Argentina

Chile: Chaiten Volcano Eruption Causes Evacuations, Flight Cancellations

Date: May 8th, 2008 |

The long-dormant Chaiten volcano spewed lava and blasted ash some 20 miles high May 6, forcing the total evacuation of the provincial capital of Chaiten, six miles from the volcano, and causing most of the residents to evacuate the border town of Futaleufu, 75 miles east of Chaiten. More than 4,000 people had fled [read more]

Argentina: Bushfire Smoke Plagues Buenos Aires

Date: April 23rd, 2008 |

No Comments

Smoke from illegal bush fires blamed on farmers clearing land near Buenos Aires covered the capital for more than a week before winds pushed it away from the city. The pall caused air traffic controllers to cancel landings at Buenos Aires airports and police to close major highways because of poor visibility. The smoke drifted [read more]

Argentina: Yellow Fever Case near Paraguay Border

Date: March 6th, 2008 |

No Comments

A yellow fever outbreak in Paraguay that killed eight people has spread to Argentina, where a farm worker in Misiones province that borders Paraguay contracted the disease. The cases in Paraguay were the first incidences of the mosquito-borne illness since 1974. A vaccination campaign is under way in the Argentine provinces that border [read more]

Argentina: Government Takes Over Buenos Aires Train Service

Date: May 30th, 2007 |

No Comments

The government has decided to take control of the railway line that connects Buenos Aires to its southern suburbs after commuters rioted in Constitucion station May 15 to protest chronic poor service. Officials rescinded the private carrier’s license for the system that serves more than 40 percent of passengers in Buenos Aires and will run [read more]

Argentina: Buses Stop Running at Night to Protest Economic Woes

Date: May 9th, 2007 |

No Comments

Transport companies that operate public buses in metropolitan Buenos Aires have suspended service between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in a move to press the government to do something about the current economic crisis. They claim that the depressed economy is making their business untenable. The suspension could be indefinite and will place heavier [read more]

Argentina: Farmers May Block Roads Again

Date: May 1st, 2008 |

No Comments

For three weeks in March irate farmers blockaded roads and cut off meat and grain supplies to supermarkets in major cities, including Buenos Aires, but called off their protests when the government agreed to negotiate with them over the tax increase that spawned the protests. Little progress has been made and farmers vowed to set [read more]

Argentina: Farmers Suspend Road Blockades for 30 Days

Date: April 2nd, 2008 |

No Comments

Farmers suspended a three-week-long protest that has created food shortages around the country, keeping meat and grain from reaching supermarkets and prompting demonstrations of support in Buenos Aires and other cities. The original protest began March 11 when the government imposed a 44 percent export tax on their crops. The farmers suspended the protests March [read more]

Argentina: Coin Shortage Bedevils Buenos Aires

Date: November 9th, 2007 |

No Comments

Coins are hard to come by in Buenos Aires, so finding exact fare for buses or getting exact change back from merchants cannot be counted on. The shortage is blamed on people hoarding coins and bus companies that exploit the shortage by selling their coins to business owners for a small fee, around three percent. [read more]

Argentina: No Radar for Air Traffic Control

Date: May 16th, 2007 |

No Comments

Argentina’s only certified air traffic control radar was struck by lightning March 1 and is still broken, leaving the country without functioning radar to track flights in its airspace. Since then controllers have been guiding planes using information radioed by pilots. There reportedly have been five near-collisions since March 9; according to the president of [read more]

Argentina: Protests Against Crime in Buenos Aires

Date: September 5th, 2006 |

No Comments

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered Aug. 31 to protest violent crime in Buenos Aires and environs, demanding the government take action to curtail brazen daylight robberies and street shootings, often by juveniles who cannot be tried as adults. A smaller counter-demonstration of some 3,000 people organized by 1980 Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel [read more]