islamist rule in one of the Arab world’s most liberal countries by saying it will respect women’s rights and not try to impose a Muslim moral code on society.

The Islamists won power 10 months after Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian vegetable seller in the town of Sidi Bouzid, set fire to himself in an act of protest that led to the fall of Tunisia’s autocratic leader and inspired uprisings in Egypt and Libya.

«We salute Sidi Bouzid and its sons who launched the spark and we hope that God will have made Mohamed Bouazizi a martyr,» said Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi, a soft-spoken Islamic scholar who spent 22 years in exile in Britain.

«We will continue this revolution to realise its aims of a Tunisia that is free, independent, developing and prosperous in which the rights of God, the Prophet, women, men, the religious and the non-religious are assured because Tunisia is for everyone,» Ghannouchi told a crowd of cheering supporters.

Announcing the results, election commission members said Ennahda had won 90 seats in the 217-seat assembly, which will draft a new constitution, form an interim government and schedule new elections, probably for early 2013.

The Islamists’ nearest rival, the secularist Congress for the Republic, won 30 seats, the commission members told a packed hall in the capital, ending a four-day wait since Sunday’s poll for the painstaking count to be completed.

ISLAMIST-LED GOVERNMENT

Ennahda, banned before January’s revolution, fell short of an absolute majority in the new assembly. It is expected to broker a coalition with two of the secularist runners-up and, with them, form a government.

The Islamists will get the biggest say on important posts. They have already said they will put forward Hamadi Jbeli, Ghannouchi’s deputy and a former political prisoner, for the post of prime minister.

Tunisia’s complex election system, which replaced the rigged, one-horse races conducted before the revolution, made it impossible for any one party to win a majority of assembly seats.

Ennahda lies at the moderate and liberal end of the spectrum of Islamist parties in the Middle East. Ghannouchi models his approach on the moderate stance of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Secularists say the Islamists will try to impose an Islamic moral code on society but Ghannouchi has denied this. His officials say there will be no restrictions on foreign tourists — a big source of revenue — drinking alcohol or wearing bikinis on the country’s Mediterranean beaches.

The party’s victory is the first for Islamists since the Hamas faction won an election in the Palestinian Territories seven years ago.

It is a result which will resonate in Egypt, where a party with ideological ties to Ennahda is expected to do well in a multi-stage parliamentary poll that starts in November.

REVOLUTION BIRTHPLACE

Thursday night’s violence broke out in Sidi Bouzid, the birth-place of the revolution which ousted autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Protesters there were angry that election officials had cancelled seats won by the Popular List, a party led by businessmen Hachmi Hamdi, over alleged campaign finance violations. The party is popular in Sidi Bouzid.

«They have set fire to a large part of the mayor’s office, and the police are nowhere to be seen,» local resident Mehdi Horcheni told Reuters by telephone from the town.

He said elsewhere in the town, the protesters set fire to an Ennahda campaign office and a training centre, while police used tear gas in a failed attempt to disperse the crowd.

Another witness, Hafed Abdulli, said the crowd was burning tyres in the streets. «People are protesting against the cancellation of the Popular List,» he said.

The Popular List was running in fourth place in the election, according to preliminary results, before its seats were cancelled. The party’s leader used to support Ben Ali and during the election ran a populist campaign heavily promoted on the British-based television station he owns.

The violence appeared confined to Hamdi’s supporters, as the three main secularist parties have already accepted defeat and there were no reports of clashes in other towns.

There has been none of the violence that was predicted involving hardline Islamists who are more radical than Ennahda or the secularists who believe the election result will threaten their liberal lifestyles.

Ghannouchi and his party officials have issued a carefully-choreographed series of announcements designed to reassure sceptics that there is no need to fear an Islamist government.

Defying stereotypes about Islamists keeping women covered up, one of the party’s most prominent candidates is a businesswoman who does not wear the Islamic veil, or hijab, and this week sang along to pop songs at a party rally.

Ennahda has also reached out to anxious investors by saying it will not impose Islamic banking rules. It says it is inclined to keep the finance minister and central bank governor in their posts when it forms the new government.

Source: Reuters

CFK inaugurates Néstor Kirchner’s mausoleum

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner attended a small private ceremony at the Río Gallegos cemetery and paid tribute to his late husband and former president, Néstor Carlos Kirchner, on the first anniversary of his death.

Likewise, the Head of State in company of her two children Florencia and Máximo, inaugurated the monumental mausoleum built at the local cemetery where the remains of the former president will be transfered.

Relatives and friends of the family were present at the ceremony along with some government officials.

As of 2pm, the mausoleum will open its doors to the public. It can only be visited by ten people at a time.

The mausoleum, built by the businessman, Lázaro Báez, a personal friend of the late former president, is 11 metres high, and took eight months of intensive work.

The province is providing 350 police officers to maintain order among the persons queuing to visit Kirchner’s final resting place.

Alos, in the Santa Cruz café where the former president drank his last coffee, a commemorative plaque will be placed on the table and seat where he sat before his death.

Fernández de Kirchner arrived yesterday to Río Gallegos along with minister Fernández; Intelligent Service head, Héctor Icazuriaga; Presidential Secretary Oscar Parrilli; Legal and Technical Secretary, Carlos Zannini; and Communications Secretary Jaun Manuel Abal Medina.

Meanwhile, at 5pm, CGT Labour Confederation boss, Hugo Moyano, will lead a tribute rally at the CGT headquarters.

Source: Buenos Aires Herald

‘The Goverment’s budget is inconsistent,’ Lozano

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Progressive Front lawmaker Claudio Lozano warned that the “the Government’s budget for 2012 is inconsistent,” while visiting Ambito de debate tv show.

“We are waiting for a signal to debate the Budget. If the Victory Front lawmakers don’t show willingness to debate, we won’t vote in favour of the Budget,” the lawmaker announced.

Likewise, Lozano warned that ‘the Government’s intervention in the economy hasn’t been adequate.»

Nonetheless, Lozano admitted that if Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration called for a social agreement, the Progressive Front would stand by it. “We have to create a national council to define prices and investment,” he added.

Fuente: Buenos Aires Herald

Tevez fine halved after PFA intervention

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Carlos Tevez has had his fine halved by Manchester City after the Premier League club reluctantly accepted a ruling by the players’ union that the Argentine did not refuse to play in last month’s Champions League match at Bayern Munich.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) released a statement on Thursday in support of Tevez, who had been fined four weeks wages by City following a disciplinary hearing last week.

The club said they were disappointed the PFA had refused to ratify their sanction and were concerned by an apparent conflict of interest between PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor and the disciplinary process.
«Manchester City Football Club has received notification from the Players’ Union that it will not support a four-week fine as a penalty for the actions of misconduct of Carlos Tevez,» the club said in a statement on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
«Manchester City is disappointed by the apparent PFA conflict of interest evident in this process.
«Carlos Tevez has been personally represented throughout by the PFA chief executive, on whose considerations the club has been informed that the PFA has made its decision.
«Manchester City has been in constant dialogue with the PFA since September 28th. Today’s PFA decision is a departure from the Club’s understanding of that dialogue.
«Without recourse to the PFA decision available, the maximum two-week fine provided for in standard player contracts will now be applied in relation to the misconduct of Carlos Tevez.»
Earlier in the day, the PFA had questioned City’s decision to fine Tevez more than two weeks’ wages.
The Argentine was fined on Tuesday after it was deemed he had committed five separate breaches of contract.
«The PFA’s opinion, based on all the evidence presented, is that Carlos Tevez never refused to play for the club,» a statement said.
«This is accepted by the club in that the charge against Carlos made at the hearing was not one of refusing to play,» the statement added.
«As such the PFA considers that there is no justification for a fine other than up to the prescribed sanction of two weeks wages agreed by the FA, the Premier League and PFA.»
After the 2-0 defeat at Bayern, furious manager Roberto Mancini told reporters Tevez had refused his request to go on as a second-half substitute.
The player later denied the accusation, saying he had not been asked to go on but to warm up and he felt he had already warmed up sufficiently.
Mancini said Tevez would never play for him again and media reports have speculated that Tevez, who again asked for a move in the last transfer window as he is unhappy in Manchester, will be sold in January whatever happens with the case.
buenosairesherald.com

Gaddafi son seeking flight to Hague court – NTC

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, fearing for his life if captured in Libya, has tried to arrange for an aircraft to fly him out of his desert refuge and into the custody of The Hague war crimes court, a senior Libyan official said on Thursday.

Details were sketchy but a picture has built up since his father’s killing while in the hands of ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters a week ago that suggests Muammar Gaddafi’s 39-year-old heir-apparent has taken refuge among Sahara nomads and is seeking a safe haven abroad.

The senior NTC official said Saif al-Islam had crossed the border into Niger but had not yet found a way to hand himself in to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

«There is a contact with Mali and with South Africa and with another neighbouring country to organise his exit … He hasn’t got confirmation yet, he’s still waiting,» said the official, who declined to be named.

Even if he can still draw on some of the vast fortune the Gaddafi clan built up abroad during 42 years in control of North Africa’s main oilfields, his indictment by the ICC over his part in trying to crush the revolt limits his options.

That may explain an apparent willingness, in communications monitored by intelligence services and shared with Libya’s interim rulers, to discuss a surrender to the ICC, whereas his mother and surviving siblings simply fled to Algeria and Niger.

ICC CHECKING

The ICC, which relies on signatory states to hand over suspects, said it was trying to confirm the whereabouts and intentions of Saif al-Islam and former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, the third man indicted along with Muammar Gaddafi.

A source with the NTC, which drove the Gaddafis from power in Tripoli in August, told Reuters the two surviving indictees were together, protected by Tuareg nomads.

«Saif is concerned about his safety,» the source said. «He believes handing himself over is the best option for him.»

Saif al-Islam, once seen as a potential liberal reformer but who adopted a belligerent, win-or-die persona at his father’s side this year, was looking for help from abroad to fly out and take his chances at The Hague, where there is no death penalty.

«He wants to be sent an aircraft. He wants assurances,» the NTC source said by telephone from Libya.

Some observers question the accuracy of NTC information, given frequent lapses in intelligence recently.

Rhissa Ag Boula, a former Tuareg rebel leader who is now a presidential adviser in Niger, told Reuters: «I confirm that Abdullah al-Senussi is now in northern Mali. He crossed Niger north of Arlit escorted by Malian Tuareg as well as some from Niger. They were well protected, which is to say armed.

«As for Saif, he is hesitant and is indeed in Niger. He is trying to decide whether to continue to Mali or stay in Niger. Being in Niger worries him because he could be turned over to the ICC if he is in the territory. But I think he will eventually head to Mali.»

A member of the Malian parliament who has been in charge of relations with Libya’s NTC discounted some reports that Gaddafi and Senussi had crossed Algeria or Niger into Mali.

AFRICAN GRUMBLES

Some observers suggest surrendering to the ICC may be only one option for Saif al-Islam, who may hope for a welcome in one of the African states on which his father lavished gifts.

The African Union, and powerful members like South Africa, grumble about the nine-year-old ICC’s focus so far on Africans and some of them may prove sympathetic.

Even if arrested on charges relating to his role in attacks on protesters in February and March, Saif al-Islam could make defence arguments that might limit any sentence, lawyers said.

NTC forces, which overran Gaddafi’s last bastions of Bani Walid and Sirte this month, lack the resources to hunt and capture fugitives deep in the desert, the NTC source said.

NATO, whose air power turned the civil war in the rebels’ favour, could help, he said.

But NATO, which will end its Libya operations at the end of the month, stresses its mission is to protect civilians, not target individuals – though it was a NATO air strike that halted Muammar Gaddafi’s flight last week.

A captured pro-Gaddafi fighter at Bani Walid told Reuters that the London-educated Saif al-Islam had been in that town, south of Tripoli until it fell earlier this month.

The man, one of Saif al-Islam’s bodyguards, said the younger Gaddafi was «confused» and in fear for his life when he escaped Bani Walid. If he has seen the gruesome video footage of his father’s capture, he knows how he may be treated if he remains in Libya.

Asked what the NTC was doing to cooperate with the ICC, the vice chairman of the Council, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, said Libyans still hoped to try the suspects themselves.

«There aren’t any special arrangements by the NTC. If Abdullah al-Senussi and Saif al-Islam are arrested inside Libya they will be tried and judged based on Libyan law,» said Ghoga.

Earlier this week, a NTC official said Saif al-Islam had acquired a passport in a false name and was lying low south of Ghat, a border crossing with Algeria through which his mother, sister and two of his surviving brothers fled in August.

Algeria is not a signatory to the Rome treaty which set up the ICC, but might face strong diplomatic pressure to hand over indicted suspects. The NTC has also been pressing Algiers to hand over the other Gaddafi relatives.

Niger, an impoverished former French colony, has said it would honour its commitments to the ICC. The mayor of the northern Niger town of Agadez, a transit point for other fleeing Gaddafi allies, told Reuters Saif al-Islam would be extradited to The Hague if he showed up.

Tunisia, to where other Gaddafi loyalists have fled, is also a signatory to the ICC’s conventions.

Source: Reuters

Supermarket sales increase 17.9% in September

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Supermarket sales rose 17.9 percent in September compared to the volume reported during the same month last year, according to the Indec national statistics bureau.

The sector registered a 0.5 percent decrease against August 2011. Meanwhile, supermarket prices climbed 0.8 percent during the ninth month of the year.

On the other hand, the invoice reached to 6.769 billion pesos in September, which means a 29.7 percent increase year-on-year.

Source: Buenos Aires Herald

ESMA: Astiz and other 11 former military sentenced to life in prison

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Hundreds gather outside the courthouse in order to hear the reading of the sentence.
Former navy official Alfredo Astiz and former navy captains Jorge “Tigre” Acosta, Antonio Pernías, and Ricardo Cavallo were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday night after being found guilty of kidnapping, torture and the forced disappearances of many detainees in the former Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) during the last dictatorship.

Also, oppressors Oscar Montes (former navy admiral), Jorge Radice (former navy lieutenant),Adolfo Donda (former navy captain), Alberto González (former navy captain), Julio César Croronel (former navy lieutenant), Ernest Weber (former ESMA special operations), Néstor Savio (former navy lieutenant), and Raúl Scheller (former intelligent service agent) were also sentenced to life in prison.
Likewise, Juan Carlos Fotea (former Federal Police sargent), and Manuel García Tallada (former ESMA boss) were senteced to 25 years in prison; while Carlos Capdevila (former navy captain) was sentenced to 20 years, and Juan Antonio Azic (former navy patrol member) to 18 years in prison.
Meanwhile, former intelligent service agents Juan Carlos Rolón, and Pablo García Velasco were acquitted.
As the sentence was read in the courtroom the crowd waiting outside celebrated and cheered, which almost caused it to be suspended.
Astiz, who acted under the false identity of Gustavo Niño, infiltrated the works of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 and “marked” his victims, who were later tortured at the ESMA and thrown alive into the sea.
Among them were the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Azucena Villaflor, French nuns Leónie Duquet and Alice Domon, and journalist and writer Rodolfo Walsh.
A long line of people was seen outside the courtroom since early in the afternoon, as many of them wanted to hear the reading live.
Relatives of the accused were seen standing in line next to family members of those who had disappeared.
The Federal Courthouse 5 had called the hearing for 6 pm.
Early on Wednesday morning, three of the accused were given the chance to provide the court with their last statements before the reading.

buenosairesherald.com

Mountaineer who suffered heart attack in Himalayas returns to Mendoza

Felipe Oct 28, 2011

Ignacio Lucero, the 38-year-old mountaineer from Mendoza who survived a heart attack whilst climbing the Himalayas.
The mountaineer from Mendoza, Ignacio Lucero, aged 38, who miraculously survived a heart attack whilst mountain climbing in the Himalayas, returned last night to Mendoza.
Lucero arrived on Tuesday night, around 11.30 pm to El Plumerillo airport of Buenos Aires with his brother, mother and girlfriend, to be received by the rest of his family members. The mountaineer did not speak with the press due to his delicate state of health.
On October 5, the well-known mountain climber who has braved the mighty 6,959 metre-high Aconocagua Mountain no less than thirty times, decided to make a solo trip to take on the Himalayas.
Whilst climbing 7,300 metre-high Manaslu he suffered a heart attack, then resting, without knowing what had happened, then beginning to climb down the mountain until he could ask for help.
He was rescued by helicopter and was sent to a specialist hospital in Katmandú, Nepal where he was treated.

When he was being taken to hospital, Lucero sent a message to one of his friends, letting him know of the state of his health, who let his family know of the incident. Lucero’s brother, Leonardo made his way immediately to Nepal.
Following a number of weeks of recovery, doctors authorised his departure for Argentina, where he was received by family and friends.
buenosairesherald.com

Destacan el acuerdo para bajar la cantidad de sal en la elaboración de alimentos

Felipe Oct 27, 2011

La Sociedad Argentina de Hipertensión Arterial (SAHA) calificó de «trascendental» el acuerdo alcanzado entre el gobierno y la industria, para bajar de manera progresiva la cantidad de sal en la elaboración de los alimentos, para evitar enfermedades coronarias y accidentes cerebrovasculares, sobre todo entre los hipertensos.

Daniel Piskorz, presidente de la SAHA, opinó que «la gente se va a ver beneficiada por ese acuerdo sin darse cuenta” y añadió que «es trascendental, para la salud pública».

El acuerdo se firmó ayer entre el gobierno y representantes de la industria de alimentos para bajar el consumo de sal diario de 12 a 5 gramos por persona, con lo que se evitarán anualmente 6.000
muertes y 60 mil enfermedades cardíacas y accidentes cerebrovasculares (ACV).

Piskorz aludió «a la incidencia de la sal en el aumento de la presión arterial» e insistió en la importancia de contar con un acuerdo nacional, para la reducción del contenido de sodio de entre un 5 y 18 por ciento en varios alimentos preelaborados.

Puntualizó que «la frecuencia de la hipertensión en la población se mantiene estable a través del tiempo y por lo tanto, medidas en la que la industria se compromete de forma espontánea a reducir el contenido de sodio, de conservantes y demás, van a reducir significativamente los niveles de presión arterial”.

Estimó que «en diez o veinte años bajará la incidencia de eventos cardiovasculares, como también la muerte por infartos de miocardio y ataques cerebrales”.

Las dos principales fuentes de exceso de sodio en la alimentación son los alimentos con conservantes y el agregado de sal en la cocción y en el plato al comer.

“Durante años hemos tratado de que la gente reduzca el consumo de sodio en la cocción y en la mesa y no hemos sido muy exitosos, pero ahora se está atacando la otra pata del problema, que son los alimentos preelaborados», opinó Piskorz.

Insistió que «será una medida mucho más exitosa, porque si la gente encuentra menos sodio en los alimentos que compra, se va a ver beneficiada sin darse cuenta y sin someterse a ningún esfuerzo ni sacrificio”.

Fuente: Télam

Panamericanos: al oro lo levantaron en pala

Felipe Oct 27, 2011

La gente de la pelota argentina es de palabra. Prometió cuatro medallas de oro, y por ahora viene cumpliendo. Con la exitosa campaña empezaron Gabriel Villegas y Facundo Andreasen, y continuaron Cristian Algarbe y el otro Villegas, Jorge, al ganar las primeras dos de las cuatro finales a las que se clasificó Argentina. Y anoche, al cierre, los cordobeses Javier Nicosia y Fernando Ergueta buscaban la tercera.

Villegas-Andreasen vencieron de forma contundente a los uruguayos Carlos Buzzo y Enzo Cazzola, y le agregaron una nueva página a la historia del trinquete con pelota de goma argentino, que “en 50 años nunca perdió un partido internacional”.

Pero fueron sus compañeros con pelota de cuero los que le pusieron la cuota de espectacularidad a la jornada al ganar un reñido partido con seis golpes consecutivos con la pala de Jorge partida. Fue un 2-0 ante los también uruguayos Pablo Baldizan y Gastón Dufau.

El 16º oro argentino llegó con una pareja que debutó como tal en este campeonato, pero que demostró un nivel superlativo para quedarse con el premio mayor por las cualidades de uno de los referentes de este deporte en el país, como lo es el puntano Villegas, con la de Andersen, de sólo 18 años.

“Esto es inexplicable. Más contento no puedo estar”, reconocía, con una sonrisa interminable, el campeón mundial Sub 22, quien además admitió: “El Mundial tiene más repercusión, pero a esto lo siento más porque están todos los deportes, la Villa, mucho sacrificio… Lo he vivido más a este torneo”.

Villegas, en cambio, no pudo compararlo con otros logros. “Son cosas distintas que me pasan. Son títulos totalmente diferentes. Éste me costó mucho porque hace 40 días que estamos afuera entrenando. Es un sacrificio muy grande, pero la alegría es aún mayor”, explicó.

La cuota de humor la aportó el menor del equipo, quien no se animó a comprobar con los dientes si la medalla era de oro. “En julio un compañero me pegó un paletazo en la boca y me corrió varios dientes. Estuve dos meses sin masticar, comiendo yogur y papilla. Si muerdo la medalla se me caen todos los dientes”, se sinceró.

Siguió la fiesta

Por la tarde el equipo argentino siguió festejando. Fue lo más parecido a una hinchada de fútbol con tanto aliento. Es que, como dijo Gabriel Villegas, de tanta unidad son “todos una sola persona”.

Con el empuje en la tribuna y la garra en la cancha, Argentina ganó su segundo oro, también en trinquete, pero esta vez con pelota de cuero, y con un final para el recuerdo.

A Jorge Villegas se le partió la pala cuando el marcador iba 14-13 en el segundo set y así, con la mitad de su elemento, siguió contragolpeando: le pegó seis veces hasta definir el partido. ¡Y encima las pedía a todas! “Me tenía mucha fe. Estaba concentradísimo. Además, cuando tenés hambre de ganar, movés montañas. Y cuando te ponés la camiseta de la selección, dejás el corazón”, subrayó.

También de bronce. Luciano Callardelli-Carlos Dorato ganaron el bronce en pelota de cuero frontón 36 metros; y las chicas Irina Podversich y Verónica Stele en frontón de 30 metros.
Fuente: Mundo D

Causa ESMA: Perpetua para Astiz, el «Tigre» Acosta y otros 10 acusados

Chiara Oct 27, 2011

HISTORICO: El Tribunal Oral Federal Número 5 anunció este miércoles 26/10 a la noche las sentencias a los imputados por los crímenes ocurridos en la Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA) durante la última dictadura militar.

CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24).- El Tribunal Oral Federal Número 5 anunció este miércoles 26/10 la sentencia en el primer juicio oral por los delitos ocurridos en la ESMA durante la dictadura militar tras un proceso que llevó 22 meses de debate y por el cual brindaron su testimonio 250 personas.

El tribunal estuvo integrado por los jueces Daniel Obligado, Ricardo Farías y Germán Castelli.

El juicio a las Juntas ventiló los hechos condensados en la causa 13, durante el gobierno de Raúl Alfonsín, desde entonces decenas de sobrevivientes de la represión vienen ofreciendo su testimonio, cuando ratificaron primero lo denunciado en el exilio ante los organismos internacionales y luego ante la Comisión Nacional sobre Desaparición de Personas.

Entre esas denuncias se encontraban aquellas contra los represores de la ESMA, una de las megacausas que la Cámara Federal de entonces tenía previsto iniciar, antes del dictado de las leyes de Obediencia Debida y Punto Final.

La suscripción de los pactos internacionales, que consideran crímenes de lesa humanidad y por lo tanto imprescriptibles delitos como los cometidos en la ESMA; la posterior inconstitucionalidad y anulación de aquellas leyes impulsadas en el Gobierno del ex presidente Néstor Kirchner, llevaron al resurgimiento de ese juicio cuyo inicio se demoró por casi cuatro años.

Estas son las condenas que recibieron a los acusados por los crímenes cometidos en la ESMA:

A prisión perpetua:
Alfredo Astiz
Jorge «Tigre» Acosta
Ricardo «Sérpico» Cavallo
Antonio «Rata» Pernías
Adolfo Donda Tigel
Alberto «Gato» González
Julio Coronel (Ejército)
Raúl «Mariano» Scheller
Oscar Antonio Montes
Jorge «Ruger» Radice
Néstor Omar «Norberto» Savio
Ernesto «220» Weber (policía)

A 25 años:
Manuel García Tallada:
Juan Carlos «Lobo» Fotea Daneri (policía)

A 20 años:
Carlos «Tomy» Capdevilla

A 18 años:
Juan Antonio «Piraña» Azic (prefecto)

Absueltos:
Juan Carlos Rolón
Pablo «Dante» García Velasco

Los fundamentos de las condenas aplicadas en el juicio por los crímenes de la ESMA serán difundidos el 26 de diciembre.

A continuación un detalle elaborado por el Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, sobre cada acusado:

*Jorge Eduardo «Tigre» Acosta «El Tigre» Acosta, como era conocido por los detenidos de la ESMA, fue el jefe de Inteligencia, y como tal, jefe del Grupo de Tareas 3.3.2 de la ESMA. Capitán de Fragata retirado era conocido y recordado por los sobrevivientes por su sadismo en el trato con los detenidos-desaparecidos, a quienes esclavizaba y maltrataba y luego invitaba a cenar o a bailar a restoranes o discos de moda de la época. Se encuentra detenido en el Complejo Penitenciario I de Ezeiza dependiente del Servicio Penitenciario Federal (SPF).

*Alfredo Ignacio «Rubio» Astiz Agente de inteligencia del GT 3.3.2, también conocido como «Gustavo Niño», es mundialmente conocido por ser aquel quien se infiltró en la organización Madres de Plaza de Mayo, entre otros lugares, durante la dictadura, haciéndose pasar por hermano de un desaparecido. Logró la confianza de las Madres y sus allegados, y fue quien instrumentó el operativo en la Iglesia Santa Cruz que es parte de este juicio. Teniente de Fragata dado de baja de la fuerza, está detenido en el Complejo Penitenciario II de Marcos Paz, también dependiente del SPF.

*Juan Antonio «Piraña» Azic Ayudante mayor de la Prefectura Naval Argentina, fue miembro del sector Operaciones del GT 3.3.2. Conocido dentro de la ESMA también como «Claudio» o «Fredy», apropió a dos niñas nacidas en cautiverio en dicho centro clandestino. Contemporáneamente con la reapertura de las causas, y luego de que el Juez Baltasar Garzón solicitara su detención con fines de extradición, intentó suicidarse infructuosamente. Pasó varios años detenido pero alojado en la Clínica San Jorge a causa de las heridas que el mismo se infringiera. Cumple arresto domiciliario. *Carlos Antonio «Tomy» Capdevilla Capitán de Corbeta retirado, fue médico de la ESMA, y cumplió la función de asistir los partos en la maternidad clandestina que funcionó en ese centro. Como Azic, también está involucrado en casos de apropiación de menores. Se encuentra detenido en el Complejo Penitenciario I de Ezeiza.

*Ricardo Miguel «Sérpico» Cavallo También conocido como «Marcelo» o «Miguel Angel», fue integrante del sector Operaciones del GT 3.3.2. Fue detenido en el mes de agosto del año 2000 en México, y a partir de allí comenzó un lento proceso de extradición para que pudiera ser juzgado en nuestro país, que finalmente se concretó con su llegada a la Argentina en marzo de 2008. Capitán de Corbeta retirado, se encuentra cumpliendo su detención en el Complejo II de Marcos Paz. *Julio César «Maco» Coronel Teniente Coronel del Ejército, es uno de los miembros del grupo de tareas que demuestra la convergencia de oficiales de distintas armas en la ESMA. Se encuentra detenido en su domicilio.

*Adolfo Miguel «Gerónimo» Donda Tiguel También conocido como «Palito», «Chiche» o «Rubén Pellegrino», perteneció al sector de Inteligencia del GT 3.3.2. Capitán de Fragata retirado, debió llegar a juicio en el fallido proceso contra Héctor Febres en 2007, pero por demoras en una resolución de la CNCP su juzgamiento fue postergado hasta este juicio. Se encuentra detenido en el Complejo I de Ezeiza.

*Juan Carlos «Lobo» Fotea Dineri Sargento de la Policía Federal, es otro ejemplo de cooperación internacional entre estados para el juzgamiento de los responsables. Se encontraba prófugo hasta noviembre del año 2006, cuando fue detenido en España. Fue extraditado en enero de 2007 y detenido por la causa ESMA. Está detenido en el Complejo Penitenciario II de Marcos Paz.

*Manuel Jacinto García Tallada Contraalmirante retirado de la Armada, ocupó el cargo de jefe del Estado Mayor del Comando de Operaciones Navales al momento de los hechos. Se encuentra detenido con arresto domiciliario.

*Pablo Eduardo «Dante» García Velasco Junto a su hermano Miguel Angel –quien también es imputado en la causa pero no fue juzgado en este juicio– integró el GT 3.3.2. Capitán de Corbeta retirado, cumple su arresto en el Complejo II de Marcos Paz.

*Carlos Orlando ‘Fragote’ Generoso También conocido por los sobrevivientes como «Garrido» o «Agustín», fue parte del GT 3.3.2 como suboficial del Servicio Penitenciario Federal. Se encuentra detenido en el Complejo I de Ezeiza. Por razones de salud, se suspendió el proceso para este imputado.

*Alberto Eduardo «Gato» González Capitán de Corbeta retirado, también integrante del GT 3.3.2, fue conocido a su vez con el sosías de «Oscar Paz Alara». Alojado en el Complejo II de Marcos Paz.

*Oscar Antonio Montes Vicealmirante de la Armada, llegó a ocupar el cargo de ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de la Nación. Se encuentra detenido en su domicilio.

*Antonio «Trueno» Pernías Otro de los miembros del GT 3.3.2, también conocido como «Rata» o «Martín». Su padre, un oficial superior de la Fuerza Aérea, facilitaba su casa-quinta ubicada en la localidad de Del Viso, provincia de Buenos Aires, como «casa operativa» del GT. Capitán de Fragata retirado, se encuentra detenido en el Complejo I de Ezeiza.

*Jorge Carlos «Ruger» Radice En calidad de agente de inteligencia, Radice integró el sector Logística de GT 3.3.2. Se retiró alcanzando el grado de Teniente de Fragata, y se encuentra detenido en el Complejo II de Marcos Paz.

*Juan Carlos «Juan» Rolón Capitán de Fragata de la Armada, desde febrero de 1977 a marzo de 1978 cumplió funciones en la Base Naval Puerto Belgrano, en la localidad de Bahía Blanca, luego pasó a integrar el GT 3.3.2 de la ESMA. Actualmente se encuentra detenido en el Complejo II de Marcos Paz.

*Néstor Omar «Norberto» Savio También conocido como «Halcón», fue integrante del sector Logística del GT 3.3.2 de la ESMA. Capitán de fragata retirado, se encuentra detenido en el Instituto Penal de las Fuerzas Armadas de Campo de Mayo, hoy bajo la órbita del SPF.

*Raúl Enrique «Mariano» Scheller Otro de los miembros del GT 3.3.2 de la ESMA, se retiró con el rango de Capitán de Navío. Se encuentra detenido en el Complejo penitenciario II de Marcos Paz.

*Ernesto Frimón «220» Weber Ex comisario de la Policía Federal Argentina, fue miembro del sector operaciones del GT 3.3.2. Se encuentra bajo arresto domiciliario.

PIÑERA DESDE URUGUAY PIDE «NO HACER DE LA EDUCACIÓN UNA CAUSA DE DIVISIÓN»

Chiara Oct 27, 2011

El conflicto estudiantil ha marcado la agenda de la visita de Estado del Presidente Sebastián Piñera en Uruguay. El Mandatario entregó declaraciones públicas sobre el tema, pero además enfrentó una situación molesta como los insultos de una mujer cuando depositaba una ofrenda floral para el héroe charrúa José Artigas.
«Una mujer profirió insultos soeces, lo que fue inapropiado y molesto, pero en Uruguay la libertad de expresión es un valor sagrado», dijo el diputado PPD Pepe Auth, al contar el episodio a la prensa.
En un punto de prensa, Piñera se refirió a la necesidad de avanzar en un acuerdo en educación, en momentos en que el Presupuesto 2012 del sector se está tramitando en el Legislativo. Y apelando tanto al Congreso como a los estudiantes, pidió que «en lugar de hacer de la educación una causa de división en nuestro país, hagamos de ella un gran desafío y una gran misión que una a todos los chilenos».
DEMANDAS ESTUDIANTILES
El Jefe de Estado reiteró que los problemas en la educación «se arrastran hace décadas y, por tanto, no es posible pedir que en un año se resuelvan todos los problemas».
Y, en respuesta a las demandas estudiantiles, señaló que «los jóvenes que sí pueden pagarse su educación, tienen que hacer un esfuerzo, porque los desafíos que tienen países como el chileno no es solamente con la educación, tenemos desafíos con la pobreza, con la salud, con la creación de empleos».
COMPROMISO DEL GOBIERNO
El Mandatario reiteró el compromiso del Gobierno «con una profunda reforma a nuestra educación, para poder garantizar educación de calidad a todos los niños y a todos los jóvenes, en la educación preescolar, escolar, universitaria y técnico-profesional».
En esa línea, resaltó que para ello se está «ampliando la cobertura de la educación preescolar, mejorando en más del 20% la subvención escolar preferencial y también, por primera vez en nuestra historia, garantizando como Gobierno, a todos los niños y jóvenes con mérito pertenecientes al 40% de los hogares más vulnerables, las becas que van a estar garantizadas, estableciendo un sistema que va a combinar becas y préstamos para el resto de los estudiantes».
El Mandatario admitió que «todos quisiéramos ir más mas rápido», y aseguró que «nuestro Gobierno está dando paso que antes no se habían dado». «Y es posible, a través de un acuerdo nacional, avanzar a un ritmo mucho más fuerte, mucho más comprometido que el que teníamos el pasado y en esa voluntad el Gobierno está comprometido en cuerpo y alma», complementó.
Piñera estuvo este jueves en la Policlínica República de Chile (en la foto), hizo una visita a la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Uruguay y se reunió con empresarios del marketing.
Por la tarde, el gobernante chileno será recibido en la residencia de Pepe Mujica, el Presidente uruguayo. Y nuevamente el tema estudiantil estará latente, porque universitarios charrúas anunciaron que se reunirán en las cercanías para protestar en su contra.
Fuente: lanacion.cl

Gobierno ordena a las aseguradoras repatriar sus fondos

Chiara Oct 27, 2011

El Gobierno ordenó a las compañías aseguradoras a repatriar sus fondos en el exterior en un plazo de 50 días, según estableció la resolución 36.162 publicada hoy en el Boletín Oficial.

Además, determinó que vencido ese plazo «no podrán tener ningún tipo de inversión y/o disponibilidad en el exterior», en el marco de la ofensiva para frenar la fuerte demanda de dólares y la salida de capitales.

La medida, ordenada por la Superintendencia de Seguros de la Nación, señaló en su artículo primero que «en el plazo de 10 (DIEZ) días, las aseguradoras deberán presentar, con carácter de declaración jurada, un informe completo y detallado de todas las inversiones radicadas en el exterior correspondientes a su patrimonio».

El artículo segundo consignó que «en el plazo de 50 (CINCUENTA) días corridos, las entidades aseguradoras deberán acreditar ante esta Superintendencia de Seguros de la Nación haber transferido la totalidad de sus inversiones y disponibilidades en el exterior a la República Argentina».

Luego, el artículo tercero dispuso que «el total de las inversiones y disponibilidades de las entidades aseguradoras deberán encontrarse radicadas en la República Argentina a partir de los estados contables cerrados al 31 de diciembre de 2011».

El organismo «podrá autorizar el mantenimiento temporario de las inversiones radicadas en el exterior, en forma excepcional y por resolución fundada, en los casos donde no existan instrumentos en el mercado local que se correlacionen razonablemente con los compromisos que deban respaldar o cuando se acreditare fehacientemente la inconveniencia de adecuarse a la presente resolución».

«En ambos casos, las circunstancias de hecho que fundamentan la solicitud del criterio excepcional deberán ser acreditadas previo a la presentación de cada estado contable», añadió la resolución firmada por el superintendente Francisco Durañona.

Pero aclaró que «el total de inversiones y disponibilidades en el exterior de las entidades reaseguradoras no podrá exceder, en ningún caso, el 50 por ciento del capital a acreditar».

La medida impacta en inversiones por un total de 8.400 millones de pesos (alrededor de 1.970 millones de dólares), según el último informe de estados patrimoniales, con datos al 30 de junio pasado, según publicó hoy La Nación

Crimen en Fiorito: «Mi hijo se acercó, dijo que lo pincharon y se desmayó»

Felipe Oct 27, 2011

Lo afirmó Osvaldo, el padre del menor de 11 años apuñalado y asesinado por otro niño mientras se peleaban. “Estaban discutiendo y lo apuñaló», agregó. Según relató, «fue el papá del agresor quien lo llevó a mi hijo al hospital» y «ahora no sé cómo mirarnos a la cara»

Un chico de 11 años mató de una cuchillada a otro de 12 en la localidad bonaerense de Villa Fiorito, partido de Lomas de Zamora, informó hoy la policía. «Papá, papá, me pinchó, me pinchó», contó el padre de la víctima al referirse a lo que el nene alcanzó a decirle antes de morir.

El hecho ocurrió en la tarde de ayer, alrededor de las 16, en la calle Conesa al 900, entre Ginebra y Bucarest, al sur del conurbano. El nene de 11 años entró a su casa y salió armado con un cuchillo tipo tramontina, con el que atacó al otro, en medio de una pelea entre ambos.

El herido fue trasladado al Hospital Evita de Lanús, donde murió cuando era asistido. De acuerdo con el relato del padre del menor “fue el papá del agresor quien trasladó a mi hijo al hospital”. Contó que los chicos «jugaban y andaban juntos» ya que eran «vecinos de años» y especuló que «por ahí lo quiso asustar» el agresor a su hijo.

«Peleaba como siempre, como chico de 11 años. ¿Qué chico de 11 años no tira piedras?», planteó el hombre en declaraciones a la prensa. Agregó que «nadie se esperaba lo que pasó, nadie lo puede creer» y sostuvo que va a seguir viviendo en el barrio, en el que reside desde «hace 40 años».

Por su parte, Gisela, la madre, que está separada de su marido, comentó que su hijo «le pegó con un palo y el pibito le dio una puñalada en el estómago». «Mi hijo ahora está muerto, no sé qué voy a hacer», dijo entre sollozos. Según su relato, el nene corrió cuando el padre se iba y le dijo: «Me pinchó, me pinchó», pero minutos después falleció. “Yo conozco al padre del agresor. Somos vecinos de hace muchos años y ahora no sé cómo mirarnos a la cara”, añadió el padre.

Fuente: Infobae