News stories by Marcela Valente, page 12

Although the latest rhetoric seems to signal a hardening of the historical sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands, some experts are sceptical and say nothing will change in essence.

The low humidity in Argentina's most agriculturally productive region has already caused a decline in grain yield - in particular corn and soybean - with ensuing losses for producers and the government.

Thousands of people in the northwest Argentine province of La Rioja are mobilising to stop an open-cast gold mining project in the Nevados de Famatina, a snowy peak that is the semi-arid area's sole source of drinking water.

A judge in Argentina has begun to investigate human rights crimes committed during Spain's civil war and the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1936-1975).

Human rights groups and legal experts are concerned that a law passed by the Argentine Congress in the early hours of Thursday morning to crack down on terrorism could be used to criminalise social protest.

Transvestites and transsexuals in Argentina, who were among the most marginalised minority populations, have seen respect for their rights grow in recent years, especially since same-sex marriage became legal in this country a year and a half ago.

What is happening in the European Union and the United States today happened a decade ago in Argentina, when it was a hotbed of protest and the streets of major cities were seething with people telling their leaders they had had enough. And then a new story began to be written.

In Argentina, the availability of water far outstrips demand, yet 11 percent of the population still lacks piped water, while a large proportion of the rest squanders it without a second thought.

Argentina's soy boom has been a major source of foreign exchange. But the other side of the coin is the toxic effects among the rural population, from spraying agrochemicals.

Although the public identifies human rights organisations in Latin America with resistance to the dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s, for years now these groups have broadened their concerns to encompass environmental and other issues.