Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez got nearly half the votes against a divided opposition in a primary, giving her re-election campaign a feeling of invincibility.

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Videla was sentenced to life in prison for the torture and murder of 31 prisoners in 1976.

Raul Alfonsin, whose presidency of Argentina came to symbolise the return of democracy across Latin America from an era of military dictatorships, has died.