Argentina, the world’s third largest grower of soybeans, lifted four years of currency controls Wednesday after grains exporters agreed to deliver $6 billion in hoarded crops to the country over the next three weeks.The country will let the peso float starting tomorrow, prompting a devaluation of the tightly controlled official exchange rate, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay told reporters at a press conference in Buenos Aires on Wednesday."We have reached an agreement with grain exporters that Read more [...]

Police burst violently into a domestic scene in the opening frames of Pablo Trapero's foreign-language Oscar contender The Clan: guns flashing, women screaming. It was, sadly, not an uncommon sight in Argentina in the early 1980s, when the film is set. It was part of the MO of the country's military dictatorship: political dissidents, and often their families, were kidnapped and “disappeared” without a trace. But after the police subdue the family in The Clan, the film shifts. An officer Read more [...]

Argentina will move forward with plans to lift currency controls and let the peso float as President Mauricio Macri tries to fulfill campaign promises to create a more open economy.The move will imply a devaluation of the official exchange rate which has been tightly controlled by the central bank under a crawling peg system. The official rate of 9.82 pesos per dollar compares with a black market rate of 14.5 pesos. Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay will make the announcement at a press conference Read more [...]

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri waves after being sworn-in as president at Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina will announce a much anticipated relaxation of currency controls at a press conference scheduled for 6 p.m. (2100 GMT) Wednesday, a government statement said.President Mauricio Macri, elected last month on a free markets platform and inaugurated Read more [...]

Yemen child prodigy: burnt and amputated

Yemeni child prodigy, Abdullah al-Sanabani, who once dreamed of leading a Yemeni space program, is victim of a suspected Saudi-led air strike that left him badly burned.

Chinese tourists may have a reputation for appalling manners but they are still viewed positively by some foreigners, according to a new survey. State-owned China Radio International and the China Tourism Academy polled 1,264 residents from 23 countries and regions between March and August on their views of Chinese tourists. Up to 23 per cent of the interviewees said littering was the “most striking form of misbehaviour” of mainland Chinese tourists, followed by jaywalking (17 per cent) and defecating Read more [...]

BUENOS AIRES Dec 15 Argentina's central bank said on Tuesday it had hiked interest rates on its short- and medium-term fixed deposits in pesos by 8 percentage points, as the market braced for a likely sharp devaluation of the currency later this week.The issuance of fixed deposits was the first by the central bank under its new chief Federico Sturzenegger. On Monday, Argentina's new President Mauricio Macri had said he would start this week lifting the restrictions to access to U.S. Read more [...]

For Mauricio Macri, the first right-wing, pro-business head of state in recent Argentine history, the challenges will be both political and economic. Credit Photograph by Victor R. Caivano / AP Mauricio Macri, the newly sworn-in president of Argentina, ran for office under the campaign slogan “Let’s Change,” and his victory has already caused a few reversals. For the first time in Argentine history a self-declared Read more [...]

Argentina's state prosecutor called Monday for the reopening of an investigation into the 1994 AMIA Jewish center bombing. Read more [...]

The club is happy enough for Curtis, the 64-year-old Swansea legend, to carry on for the weekend following the side’s much improved performance in their unlucky defeat at Manchester City on Saturday. Jenkins is understandably determined to find the right person, with the £5 billion Premier League TV deal kicking in next season and would-be US investors apparently interested. Huw Jenkins will take his time to find the right person Bielsa would be a risky choice, however. He made his name as manager Read more [...]