LATIN AMERICA

Photo Credit: Reuters

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Argentina's government said on Friday the fiscal deficit for the year would be around 3.5%, below a previously amended target of 4%, a boost for the grains-producing country as it seeks to balance spending with the need to reduce its debts.

Argentina is locked in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to roll over some $45 billion in payments it cannot make and is preparing a multi-year economic plan that will be key to sealing a deal.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Argentina's government said on Friday the fiscal deficit for the year would be around 3.5%, below a previously amended target of 4%, a boost for the grains-producing country as it seeks to balance spending with the need to reduce its debts.

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: AFP

Nine people, including Puerto Rican music producer "Flow La Movie" died Wednesday when a private plane crashed at the Las Americas airport in the Dominican Republic capital Santo Domingo, the aircraft's owner Helidosa said.

Helidosa "regrets the tragic accident on one of its planes at Las Americas airport... in which tragically all of the crew and passengers died," the company said in a statement.

Music producer Jose Angel Hernandez, who went by "Flow La Movie" and was known for hits like "Te bote," was listed in the Helidosa statement among the seven passengers and two crew members killed in the crash.

Local media said Hernandez's partner and his son were among the dead.

The Gulfstream plane crashed when it attempted to make an emergency landing due to a malfunction after taking off for the US state of Florida from another airport near the Dominican Republic capital, local media reported.

Photo Credit: AFP

A second son of Panama’s former president, Ricardo Martinelli, has pleaded guilty to laundering $28m in connection with an enormous bribery scheme involving the Brazilian construction firm, Odebrecht SA.

Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 42, entered his plea in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday after being extradited to the United States from Guatemala on Friday.

His younger brother, Luis Enrique Martinelli, had previously followed the same path: he was extradited from Guatemala in November and pleaded guilty on December 2 to the same count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Photo Credit: DW

At least 50 people died when a gas tanker exploded in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien on Tuesday morning, according to the local deputy mayor.

"I saw on the scene between 50 and 54 people burned alive," Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor said. "It is impossible to identify them."

Almonor also said "about 20" houses in the area were set ablaze by the explosion.

"We can't yet give details on the number of people inside the houses," he said.

Haiti is in the midst of a severe fuel shortage as gangs have seized gas lines.