Author: Pacocanas

WASHINGTON — The elevation of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership shows an increasing level of shared interests between the two countries. But the enhanced ties do not mean Hanoi is drifting away from Beijing, its traditional partner, analysts say. The two countries upgraded their bilateral ties when U.S. President Joe Biden met with Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi in early September. Between July 25, 2013, and September 10, 2023, the countries had characterized their relationship as a comprehensive partnership, a lower level of diplomatic engagement. “The two leaders underscored the need to continue deepening…

Argentine basketball is long past the Generación Dorada (Golden Generation) days of the legendary team that won the Olympic gold medal at Athens 2004. The Albiceleste’s last claim to glory was as the runners-up finish in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. However, that was more a pleasant surprise than a realistic expectation, and four years later Argentina failed to qualify for this year’s men’s tournament. While former greats continued to unleash heavy criticisms about the country’s performance, Argentina quietly reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Under-19 FIBA World Cup, finishing fifth overall with big prospects coming through the ranks. The Herald met with Mariano Marcos,…

WASHINGTON — Washington’s outgoing top general, Mark Milley, spoke by phone Wednesday with his counterpart in Turkey, Metin Gurak, in their first announced contact since Gurak was appointed defense chief earlier this month. According to a Pentagon readout of the call, the two discussed “several items of mutual strategic interest, including NATO, Syria and the security environment in eastern Europe.” A Turkish readout simply said the pair “exchanged views on current developments.” Why it matters: Washington has been seeking opportunities to improve ties with its NATO ally after relations frayed due to Ankara’s outreach to Russia, acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense…

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — With tired faces, residents of a homeless shelter in Argentina’s capital pass through the main entrance and line up to receive a hot drink and a slice of cake for an afternoon snack. Places like the Bepo Ghezzi Social Inclusion Center in the Parque Patricios neighborhood of Buenos Aires have seen demand soar as more people are struggling to make ends meet amid an annual inflation rate above 100%. The portion of Argentines living in poverty reached 40.1% in the first six months of the year, according to figures released Wednesday by the government’s INDEC statistics agency.…

China’s commitment to deepening cooperation on services trade and digital trade with Belt and Road partner countries at the 2023 edition of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) has garnered special attention from Argentina. Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja told the Global Times on Saturday that bilateral cooperation in trade in services will deepen and lead to mutually beneficial outcomes. The remarks by the Argentine ambassador came as the 2023 edition of CIFTIS, the world’s largest services trade fair, wrapped up on Wednesday. The fair resulted in over 1,100 agreements and deals, underscoring China’s commitment…

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – A Russian government-linked hacking group took aim at dozens of global organizations with a campaign to steal login credentials by engaging users in Microsoft Teams chats pretending to be from technical support, Microsoft researchers said on Wednesday. These “highly targeted” social engineering attacks have affected “fewer than 40 unique global organizations” since late May, Microsoft researchers said in a blog, adding that the company was investigating. The Russian embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The hackers set up domains and accounts that looked like technical support and tried to engage…

Adriana Serquis, president of Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), said: “It is very valuable for the CNEA to receive today the visit of the delegation from India, not only to strengthen our cooperation ties in different areas related to nuclear medicine or reactors, but also so that they can get to know our facilities and workers, and the major priority projects that our institution is carrying out.” The Indian delegation was headed by the CEO of the Heavy Water Board, S Satyakumar. During the visit, CNEA said meetings were held to discuss areas including “nuclear medicine, space alloys, radioisotopes…

SEOUL (Reuters) -Months before he fled into North Korea, U.S. soldier Travis King faced two assault allegations and was fined by a South Korean court for damaging a police car, according to a court ruling and a lawyer who represented him. The U.S. military was scrambling to establish the fate of King, who made an unauthorised crossing of the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday, throwing Washington into a new crisis in its dealing with the nuclear-armed state. King’s motivations for his high-stakes gambit remain unclear. U.S. officials said he had finished serving time in detention in South Korea…

São Paulo, Brazil – As the city of São Paulo prepares to roll out thousands of surveillance cameras with facial recognition, experts are raising concerns on the indiscriminate use of this technology in the Brazilian megalopolis could exacerbate problems such as structural racism and inequality, while also posing risks to data privacy and cybersecurity. The Smart Sampa project is the latest among a series of initiatives involving modern surveillance techniques in various Brazilian states. It is significant due to the sheer size of the population it will impact: São Paulo, the most populous city in the Southern Hemisphere, is home to…

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s economy contracted more than expected in April as a record drought took its toll on trade, a sign that the economy is likely to enter recession later this year. Economic activity fell 1.9% in April from a month earlier, more than median estimate for a 1.2% decrease. The economy shrank 4.2% from a year ago, according to government data published last Friday. The year-on-year drop exceeded all forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A record drought in Argentina is ravaging forecasts for essential commodity exports that help drive growth. Consumer spending is also suffering as inflation running…