Néstor Kirchner

Argentine economy minister Martin Guzman, who led debt renegotiations with the International Monetary Fund, announced his resignation Saturday, sparking fresh uncertainty in Latin America's third largest economy.

Nearly 130,000 people lost their jobs in recession-hit Argentina from January to September this year, the government said on Nov. 17.

Companies reported a total of 127,595 job cuts - a 1.5 percent fall in employment overall - the Federal Public Revenues Administration said.

Just under eight million of the country's 41 million people were formally employed.

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied outside Congress late Dec. 17 against President Mauricio Macri, a mere week after the conservative politician took office as Argentina's new president.

Argentina, in a stinging repudiation of outgoing leftist President Cristina Kirchner, elected a pro-market government president to take the helm of Latin America's third-biggest economy.
 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin struck agreements on nuclear energy cooperation with Argentinian counterpart Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Under the deals, the Russian company Rosatom is to take part in the construction of Atucha NPP's Unit 3.

Relations between the two countries are "strategic" ones, Argentinian daily Clarin quoted Putin as saying.