Shops and supermarkets closed, flights were cancelled and garbage piled up Thursday (February 19, 2026) as Argentine workers staged their fourth general strike of President Javier Milei’s term, some clashing with police.

The few buses running in Buenos Aires were nowhere near full, although car traffic was unusually heavy as many workers observed the 24-hour strike against a contentious labor reform.

Dozens of flights were cancelled and train stations were left deserted with only a handful of buses running, AFP observed.

On roads leading into the capital, small groups of protesters blocked traffic.

Later in the day, several thousand demonstrators gathered outside parliament, where a few dozen participants engaged in running battles with police, throwing bottles and stones.

Officers replied with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to clear the area.

Police were observed making about a dozen arrests.

The CGT labor federation said more workers adhered to the walkout call than during any of the previous three strikes.

“It has levels of compliance like never before under this government,” union leader Jorge Sola told Radio con Vos, claiming that “90 percent of activity had stopped.”

The contested reforms pushed by budget-slashing Mr. Milei, an ideological ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, would make it easier to hire and fire workers in a country where job security is already hard to come by.

It would also reduce severance pay, limit the right to strike, increase work hours and restrict holiday provisions.

The measure was approved by the chamber of deputies in the early morning hours of Friday, and will go back to the Senate for a final green light.

“I want to work because I am afraid of losing my job but I cannot get there. I will have to walk,” Nora Benitez, a 46-year-old home caregiver, said ahead of a five kilometer trek to her job along streets reeking of uncollected garbage.

Reforms spark protests

The labor action comes as Argentina’s economy is showing signs of a downturn in manufacturing, with more than 21,000 companies having shuttered in two years under Milei.

He had come to power after wielding a chainsaw at rallies during the 2023 election campaign to symbolize the deep cuts he planned to make to public spending.

Unions say some 3,00,000 jobs have been lost since Mr. Milei’s austerity measures began.

Most recently, Fate — Argentina’s main tire factory — on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) announced the closure of its plant in Buenos Aires, prompting some 900 job cuts.

The last general strike in Argentina was on April 10, 2025, but adherence was uneven as workers in the public transport system did not join.

Last week, thousands of people demonstrated in Buenos Aires as senators debated the reform bill, and clashes with police resulted in about 30 arrests.

On Tuesday (February 17, 2026), the government issued an unusual statement warning reporters about the “risk” of covering protests, and announced it would establish an “exclusive zone” from which the media can work.

“In the event of acts of violence, our forces will act,” a statement from the Security Ministry said.

Almost 40% of Argentine workers lack formal employment contracts, and unions say the new measures will make matters worse.

But the government argues they will in fact reduce under-the-table employment and create new jobs by lowering the tax burden on employers.

Mr. Milei, in office since December 2023, has achieved at least one of his macroeconomic goals: bringing annual inflation down from 150 percent to 32 percent in two years.

But it is a success that has come at the cost of massive public sector job cuts and a drop in disposable income that has sapped consumption and economic activity.

Mr. Milei will follow Thursday’s (February 19, 2026) events at home from Washington, where he attended the first meeting of Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which has drawn criticism as an attempt to rival the United Nations.

Published – February 20, 2026 10:22 am IST

Argentina’s President Javier Milei celebrates after winning in legislative midterm elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Lionel Messi in action© AFP

Buenos Aires:

Argentine police on Friday arrested one of the two men accused of supplying drugs to British singer Liam Payne before he fell to his death from the third floor of his hotel room in Buenos Aires.

Braian Paiz, who is accused of having supplied cocaine to Payne, is one of five defendants indicted in connection with the death of the 31-year-old former One Direction pop star in October.

Three of the five were charged with manslaughter and the other two with supplying illegal drugs, prosecutors said earlier this week.

Prosecutors said that Payne had consumed cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant before falling to his death from the balcony of his room at the Casa Sur Hotel.

Paiz, 24, is accused with supplying Payne with drugs two days before this death.

In November, Paiz denied in a television interview having given drugs to Payne, although he said that he met the pop star and spent time with him at his hotel.

Payne had spoken publicly about struggling with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.

His death prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates and fans, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer their condolences.

One of the highest-grossing live acts in the world in the 2010s, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Payne enjoyed some solo success before his career stalled.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Argentina, a nation once ranked among the wealthiest in the world, has found itself grappling with severe economic challenges over the past 25 years. Then, one year ago, provocative libertarian economist Javier Milei was inaugurated as its new president.

Known for his flamboyant persona and radical views, Javier Milei is one of the most polarising figures in global politics, celebrated by some as a visionary reformer and dismissed by others as “El Loco” (“the mad one”). He pledged to take a “chainsaw” to the state and promote a free-market approach.

His pro-capitalism stance extends to the promotion of culture wars. Last month, he fired his foreign secretary for voting along with 186 other countries against the US embargo on Cuba at the United Nations. Only the US and Israel voted against it. He withdrew Argentina’s delegation of negotiators to the UN climate summit in Baku, claiming human-caused climate change is “a socialist lie”.

Yet Milei owes his 2023 victory to Argentina’s deep economic crisis. It was an economy suffering from the third highest inflation rate in the world, at 211% year on year, a poverty rate north of 40% (it’s now climbed even higher), and an economy in crisis for decades.

Argentina’s economic woes are deeply rooted. Once one of the world’s richest nations thanks to its fertile Pampas plains, its prosperity was built on agricultural exports and integration into global markets.

Political instability, excessive protectionism and fiscal mismanagement disrupted its trajectory. Peronism, a political movement based on economic independence and social justice, has dominated Argentine politics for decades. While it lifted the working class, critics argue it entrenched inefficiency and dependence on the state.

By 2023, Argentina’s crisis had reached unprecedented levels and the peso had lost most of its value.

Argentines turned to Milei, an outsider who pledged to dismantle the state’s bloated bureaucracy, privatise key sectors and adopt policies rooted in libertarian principles.

Sweeping reforms and painful cuts

Now in power for a year, he has slashed government spending by a third, dismantling price controls and cutting subsidies on energy and transport. Last December, he devalued the peso by 54%.

Around 30,000 state jobs were cut, as were more than half of government ministries. Milei also allowed inflation to eat into the real value of pensions and salaries. This has generated fiscal surpluses, but also deepened the country’s worst economic crisis in two decades.

The result is unprecedented levels of poverty. As the cost of food and basic products increased, around 53% of Argentines now live in poverty – up from around 42% in 2023 and the highest level in 30 years. Another 15% of the population is in “extreme poverty”. An extra 5.5 million Argentines became poor during Milei’s first six months in office.

Despite the pain, Milei’s approval ratings have remained stable at around 50%. His success seems to rest on his unrelenting attacks on the country’s establishment and workers’ unions. The only large-scale protests occurred when Milei imposed cuts to free public universities. Argentines seem to have accepted the doctor’s prescription.

Milei’s key legislative victory was his controversial “omnibus” reform bill. This was originally aimed at slashing government spending, privatising public entreprises (whether or not they were profitable) and enforcing a zero-deficit policy.

Although the bill was watered down, economic indicators improved significantly. Monthly inflation dropped to 2.7% in October from its peak of 26% last December. The peso has strengthened considerably and is now overvalued, hurting exporters and raising the prospect of a devaluation – and with it, more inflation. Argentina’s country risk index (which measures the risk of investing in a state) has fallen significantly.

But the economy is not out of the woods. Growth remains elusive – the IMF forecast a 3.5% economic contraction this year. Growth of 5.2% next year will only return per-capita GDP, a measure of individual wealth, to where it was by the time COVID lockdowns ended in 2021. Reducing inflation further won’t be easy, as it has hovered around the 3% monthly level since July.

Meanwhile, Milei’s 2025 budget proposal aims for a budget surplus of over 1.3% of the country’s GDP, requiring further spending cuts. But calls to restart frozen public works and boost pensions and wages will inevitably grow louder next year.

And Argentina still has heavy capital controls, making it hard for investors to get money out of the country. They will think twice before investing.

Meanwhile, the opposition is waking up. Milei’s veto of the bill increasing university budgets brought 250,000 people out in protest in November, prompting some to suggest the president had miscalculated.

Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, still Argentina’s dominant leftist, is poised to take over the leadership of main Peronist party ahead of next year’s midterm elections. While her influence has greatly diminished, she still enjoys reasonable approval ratings. Both Kirchner and Milei are polarising figures, so it is unclear if her return will help the left.

The re-election of Donald Trump could prove to be Milei’s best card. While Argentina is a small trade partner, Milei will leverage his relationship with the US president-elect to convince the IMF to roll over the remainder of the US$44 billion debt (£35 billion) acquired in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office. Another US$10 billion is needed to bolster the central bank’s international reserves which remain critically low.

This source of money will be critical for Milei to start lifting capital controls. Only then can economic stability translate into sustainable growth.

(Author: Nicolas Forsans, Professor of Management and Co-director of the Centre for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, University of Essex)

(Disclosure Statement: Nicolas Forsans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

FIFA will confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups on Wednesday, with a joint bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal set to be awarded the former, and the latter being handed to Saudi Arabia. The awarding of hosting rights for both tournaments will go to a vote during a FIFA Congress to be held virtually, but there is no doubt about the outcomes with neither bid having a rival. The 2030 tournament will mark a century since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, and as a result the bid will also see the South American nation handed a game along with Argentina and Paraguay.

That makes it a remarkable and completely unprecedented bid, involving three different continental confederations.

FIFA already confirmed over a year ago that the joint proposal led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal was the sole contender for 2030, with all other potential candidacies having fallen by the wayside.

A joint British and Irish bid was abandoned when they decided to focus on hosting Euro 2028, while there were suggestions of a bid from South Korea, China, Japan and North Korea.

Four South American countries launched a joint bid in 2019, convinced that the centenary World Cup should entirely take place on the same continent where it all began.

In late 2022, UEFA promoted a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with war-torn Ukraine in a show of “solidarity” following the Russian invasion.

However, Ukraine was quietly dropped from that candidacy last year as Morocco joined forces with the Iberian neighbours, while South America agreed to step aside in exchange for being awarded the hosting of three games, one each for Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

Morocco plans mega stadium

Following these “centenary celebrations” in the comparative chill of the southern hemisphere winter, the six teams involved — along with their fans — will have to cross the Atlantic Ocean to play a part in the remaining 101 matches.

This tentacular tournament will conclude with the final on July 21, and it is yet to be seen where that game will be staged.

Spain, which hosted the 1982 World Cup, is set to be the centrepiece as it boasts 11 of the 20 proposed stadiums.

Morocco — which has tried and failed on five previous occasions to be awarded the staging of the tournament — will become the second African nation to host the competition after South Africa in 2010.

Potential venues for the final include the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid and Barcelona’s renovated Camp Nou, as well as the planned Hassan II stadium between Casablanca and Rabat, which is set to become “the biggest stadium in the world” with a capacity of 115,000.

Portugal, which hosted Euro 2004, will offer two stadiums in Lisbon and one in Porto, and hopes to stage a semi-final.

Human rights concerns

As for 2034, FIFA invoked its principle of continental rotation, therefore only welcoming bids from Asia or Oceania — the 2026 World Cup, the first involving 48 teams, will take place across North America.

Controversially, the body gave potential bidders barely a month late last year to submit candidacies, and Australia and Indonesia quickly abandoned their interest.

That left Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, clearing the way for the World Cup to return to the Gulf region following Qatar’s hosting in 2022.

The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time now to amass influence and improve its global image.

Being handed the 2034 World Cup will be a crowning moment, and Saudi will win despite currently only boasting two stadiums with a capacity of 40,000, when 14 are required.

Beyond that logistical challenge, the baking temperatures in the northern hemisphere summer could mean pushing the tournament back to later in the year, as happened in 2022.

However, the fact that Ramadan will take place in December that year is an added complication.

Moreover, the awarding of the World Cup to Saudi will make the issue of human rights a major talking point again, just as in 2022.

Rights groups highlight mass executions in Saudi Arabia and allegations of torture, as well as restrictions on women under the conservative country’s male guardianship system. Free expression is severely restricted too.

Saudi Arabia, which is hosting several high-profile events including Formula One and the WTA Finals tennis, is often accused of “sportswashing” — using sport to divert attention from its rights record.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will kick off FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup when the Major League Soccer side take on Egypt’s Al Ahly in the June 15 opener, the draw for the tournament revealed on Thursday. Brazilian team Palmeiras and Portugal’s Porto complete Group A alongside Argentina World Cup winner Messi, whose Miami team were handed a spot by FIFA after finishing top of the regular season standings in MLS. Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate, Brazilian Neymar, will have a reunion with La Liga rivals and European champions Real Madrid in Group H.

Twelve European clubs will feature in the tournament with Manchester City facing Juventus in Group G of a tournament which FIFA president Gianni Infantino said would “start a new era in club football”.

Paris Saint-Germain were drawn in a tough group with Atletico Madrid, Copa Libertadores winners Botafogo of Brazil and Seattle Sounders.

FIFA has had to deal with some scepticism over the need for the tournament and the chances of it capturing the imagination of fans but there was plenty of support for the competition among those at the draw.

Club officials and former players gathered for Thursday’s draw and US President-elect Donald Trump sent his best wishes in a video message before the ceremony, which took place during a 90-minute live broadcast from a television studio in Miami.

“The event is going to be incredible,” said Trump in his message where he praised Infantino as a “winner”.

“We’ve known each other a long time and I’m so honoured to have this kind of relationship because soccer is going through the roof as everyone knows,” he added.

The USA will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.

Clubs supportive

Trump’s daughter Ivanka took part in the draw which was presented by former Juventus and Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero and featured celebrities such as model Adriana Lima.

The final of the tournament will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 13.

FIFA had struggled to find sponsors and broadcasters for the new tournament but on Wednesday announced a global deal with streaming company DAZN, who will show the games for free.

The world governing body has faced opposition from some in the game over the new tournament.

FIFpro and the European Leagues body filed a joint complaint to the European Commission against FIFA over the introduction of the tournament into the international match calendar.

Opponents of the new tournament have said it adds further congestion to an already crowded schedule and increases the workload of players.

But there was little but backing for the competition from the clubs and leagues who will be represented next year.

“We are very supportive of this tournament, We are excited,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also chairman of the European Clubs Association.

Al-Khelaifi said the tournament was a better way for clubs to perform in the USA than in pre-season friendly tours and would help PSG to spread their brand.

There was also support from Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer and vice-chair of the World Leagues Association.

“The tournament took time to generate all the interest that you are seeing here today,” said the American.

“Good things come to those that sort of put in the work and FIFA put in the work and we’re going to have lots of our stadiums involved, 

“There are 100 million fans who follow what we call league (club) soccer and they’re going to be interested to see MLS teams and Mexican teams and see teams from all Europe, South America and the rest of the world, so I’m excited about it, I really am,” added Garber.

A magnificent volley from Lautaro Martinez was enough to give world champions Argentina a 1-0 win over Peru while Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Uruguay in South American World Cup qualifying on Tuesday. Argentina remain on top of the CONMEBOL standings with their qualification for the 2026 tournament surely just a matter of time. It was far from a vintage performance from Lionel Scaloni’s team, but a moment of magic from Inter Milan’s Martinez proved decisive at the ‘Bombonera’ stadium in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi floated in a cross from the left and Martinez leapt into the air, leaning back as he cracked a thundering left-footed volley past Pedro Gallese.

Argentina’s eighth win from 12 games leaves them on 25 points at the top of the table, five points ahead of Uruguay who earned a valuable point at Brazil.

Five-times World Cup winners Brazil laboured for long stretches of the game in Salvador and fell behind to a fine finish from Uruguay’s Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde in the 55th minute.

LIONEL MESSI WITH AN INSANE ASSIST, LAUTARO WITH AN INSANE GOAL

pic.twitter.com/8CrgijjXYH

— MC (@CrewsMat10) November 20, 2024

But seven minutes later Brazil equalised when a headed clearance fell kindly to Gerson who smashed home a perfectly-struck volley.

Gabriel Martinelli went close to a winner when he showed a deft touch to switch feet before a volley which brought a fine save out of Sergio Rochet.

The draw leaves Brazil in fifth on 18 points, a point behind fourth-placed Colombia who suffered an upset 1-0 home defeat to Ecuador in Barranquilla.

Veteran striker Enner Valencia stunned the home crowd with an outstanding solo effort in the seventh minute, the former West Ham United forward breaking away from three Colombian defenders and powering into the box before slotting home.

Colombia forward Jhon Cordoba then missed a golden opportunity to level the score, stumbling off balance and missing from point blank range after being set up by James Rodriguez.

Cordoba was central to the 34th minute incident that left Ecuador short-handed for the rest of the game.

The gangly striker raced clear and rounded Ecuador keeper Hernan Galindez before going down as Piero Hincapie closed in on him.

The referee ruled that Hincapie had tripped the forward and despite lengthy appeals and a VAR review the decision stood.

Galindez was then alert to keep out the resulting free-kick from Rodriguez and the keeper then had a busy end to the half as Colombia peppered his goal.

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz headed a Daniel Munoz cross against the post and Galindez did well to smother Cordoba at close range.

Colombia grew increasingly frustrated as Ecuador’s defence held firm in the second half with Galindez parrying to keep out substitute Jhon Duran and the unfortunate Cordoba blasted the loose ball high and wide from a tight angle.

Elsewhere Tuesday, Paraguay earned a 2-2 draw at Bolivia with the home side going ahead in the 15th minute with a confident strike from Ervin Vaca.

Newcastle United forward Miguel Almiron levelled for Paraguay in the 71st minute with a clinical finish after a smart passing move across the box.

Bolivia restored their lead nine minutes later with a Miguel Terceros penalty after Gustavo Gomez brought down Lucas Chavez in the box.

Both benches got involved in protests and Bolivian sub Adalid Terrazas and Paraguay’s Diego Gomez, who had been substituted, were both shown red cards.

Paraguay grabbed a point in stoppage time in some style with a magnificent solo effort from Julio Enciso who dribbled from deep before unleashing a thundering drive from 20 yards out.

Ninth-placed Chile have a lot of work to do if they are to make one of the six automatic qualification spots but boosted their faint hopes with a 4-2 thrashing of Venezuela.

File photo of Lionel Messi© AFP

Buenos Aires:

Argentina President Javier Milei on Wednesday sacked Foreign Minister Diana Mondino after the country voted at the UN in favor of lifting the six-decade US embargo on Cuba, the presidency said.

“The new foreign minister of Argentina is Mr. Gerardo Werthein,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni wrote on X, hours after Argentina joined 186 other UN members who voted in favor of lifting the embargo imposed on communist-run Cuba since 1962.

Werthein was previously Argentina’s ambassador to the United States.

Only two countries, the United States and Israel, both allies of Milei, voted against Wednesday’s resolution, while one country, Moldova, abstained.

Moments after Mondino’s sacking was announced, Milei retweeted a post by a lawmaker who said she was “proud of a government that does not support nor is an accomplice to dictators. Viva #CubaLibre.”

Argentina has traditionally voted against the embargo on Cuba.

Local media quoted foreign ministry sources as saying that while it was awkward diplomatically for Argentina to have opposed the US and Israel, the votes of Cuba and its allies would be needed in any future resolutions on Argentina’s claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, a British territory.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)