Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina begins vaccinating its citizens against coronavirus on Tuesday using the recently delivered Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the government said, following its approval by health authorities for emergency use.

Argentine president Alberto Fernández and provincial governors said health personnel would receive their vaccines in less than 72 hours. Around 300,000 doses arrived in Argentina on Dec 24, and subsequent shipments are expected early in 2021.

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 24 (NNN-TELAM) – Argentine President, Alberto Fernandez, compared the COVID-19 pandemic, to “walking blindly through a swamp,” given that new strains of the virus have been recently detected, raising questions about the efficacy of vaccines.

Dealing with the health crisis “is the closest thing to walking blindly through a swamp, because you don’t know where you are stepping,” said Fernandez, during the inauguration of a penitentiary hospital, in the city of Lomas de Zamora, about 20 kilometres south of the capital Buenos Aires.

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 14 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s lower house of Congress has approved a bill to legalize abortion, a big step forward for the legislation that could set the tone for a wider shift in conservative Latin America.

The draft law, which would allow the legal termination of pregnancies up to the 14th week, was passed with 131 votes in favor, 117 against and six abstentions. It will now move up to the Senate, where an even tighter vote is expected.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Diego Maradona's personal doctor has denied responsibility for the death of the Argentinian football legend after police searched his house and clinic on Sunday.

"I feel terrible because my friend has died," Leopoldo Luque told reporters outside his Buenos Aires home. "I'm not the one who is responsible for all of this."

"I know what I did with Diego and I know how I did it. I can explain it all. I'm absolutely certain I did the best that could have been done for Diego."

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Soccer superstar Diego Maradona was buried Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people — a stark contrast to earlier in the day when tens of thousands of weeping fans filed past his coffin for hours in an observance that mixed head-of-state-like honors with the chaos of a rowdy stadium.

Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardín Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, on Saturday called for greater global integration to tackle the challenges caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

"The world is moving towards alarming levels of inequality" due to the economic impact of the pandemic and lockdown measures, Fernandez told a Group of 20 (G20) leaders' summit via video link.

While the wealth gap between nations and people existed, "the pandemic revealed this inequality, which we must attack in order to live in a more just world," Fernandez said.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 31 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentine President Alberto Fernandez signed a decree that extends social welfare coverage to one million more children and teenagers.

The government is allocating Universal Child Allowance, which amounts to 30 billion pesos (some US$ 383 million), to expand the program. The allowance contributes 3,540 Pesos (some US$ 45) per child to needy households.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 26 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina resumed regular domestic flights this week after an interruption of seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, although within a format of restrictions and health protocols limiting operations.

“The revival of connectivity will be gradual, giving priority to health,” declared the Transport Ministry, only allowing essential workers and persons needing to travel for health reasons to board flights for now.

BUENOS AIRES, October 23. /TASS/: Bolivia's President-elect Luis Arce has said he will work to strengthen relations with Russia.

"We thank our brother Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, for congratulations, and for the visit that [Russian] Ambassador to Bolivia Vladimir Sprinchan paid us today. We will strengthen relations between our countries for the benefit of our peoples," he wrote in a Twitter post.

USHUAIA, Argentina (AP) — At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis.