Argentina: Hundreds of troops deployed to combat looting

Argentine authorities have sent hundreds of troops to the southern city of Bariloche after a spate of looting. At least three supermarkets in the popular ski resort were targeted, causing panic among local residents and tourists.

Dozens of people, many with their faces covered, broke into the supermarkets stealing electronics, toys and clothes. The government blamed small criminal gangs but local authorities pinned the attacks on anarchist organisations.

"With this type of action, these groups have been trying to paint a false picture of social and political collapse," the provincial authorities said in a statement.

Local police said other shops and depots on the outskirts of the town were also targeted by looters. All shops closed after the thefts.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been in constant communication with the province's governor, according to her spokesman Juan Manuel Abal Medina.

He said the Bariloche attacks were linked to the sabotage of power lines earlier on Thursday in the neighbouring province of Neuquen. Read more >>

NYC Looters Dress Like Con Edison Workers to Gain Access to Houses

With limited metro access, New Yorkers had some of the worst commutes imaginable today. Thousands of people lined up at bus stops to try to get into Manhattan, and cars without three passengers weren't allowed into the city to try and cut down on traffic.

Looters have taken advantage of the confusion and desperation by dressing as Con Edison workers and breaking into houses on the pretext that they were doing electrical repairs. Sushko reports that around 15 people have been arrested for looting.

When Hurricane Katrina struck downtown New Orleans, a huge issue that we saw unfold in the days after was the problem of looting and violence in the streets. Has New York seen anything like that in the past few days?

It has. Sadly it did. From what I understand there have been 15 arrests so far in the outer boroughs of New York City for people who were looting and were arrested. Here are a few stories that I’ve heard. People actually dressed up as Con Edison power utility workers during the actual storm and in the hours after it passed and went and looted apartments that way. Read more >>