"Obscene Amount Of Cash" - Former Argentina Minister Caught Throwing Money Over Monastery Wall

Story out of Buenos Aires, Argentina:

A top public works official in Argentina's previous government was arrested on Tuesday while throwing what police called "an obscene amount of cash" over the walls of a monastery, intensifying questions about possible past corruption.

Officers responded to a pre-dawn 911 call reporting a man tossing bag after bag into the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic monastery in the Buenos Aires suburb of General Rodriguez.

Within minutes, officials said, former Deputy Public Works Minister Jose Lopez was in custody, where he remained on suspicion of money laundering.

The case is the latest to focus on figures linked to Cristina Fernandez, whose second term as president ended in December. Prosecutors have questioned Fernandez as part of a probe into possible corruption in her administration. She was succeeded by former Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri. Cont.

Story from - Yahoo News/Reuters

5 Die After Taking Mystery Drug At Electronic Music Festival In Argentina

Story out of Buenos Aires, Argentina:

Argentine health officials say at least five people have died and five others are critically ill of apparent drug use at a major electronic music festival in Buenos Aires.

Two people in their 20s died during the Time Warp festival on Friday and three others died in an ambulance or at a hospital.

Officials say most of those still hospitalized are in comas. 

Dr. Alberto Crescenti heads the emergency medical system for the Argentine capital. He says doctors are trying to determine what sort of drugs caused the deaths. Cont.

Story from - Global
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Snakes In Argentina Force Beaches To Close During Floods

Story out of Rosario, Argentina:

Floodwaters in the Rio Plata and Rio Parana carried a species of water lily and with it countless crawling, slithering creatures, south to beaches at the mouths of those rivers near Buenos Aires.

"We are raising awareness of the risk and danger present today. There are otters and species of snakes that are poisonous," said Matias Leyes, an official in the coastal town of Quilmes, south of the capital.

"The beaches of Quilmes have been closed as a precaution. We were cleaning up the coast during the week and while doing so we saw the snakes under the water lilies." Cont.

Story from - News 24
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