Latest news with #C5N
11-06-2025
- Politics
Argentine Supreme Court upholds 6-year prison sentence for ex-President Fernández
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president. The explosive Supreme Court ruling left Fernández, Argentina's charismatic yet deeply divisive ex-leader, subject to arrest and sent her supporters pouring into the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, and blocking major highways in protest. The court asked Argentina's security ministry to set up a detention center to hold 72-year-old Fernández. Her defense lawyer Carlos Beraldi told C5N, a television station in Buenos Aires, that he had requested Fernández be allowed to serve her sentence in house arrest given her age. The ruling bars Fernández from running in this fall's Buenos Aires legislative elections just days after she launched her campaign. Fernández, who dominated Argentine politics for two decades and forged the country's main left-wing populist movement known as Kirchnerism, after her and her husband, former President Néstor Kirchner, rejects the charges as politically motivated. During Fernández's eight years in office (2007–2015), Argentina expanded cash payments to the poor and pioneered major social assistance programs. But her governments funded the unbridled state spending by printing money, bringing Argentina notoriety for massive budget deficits and sky-high inflation. Critics blamed Argentina's years of economic volatility on Fernández's policies, and outrage over successive economic crises and the country's bloated bureaucracy helped vault radical libertarian President Javier Milei to the presidency in late 2023. The ruling dealt a severe blow to Milei's opposition during a crucial midterm election year. He celebrated the ruling, writing on social media: 'Justice. Period.' Fernández was embroiled in multiple corruption scandals during her tenure. She was convicted in 2022 in this corruption case, which centered on 51 public contracts for public works awarded to companies linked to Lázaro Báez, a convicted construction magnate and friend of the presidential couple, at prices 20% above the standard rate in a scheme that cost the state tens of millions of dollars. The high court rejected Fernández's request for the court to review her prison sentence in March. In a resolution obtained by The Associated Press, the court said that the prison sentence 'does nothing more than to protect our republican and democratic system." The Kirchner governments carried out 'an extraordinary fraudulent maneuver' that harmed the interests of the government and resulted in the embezzlement of roughly $70 million at the current exchange rate, the resolution said. Supporters of Fernández and her political movement blocked main roads into Buenos Aires and stormed the offices of Argentina's two main cable networks that are widely considered critical of the ex-leader, Channel 13 and Todos Noticias, smashing televisions, vandalizing cars and shattering windows. There were no injuries reported. Fernández rejected the decision, calling the court justices 'puppets' of those wielding economic power in the country. 'They're three puppets answering to those ruling far above them," she told supporters in a rousing speech outside her party's headquarters. 'It's not the opposition. It's the concentrated economic power of Argentina's government.' Gregorio Dalbón, one of Fernández's lawyers, vowed 'to take this case to all international human rights organizations.' Fernández has questioned the impartiality of the judges. She claims her defense didn't have access to much of the evidence and that it was gathered without regard to legal deadlines.
NBC News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Argentina's top court upholds 6-year prison sentence for ex-President Fernández over corruption
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina 's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president. The explosive Supreme Court ruling left Fernández, Argentina's charismatic yet deeply divisive ex-leader, subject to arrest and sent her supporters pouring into the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, and blocking major highways in protest. The court asked Argentina's security ministry to set up a detention center to hold 72-year-old Fernández. Her defense lawyer Carlos Beraldi told C5N, a television station in Buenos Aires, that he had requested Fernández be allowed to serve her sentence in house arrest given her age. The ruling bars Fernández from running in this fall's Buenos Aires legislative elections just days after she launched her campaign. Fernández — who dominated Argentine politics for two decades and forged the country's main left-wing populist movement known as Kirchnerism, after her and her husband, former President Néstor Kirchner — rejects the charges as politically motivated. During Fernández's eight years in office (2007–2015), Argentina expanded cash payments to the poor and pioneered major social assistance programs. But her governments funded the unbridled state spending by printing money, bringing Argentina notoriety for massive budget deficits and sky-high inflation. Critics blamed Argentina's years of economic volatility on Fernández's policies, and outrage over successive economic crises and the country's bloated bureaucracy helped vault radical libertarian President Javier Milei to the presidency in late 2023. The ruling dealt a severe blow to Milei's opposition during a crucial midterm election year. He celebrated the ruling, writing on social media: 'Justice. Period.' Fernández was embroiled in multiple corruption scandals during her tenure. She was convicted in 2022 in this corruption case, which centered on 51 public contracts for public works awarded to companies linked to Lázaro Báez, a convicted construction magnate and friend of the presidential couple, at prices 20% above the standard rate in a scheme that cost the state tens of millions of dollars. The high court rejected Fernández's request for the court to review her prison sentence in March. In a resolution obtained by The Associated Press, the court said that the prison sentence 'does nothing more than to protect our republican and democratic system.' The Kirchner governments carried out 'an extraordinary fraudulent maneuver' that harmed the interests of the government and resulted in the embezzlement of roughly $70 million at the current exchange rate, the resolution said. Supporters of Fernández and her political movement blocked main roads into Buenos Aires and stormed the offices of Argentina's two main cable networks that are widely considered critical of the ex-leader, Channel 13 and Todos Noticias, smashing televisions, vandalizing cars and shattering windows. There were no injuries reported. Fernández rejected the decision, calling the court justices 'puppets' of those wielding economic power in the country. 'They're three puppets answering to those ruling far above them,' she told supporters in a rousing speech outside her party's headquarters. 'It's not the opposition. It's the concentrated economic power of Argentina's government.' Gregorio Dalbón, one of Fernández's lawyers, vowed 'to take this case to all international human rights organizations.' Fernández has questioned the impartiality of the judges. She claims her defense didn't have access to much of the evidence and that it was gathered without regard to legal deadlines.
MTV Lebanon
11-06-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
Argentina's former president sentenced for prison, banned from office
Argentina's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president. The explosive Supreme Court ruling left Fernández, Argentina's charismatic yet deeply divisive ex-leader, subject to arrest and sent her supporters pouring into the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, and blocking major highways in protest. The court asked Argentina's security ministry to set up a detention center to hold 72-year-old Fernández. Her defense lawyer Carlos Beraldi told C5N, a television station in Buenos Aires, that he had requested Fernández be allowed to serve her sentence in house arrest given her age. The ruling bars Fernández from running in this fall's Buenos Aires legislative elections just days after she launched her campaign. Fernández, who dominated Argentine politics for two decades and forged the country's main left-wing populist movement known as Kirchnerism, after her and her husband, former President Néstor Kirchner, rejects the charges as politically motivated. During Fernández's eight years in office (2007–2015), Argentina expanded cash payments to the poor and pioneered major social assistance programs. But her governments funded the unbridled state spending by printing money, bringing Argentina notoriety for massive budget deficits and sky-high inflation. Critics blamed Argentina's years of economic volatility on Fernández's policies, and outrage over successive economic crises and the country's bloated bureaucracy helped vault radical libertarian President Javier Milei to the presidency in late 2023. The ruling dealt a severe blow to Milei's opposition during a crucial midterm election year. He celebrated the ruling, writing on social media: 'Justice. Period.' Fernández was embroiled in multiple corruption scandals during her tenure. She was convicted in 2022 in this corruption case, which centered on 51 public contracts for public works awarded to companies linked to Lázaro Báez, a convicted construction magnate and friend of the presidential couple, at prices 20% above the standard rate in a scheme that cost the state tens of millions of dollars. The high court rejected Fernández's request for the court to review her prison sentence in March. In a resolution obtained by The Associated Press, the court said that the prison sentence 'does nothing more than to protect our republican and democratic system.' The Kirchner governments carried out 'an extraordinary fraudulent maneuver' that harmed the interests of the government and resulted in the embezzlement of roughly $70 million at the current exchange rate, the resolution said.
Hamilton Spectator
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Argentine Supreme Court upholds 6-year prison sentence for ex-President Fernández
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president. The explosive Supreme Court ruling left Fernández, Argentina's charismatic yet deeply divisive ex-leader, subject to arrest and sent her supporters pouring into the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, and blocking major highways in protest. The court asked Argentina's security ministry to set up a detention center to hold 72-year-old Fernández. Her defense lawyer Carlos Beraldi told C5N, a television station in Buenos Aires, that he had requested Fernández be allowed to serve her sentence in house arrest given her age. The ruling bars Fernández from running in this fall's Buenos Aires legislative elections just days after she launched her campaign. Fernández, who dominated Argentine politics for two decades and forged the country's main left-wing populist movement known as Kirchnerism, after her and her husband, former President Néstor Kirchner, rejects the charges as politically motivated. During Fernández's eight years in office (2007–2015), Argentina expanded cash payments to the poor and pioneered major social assistance programs. But her governments funded the unbridled state spending by printing money, bringing Argentina notoriety for massive budget deficits and sky-high inflation. Critics blamed Argentina's years of economic volatility on Fernández's policies, and outrage over successive economic crises and the country's bloated bureaucracy helped vault radical libertarian President Javier Milei to the presidency in late 2023. The ruling dealt a severe blow to Milei's opposition during a crucial midterm election year. He celebrated the ruling, writing on social media: 'Justice. Period.' Fernández was embroiled in multiple corruption scandals during her tenure. She was convicted in 2022 in this corruption case, which centered on 51 public contracts for public works awarded to companies linked to Lázaro Báez, a convicted construction magnate and friend of the presidential couple, at prices 20% above the standard rate ally in a scheme that cost the state tens of millions of dollars. The high court rejected Fernández's request for the court to review her prison sentence in March. In a resolution obtained by The Associated Press, the court said that the prison sentence 'does nothing more than to protect our republican and democratic system.' The Kirchner governments carried out 'an extraordinary fraudulent maneuver' that harmed the interests of the government and resulted in the embezzlement of roughly $70 million at the current exchange rate, the resolution said. Supporters of Fernández and her political movement blocked main roads into Buenos Aires and stormed the offices of Argentina's two main cable networks that are widely considered critical of the ex-leader, Channel 13 and Todos Noticias, smashing televisions, vandalizing cars and shattering windows. There were no injuries reported. Fernández rejected the decision, calling the court justices 'puppets' of those wielding economic power in the country. 'They're three puppets answering to those ruling far above them,' she told supporters in a rousing speech outside her party's headquarters. 'It's not the opposition. It's the concentrated economic power of Argentina's government.' Gregorio Dalbón, one of Fernández's lawyers, vowed 'to take this case to all international human rights organizations.' Fernández has questioned the impartiality of the judges. She claims her defense didn't have access to much of the evidence and that it was gathered without regard to legal deadlines. Fernández faces a series of other upcoming trials on corruption charges. ____ Associated Press journalist Sergio Farella contributed to this report. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Severe Floods hit Argentina Farm Region, Thousands Evacuate
Thousands of residents evacuated on Saturday as rains lashed the north of Argentina's Buenos Aires province, a vital agricultural hub, and caused severe flooding. The National Meteorological Service, which issued a red alert for the region on Friday evening, reported rainfall between 150 and 250mm (6-10 inches) between the cities of Zarate and Arrecifes. It warned that storms were "constantly regenerating," with more rain expected, Reuters reported. Television images showed residents in Zarate, 100 km (62 miles) from the capital, navigating submerged streets in boats loaded with belongings. A long-distance bus with 44 passengers was trapped by floodwaters on Route 9 near Zarate. "Water started coming in and covered everything," the driver told the local C5N television channel. In San Antonio de Areco, more than 260mm fell in 24 hours – an amount local mayor Francisco Ratto called "rarely surpassed." The heavy precipitation in the key food-exporting region is anticipated to cause further delays to the ongoing soybean harvest. Argentina is the top global exporter of soybean meal and oil, as well as the third-largest exporter of corn and a major wheat exporter.
