Thousands of shocked Argentines gathered early today to pay tribute to former president Nestor Kirchner, who died suddenly of a heart attack.

A judge issued the second arrest warrant in less than a week against former Argentinian president Isabel Peron, summoning her for questioning about a death squad that terrorised the country during her 1974-76 rule.

FORMER president Carlos Menem and Santa Cruz province Governor Nestor Kirchner will face off in Argentina’s first-ever presidential run-off on May 18, battling it out over how best to solve the crisis that has crippled Latin America’s third-largest economy.

Eduardo Duhalde, an old-style populist from the Peronist party, was sworn in as Argentina’s fifth president in two weeks today - and immediately lashed out at the unbridled free market policies he blames for the country’s economic chaos.

Argentina’s interim president Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has resigned after a volatile week in office, saying his support collapsed within his Peronist party as he tried to surmount a deep economic crisis.