Argentina’s Cristina Fernández sentenced to six years in $1bn fraud case

Vice-president and former president also given lifelong ban on holding public office after being found guilty

Argentina’s vice-president and former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has been sentenced to six years in prison and given a lifelong ban on holding public office after being found guilty in a $1bn fraud case related to public works.

Fernández de Kirchner – who was president of Argentina for two terms between 2007 and 2015 – was found guilty of fraud on Tuesday, though she is unlikely to serve any prison time soon as she has immunity due to her government roles and is expected to launch a lengthy appeals process that could take years.

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‘The sheer scale is extraordinary’: meet the titanosaur that dwarfs Dippy the diplodocus

One of the largest creatures to have walked the Earth is to become the Natural History Museum’s new star attraction

It will be one of the largest exhibits to grace a British museum. In spring, the Natural History Museum in London will display the skeleton of a titanosaur, a creature so vast it will have to be shoehorned into the 9-metre-high Waterhouse gallery.

One of the most massive creatures ever to have walked on Earth, Patagotitan mayorum was a 57-tonne behemoth that would have shaken the ground as it stomped over homelands which now form modern Patagonia. Its skeleton is 37 metres long, and 5 metres in height – significantly larger than the museum’s most famous dinosaur, Dippy the diplodocus, which used to loom over its main gallery.

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Saudi Arabia declares public holiday to mark World Cup win over Argentina

Region rejoices as Saudi team ‘writes history’ against South American powerhouse in group stage

Saudi Arabia has said Wednesday will be a national holiday as, on the Jeddah Corniche by the Red Sea, in the heart of the capital Riyadh and in towns and villages across the country, its seismic 2-1 World Cup win over Lionel Messi’s Argentina was celebrated as a coming of age.

The national football side’s remarkable victory was being seen as both a triumph on the pitch and a huge moment on the global sports stage, where the regional power has long sought a place in the spotlight.

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Head of rights group during Argentina’s military dictatorship dies at 93

Hebe de Bonafini co-founded Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 after her two sons were arrested and then disappeared

Hebe de Bonafini, who became a human rights campaigner when her two sons were arrested and then disappeared under Argentina’s military dictatorship has died, her family and authorities have reported. She was 93.

The death on Sunday was confirmed by her only surviving child, Alejandra, who expressed thanks for expressions of support her mother had received while hospitalised in the city of La Plata. Local officials said she had suffered from unspecified chronic illnesses.

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Beauty queens Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Argentina marry in a secret ceremony

Fabiola Valentín and Mariana Varela posted a video highlighting their two years together and their courthouse wedding

The former pageant queens Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Argentina have revealed a romantic secret: not only have they been in a relationship, but last weekend they tied the knot.

After two years together, Fabiola Valentín of Puerto Rico and Mariana Varela of Argentina posted an Instagram reel celebrating their romance.

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Coldplay perform Iranian protest song Baraye by arrested singer

British band joined on stage by exiled actor Golshifteh Farahani to sing protest song by Shervin Hajipour as Buenos Aires concert broadcast in 81 countries

An Iranian protest anthem that has become the soundtrack to the national uprising was again thrust into the international spotlight over the weekend when Coldplay performed a cover and broadcast it live around the world.

The British band played the song, Baraye, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday and Saturday night at the start of their world tour, with the exiled Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani on stage and singing in Farsi.

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Third person arrested in Argentina over attempt to assassinate vice-president

Agustina Díaz was arrested reportedly after a forensic examination of Brenda Uliarte’s phone revealed messages regarding the attack

A third suspect has been arrested over the attempted assassination of Argentina’s vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, as investigators pursue suspicions that the attack was not the act of a lone gunman.

Fernández was unharmed during the incident on 1 September, when Fernando Andrés Sabag Montiel, 35, pulled the trigger of his handgun inches away from her face. The gun failed to fire, and the vice-president’s supporters quickly subdued the would-be assassin.

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Don’t take democracy for granted, warns director of Argentine junta film

Comments at Venice film festival come after recent failed assassination attempt on Argentina’s vice-president

A failed assassination attempt this week on the Argentine vice-president has shown that democracy cannot be taken for granted, the director behind a courtroom drama about the trial of Argentina’s military junta has said.

Opening at the Venice film festival on Saturday, Santiago Mitre’s Argentina 1985 follows the prosecutors who, despite death threats and enormous legal difficulties, brought members of Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship to trial in 1985.

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Argentinians march for Cristina Kirchner after vice-president survives assassination bid

Tens of thousands take to the streets to condemn political violence and show support for vice-president a day after shock attack

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across Argentina to protest against political violence and show support for vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the day after she survived what appeared to be a failed assassination attempt.

Political leaders around the world and Pope Francis condemned the attack, as marchers flooded cities across the country in solidarity with a political leader who, like Juan and Evita Perón, dominates Argentina’s political landscape.

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Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: arrest after attempted shooting of Argentina vice-president

Fernández de Kirchner was greeting supporters when man approached her and raised handgun to her face

A man has been arrested after a handgun was aimed at point-blank range at Argentina’s vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in an apparent assassination attempt.

Fernández de Kirchner survived only because the pistol – which was loaded with five bullets – did not fire, President Alberto Fernández said.

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Discovery of small armoured dinosaur in Argentina is first of its kind

Jakapil kaniukura was about 5ft long and probably walked upright in then-steamy Patagonian landscape about 100m years ago

Palaeontologists have announced the discovery of a previously unknown small armoured dinosaur in southern Argentina, a creature that probably walked upright on its back legs roaming a then-steamy landscape about 100m years ago.

The Cretaceous period dinosaur, named Jakapil kaniukura, would have been well-protected with rows of bony disc-shaped armour along its neck and back and down to its tail, they said. It measured about 5ft (1.5 meters) long and weighed only 9-15lb (4-7kg), similar to an average house cat.

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Weather tracker: Mediterranean Sea hit by major marine heatwave

No respite from record-breaking temperatures as the ocean warms and wildfires rage on land

Many parts of Europe have seen record-breaking temperatures over the past few months, but it is not just the continental landmass which has been affected. The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing a major marine heatwave, with sea surface temperatures in western parts of the Mediterranean 4-5C warmer than average. Temperatures have been above average for prolonged periods since the start of May, with June the warmest on record for large portions of the Mediterranean basin. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has classified the current event as a “severe” category 3 event, one level from extreme thresholds.

Marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future due to human-induced climate change. Scientists have found that marine heatwaves between 2015 and 2019 in the Mediterranean caused mass casualties in marine species, coral bleaching and harmful algal blooms.

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Declassified files reveal British interest in Falkland Islands oil

Ministers keen to claim UK right to potential deposits before and after 1982 war with Argentina

British ministers were keen to exploit oil around the Falkland Islands before and after the 1982 conflict, declassified British government documents show.

In a previously unpublished letter, the former chancellor Norman Lamont said the revenues from Falklands oil should go to the British government, not the Falkland islanders.

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Diego Maradona ‘hand of God’ shirt sold for record £7.1m at auction

Blue Argentina No 10 jersey kept by England player Steve Hodge beats mark set by 1892 Olympic manifesto

The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored twice – including the “hand of God” goal – to knock England out of the 1986 World Cup has sold for a record-breaking £7.1m at auction.

The late Argentinian player described his opening goal in the quarter-final as “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”. He and the England goalkeeper Peter Shilton leapt to reach the ball, which touched Maradona’s left hand and bounced into the net. The referee did not have a clear view and allowed the goal to stand.

The last violin played on the Titanic was sold at auction for $1.7m in less than 10 minutes in 2013. The instrument belonged to Wallace Hartley, an English musician whose eight-piece band played as the ship sank into the frozen waters of the Atlantic in April 1912. According to reports, Hartley’s body was pulled from the water days afterwards with his violin case still strapped to his back.

John Lennon’s flowered porcelain toilet sold for almost $15,000 (£9,500) – about 10 times the estimate – in 2010. The toilet came from Tittenhurst Park, an English estate owned by Lennon and Yoko Ono, where the former Beatle recorded his Imagine album and film. When Lennon had the toilet replaced, he told builders to “put some flowers on it or something”. Sale organisers called it the most unusual item they had ever handled.

An oak chair that JK Rowling used while writing the first two books of the Harry Potter series sold for $394,000 (£278,000) in 2016. The 1930s chair was one of four mismatched chairs given free to the then little-known writer for her council flat in Edinburgh. Before she donated it for auction in aid of the NSPCC in 2002, Rowling painted on the chair: “You may not/find me pretty/but don’t judge/on what you see.”

Marilyn Monroe’s white halter dress that she wore in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch sold for $4.6m in 2011. “Oh, do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn’t it delicious?” Monroe famously says in the film as the dress is blown up by air from a New York subway grate. That image become one of the most memorable in film history. The dress was designed by William Travilla and made from rayon-acetate to give it sharp pleats.

A copy of the Bible used by Elvis Presley sold for £59,000 in 2012. A pair of Presley’s unwashed and soiled underpants worn underneath his famous white jumpsuit during a 1977 concert performance went unsold after bids failed to meet the £7,000 reserve price.

False teeth belonging to Winston Churchill were sold for £15,200 in 2010. The upper dentures, one of several sets made for the wartime prime minister, were specially constructed to preserve his natural lisp and were so important to him that he carried two pairs at all times. They were designed to be loose-fitting so that Churchill could preserve the diction famous from his radio broadcasts during the second world war.

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Erosion of abortion rights gathers pace around the world as US signals new era

A leaked supreme court draft ruling shows the US is set to end 50 years of a woman’s right to choose. Elsewhere, the battle still rages

In 2022, abortion remains one of the most controversial and bitterly contested ethical and political battlegrounds. It is illegal for women to terminate their pregnancies in any circumstance in 24 countries, with a further 37 restricting access in any case except when the mother’s life is in danger.

As a leaked document signals that the US supreme court is poised to strike down the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade, millions of American women face losing their access to legal abortions, joining millions more living in those countries rejecting a woman’s right to choose.

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Maradona’s shirt from ‘hand of God’ England match expected to sell for £4m

Former England midfielder Steve Hodge has owned Maradona’s no 10 shirt since the 1986 match

Diego Maradona’s infamous “hand of God” goal made footballing history and cemented the legendary status of the Argentinian superstar. Now the shirt he wore when he scored that goal at the 1986 World Cup is estimated to sell for at least £4m.

Maradona’s no 10 shirt has been owned for the past 35 years by the former England midfielder Steve Hodge. The two players swapped shirts at the end of the quarter-final between Argentina and England.

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Argentina criticises UK refusal to talk about future of Falklands

Argentine foreign minister calls for improvement in bilateral relations with Britain 40 years after conflict

British-Argentine relations will be stifled so long as the UK refuses to engage in discussions about the future sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, or if both sides continue to act as if the war happened only yesterday, the Argentine foreign minister has said.

Writing in the Guardian on the 40th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the islands in April 1982, Santiago Cafiero called for an improvement in bilateral relations.

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Rosario v Newell’s Old Boys delayed after ‘number of grenades’ damage pitch

  • Fierce football derby in Argentina forced to kick off late
  • Explosives had been thrown on to the field by fans

The derby game in Argentina’s top flight between Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys kicked off late on Sunday after “a number of grenades”, which had been thrown on to the field by fans, blew holes in the playing surface.

The fixture, a local derby between two fierce rivals in the Santa Fe province, is one of the major dates in the country’s football calendar.

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Argentinian bishop sentenced to prison for sexual abuse despite pope’s defense

Gustavo Zanchetta convicted by court in a major blow to Pope Francis, who had initially defended the bishop

A court in Argentina has sentenced a Roman Catholic bishop to four and a half years in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in a major blow to Pope Francis, who had initially defended the bishop.

Gustavo Zanchetta, 57, was convicted on Friday of “simple, continued and aggravated sexual abuse”, with his offense aggravated by his role as a religious minster.

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Argentina scientists unearth dinosaur with ‘puny arms’ and hard head

Dinosaur probably belongs to carnivorous group called abelisaurs and may have used its head to ram its prey

Scientists in Argentina have unearthed the remains of a previously unknown species of meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 70m years ago that had puny arms and may have used its powerful head to ram its prey.

The fossil skull of the Cretaceous period dinosaur, named Guemesia ochoai, was discovered in Argentina’s north-western Salta province. The researchers said it likely belongs to a carnivorous group of dinosaurs called abelisaurs, which walked on two legs and possessed only stub-like arms, even shorter than those of North America’s Tyrannosaurus rex.

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