Indonesians seek escape as anger rises over quality of life

BAHIA BLANCA, Argentina: Argentina announced three days of national mourning late Sunday after authorities raised the death toll from recent flash flooding to 16, with more still missing.
The deadly floods struck Friday when a year’s worth of rain fell in a matter of hours in and around Bahia Blanca, a major port city located in the south of Buenos Aires province, with entire neighborhoods inundated by the fast-rising waters.
The Latin American nation has been particularly shaken by tragic reports of two girls, aged one and five, being swept away in the torrent.
Provincial security minister Javier Alonso confirmed their disappearance Sunday, saying the sisters had climbed onto the roof of a van with their mother to escape the rising waters when a surge ripped them away. Their mother was rescued.
Divers were continuing to search the area, where more than a meter of water remained, Alonso told the Radio Mitre outlet.
Bahia Blanca Mayor Federico Susbielles, meanwhile, told a press conference that the flooding had caused $400 million in infrastructure damage.
Later, in a post on X, he said “there are 16 confirmed deaths, but there are likely to be more” as search efforts continue.
The storm left much of the surrounding coastal area without power. At one point, city officials in Bahia Blanco suspended electricity due to the huge amount of water in the streets.
Argentine President Javier Milei “will declare three days of national mourning” for the deaths, his office said late Sunday, without specifying when the period would begin.
“All areas of the national government will remain dedicated... to assisting the victims in this moment of sorrow for all Argentines,” the presidency said in a statement.
The government has authorized emergency reconstruction aid of 10 billion pesos ($9.2 million at the official exchange rate).
Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi offered his condolences on Instagram to the victims’ families
“Much strength to all those who are having a rough time in this difficult moment,” he wrote.
Environment official Andrea Dufourg said this weekend that the extreme weather event “is a clear example of climate change.”
“Unfortunately this will continue to take place... we have no other option than to prepare cities, educate citizens, establish effective early warning systems,” said Dufourg, who is director of environmental policy for the city of Ituzaingo outside Buenos Aires.
Bahia Blanca has suffered past weather-related disasters, including a storm in December 2023 that claimed 13 lives. It caused houses to collapse and provoked widespread infrastructure damage.

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump declined Sunday to rule out the possibility that the United States might enter a recession this year.
“I hate to predict things like that,” he told a Fox News interviewer when asked directly about a possible recession in 2025.
“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big — we’re bringing wealth back to America,” he said, adding, “It takes a little time.”
Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, was more definitive when asked Sunday about the possibility of a recession.
“Absolutely not,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked whether Americans should brace for a downturn.
Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff threats against Canada, Mexico, China and others have left the US financial markets in turmoil and consumers unsure what the year might bring.
Stock markets just ended their worst week since the November election.
Measures of consumer confidence are down, as shoppers — already battered by years of inflation — brace for the higher prices that tariffs can bring.
And widespread government layoffs being engineered by Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk add further concern.
When asked later Sunday to clarify his remarks on whether there could be a recession, Trump told reports on Air Force One “Who knows?“
Overall, the signs are mixed.
A widely watched Atlanta Federal Reserve index now predicts a 2.4 percent contraction of real GDP growth in the year’s first quarter, which would be the worst result since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Much of the uncertainty stems from Trump’s shifting tariff policy — effective dates have changed, as have the sectors being targeted — as businesses and investors try to puzzle out what will come next.
Kevin Hassett, Trump’s chief economic adviser, was asked on ABC whether tariffs were primarily temporary or might become permanent.
Hassett said that depended on the behavior of the countries targeted. If they failed to respond positively, he said, the result could be a “new equilibrium” of continuing tariffs.
The administration has insisted that while the economy will pass through a possibly bumpy “transition,” things are headed in a positive direction.
In his State of the Union message on Tuesday, Trump told Americans to expect “a little disturbance” as tariffs take hold, while adding: “We’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”
And his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned of a “detox period” as the economy cuts government spending.
Given the uncertainties, economists have been wary of making firm predictions.
Economists at Goldman Sachs, citing Trump’s policies, have raised their odds of a recession over the next 12 months from 15 percent to 20 percent.
And Morgan Stanley predicted “softer growth this year” than earlier expected.
Recessions are generally defined as two consecutive quarters of weak or negative GDP growth.
The US was briefly in recession in early 2020 as the Covid pandemic spread. Millions of people lost jobs.