MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Breaking News from Argentina.

Headlines:
Zaffaroni set for Supreme Court; Bussi Busted; US Ambassador meet President Kirchner; Japan wants in.

Zaffaroni set for Supreme Court

The decision was expected at about 2-3am with Peronists having managed to ensure the affirmative votes of about 40 of the nearly 50 senators present, far beyond the required two thirds of the senators present, La Rioja Senator Jorge Yoma said. The Peronist caucus convinced some Peronist colleagues not to attend the session so as to lower the threshold needed. At the same time, some opposition Radicals would cast affirmative votes as their caucus was split on the issue. Yoma and Tucumán Senator Malvina Seguí would vote for Zaffaroni arguing that his human rights record and "enormous" academic prestige far offset criticism for his controversial past rulings as a judge, his non-compliance with social welfare contributions and his having an aide ? Jacobo Grossman - who served a prison sentence for kidnapping people during the 1970s. Seguí said: "His virtues far outweigh his shortcomings and he will give the Court a greater balance on human rights and Constitutional guarantees." Kirchner has urged Congress to oust Court members accused of malfeasance ? namely during the 1989-1999 Carlos Menem tenure - and nominated Zaffaroni amid a purge of state bodies to fight corruption. His proposal won overwhelming support from human rights groups and NGOs although many law experts say he is too soft on criminals and his rulings often outrageous. A former member of the centre-left Frepaso who has posed with a gay movement flag, he has dismissed the criticism as ideologically grounded.

Bussi Busted.

The mayor-elect of Tucumán and provincial military governor during the 1976-83 dictatorship, retired general Antonio Domingo Bussi, yesterday was arrested for his alleged participation in the disappearance of a provincial senator in 1976. Federal Judge Jorge Parache ordered that Bussi be detained at a military academy after interrogating him as a suspect in the disappearance of Peronist senator Guillermo Vargas Aignasse when Bussi ruled the province.

US Ambassador meet President Kirchner

"A climate of trust is being created in Argentina," said Gutiérrez in perfect Spanish during a press conference after meeting President Néstor Kirchner in Government House for the first time since he presented his credentials to Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa on October 2. The US official said that his country could provide "support" in its negotiations with private creditors affected by Argentina's debt default last year. The thorny negotiations have been strained since Argentina recently made an offer ? widely rejected by the creditors ? to pay only 25 percent of the present value of bonds held by foreign investors. "The issue of (Argentina's) private debt is an issue between Argentina and its creditors, and we, in that sense, take no stance. But we could act in the way of supporting good negotiations so Argentina can move ahead," the Cuban-born Gutiérrez said.

Japan wants in

Japanese retail investors saddled with defaulted Argentine bonds called yesterday for a creditors' meeting, seeking to win an approval to cooperate with their European counterparts in a salvage effort. They think they would have more bargaining power in debt restructuring negotiations by joining the Argentine Bond Restructuring Agency (ABRA), which represents about 30,000 European retail bond holders and aims to negotiate with the Argentine government.

Source: Bs. Aires Herald