YPF discovers 15-million-barrel oil field in Rio Negro

The final test oil well reached more than 3,000 metres deep

State energy firm YPF has announced the discovery of a 15-million-barrel oil field in Rio Negro province.

The 115-sq-km oil field is located at Los Caldenes, about 30km north of Cinco Saltos.

A YPF spokesman said the final test oil well, drilled to a depth of 3,154 metres below the wellhead, had recorded a production of 6,000 litres per hour of oil.

He said: “This new discovery, when added to others recently announced, constitutes a milestone in the new management of YPF.

“It will allow the development of a new field, increase production of conventional petroleum and generate better growth and development in the provinces involved and in the country as a whole.”

A $5bn (£3bn) settlement was agreed with Spanish oil company Repsol last month following Argentina’s renationalisation of 51% of YPF in 2012.

Ban on cosmetic surgery for under-18s proposed

The most popular procedures include breast augmentation and rhinoplasty

A bill to ban under-18s from undergoing cosmetic surgery is to be presented in Argentina’s Congress later this week.

The proposal, drawn up by National Deputy Mara Brawer of the ruling Frente Para la Victoria party, will be formally introduced into the Chamber of Deputies by a panel of specialists on Thursday.

Reconstructive, restorative and therapeutic procedures would be exempt from the proposed ban, which also allows for sex change operations under certain conditions.

Ms Brawer said: “This law is for surgical procedures that are purely cosmetic and that do not repair anything on a psychological or physical level.

“It is about the obligation of the state to protect young people from the physical risk that each operation involves and the psychological damage that is implied in the non-acceptance of a body that is in the process of changing.”

She added that while there were no official statistics on the level of under-18s undergoing cosmetic surgery in Argentina, many parents had expressed concern about the pressures faced by their children in conforming to a cultural “ideal” in terms of how they should look.

The most popular cosmetic procedures amongst teenagers worldwide include breast augmentation, liposuction and rhinoplasty.

Pope Francis to meet with President Fernández de Kirchner

The meeting will be the third held between the pair

Pope Francis is to hold a private audience with Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Vatican, it has been confirmed.

The pair will meet at the Pope’s Santa Marta residence on 17 March, two days before the president begins an official visit to France.

It will be the third meeting between the pair since the former Cardinal of Buenos Aires was elected Pope in March last year.

The meeting was confirmed by the Secretary General to the President Oscar Parrilli in an official statement.

New talks planned in teacher pay dispute

The start of the school year was delayed in many provinces

A new round of salary negotiations have been called in Buenos Aires province in the hope of ending a pay dispute which left teachers staging strike action.

Alberto Pérez, the Cabinet Chief of Buenos Aires provincial government, has instructed the Ministry of Labour to hold fresh negotiations with union representatives on Tuesday, 11 March.

The start of the school year was delayed on Wednesday when teachers in the province began a 72-hour walkout after rejecting a 25% pay rise to be payed in three stages.

Union leaders have threatened to extend the strike into next week.

Mr Pérez said: “We hope that we can arrive at an agreement with union representatives and also that until this meeting has taken place, the classes begin on Monday.”

Meanwhile, the government has been struggling to reach agreement in its bid to set the minimum pay level for teachers’ wages on a national basis.

This standard minimum level must be respected by provinces during their own individual salary negotiations.

Strike action was called by CTERA, the country’s largest teachers’ union, this week after the government’s offer of a 31% pay increase, to be spread over 16 months, and a bonus for attendance was rejected.

The breakdown of negotiations led to the start of the academic year being delayed at many schools in 16 provinces across the country.

Fresh talks at a national level are to be held on Wednesday, 12 March.

Buenos Aires residents battle invasion of moths

Residents have taken to social media to complain about the moths

Buenos Aires residents have been battling against an invasion of moths in their homes.

Experts say the unusually high numbers are the result of heavy rains which have triggered recent spells of heat and humidity, ideal breeding conditions for moths.

Esteban de Luca, pest control manager for Buenos Aires city government, rebuffed suggestions that the moths had spread across the Rio de la Plata from Montevideo in Uruguay, where residents have been complaining for weeks about an influx of the insects.

He said: “It is very unlikely that the same specimens have crossed the river. It is evident that there is a greater amount but this is down to climatic factors such as high temperatures and rain which facilitate their emergence.

“They are annoying but they do not spread diseases, bite or even eat clothes.”

The city government said it had no plans to control the insects, which are of the Noctuidae species of moth, with fumigation.

Sabella expects improvement before World Cup

Argentina players warming up

Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella has admitted his team will need to improve before this year’s World Cup after a disappointing scoreless draw against Romania.

His side, boasting the attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain, produced a sluggish performance against their hosts in Bucharest.

Sabella, speaking to Radio 9 following the friendly match, said: “We lack training sessions. When we come together 20 days before the World Cup, we will improve. That is the time needed by the manager and players to improve.

“Every game is useful in helping draw conclusions. In the second half, we recovered the ball better and attacked quicker. We need to find more balance.”

Argentina’s next match is a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in La Plata on 4 June.

Capitanich calls on teachers to end strike

Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich

Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich has called on teachers to end national strike action which has delayed the start of the school year.

The minister urged CTERA, the country’s largest teachers’ union, to halt its industrial action and comply with ongoing compulsory wage negotiations.

However, CTERA officials, who called the 48-hour strike after failing to reach agreement with the government during the mandatory talks on Wednesday, have vowed to continue the action.

Mr Capitanich, speaking during his regular press conference, said a fresh round of talks to set the national minimum level for teachers’ wages would now be held between the Department of Labour and union leaders on Wednesday, 12 March.

He said: “Four unions have complied with the mandatory conciliation and CTERA must follow the same course and naturally lift the strike action.

“We really have made significant efforts with multiple variants from the point of view of the terms of negotiation.”

Meanwhile, Roberto Baradel, head of SUTEBA, a teachers’ union affiliated to CTERA in the province of Buenos Aires, said the strike had been observed by the vast majority of its members.

He said the walkout, which is being staged for 72-hours in the province, would continue if there was no positive response from the provincial government to demands for wage increases.