- US long jump legend Lewis sees little scope for progression
- Palestinian symbol protest clouds Eurovision contest
- Sangakkara backs Samson as India keeper for T20 World Cup
- Spain struggles to stamp out drug trade in poor south
- Japanese auto giant Toyota posts record net profit
- Malaysia plans to introduce 'orangutan diplomacy': minister
- Table-topping Hurricanes beef up for Super Rugby showdown in Auckland
- Rubbish, climate change help boost Portugal's white stork numbers
- Europe's 'Swifties' await icon with open arms
- Israel launches fresh Gaza strikes as negotiators work towards truce
- Mongolia's wildlife at risk from overgrazing
- Toyota posts record yearly net income, revenue
- 'A blessing': Rains refill Iraq's drought-hit reservoirs
- Milking venom from Australia's deadly marine animals
- Top-seeded Celtics, Thunder win playoff openers
- US halts bomb shipment to Israel over Rafah concerns
- Global car giants seek tech allies in China's cutthroat EV market
- Mbappe denied dream PSG farewell after Champions League exit
- Celtics rout Cavs to take playoff series opener
- Kim Jong Un mourns death of North Korea's former propaganda chief
- US centenarian to marry at Normandy, 80 years after Allied landing
- Ritacuba Blanco: death of a Colombian glacier
- US restorationist solves 60-million-year-old dinosaur fossil 'puzzles'
- US touts action on irregular migration at Guatemala gathering
- China's Xi in Serbia for talks to boost economic ties
- Boeing Starliner crewed mission postponed to May 17
- NBA fines Denver's Murray $100,000 for heating pad toss
- Reus and Hummels 'close the circle' with Champions League return to Wembley
- Rudy Gobert named 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
- PSG coach Luis Enrique proud despite 'unfair' Champions League exit
- 'No one expected us' says Reus as Dortmund return to Wembley
- Florida judge indefinitely postpones Trump documents trial
- Blinken says US targeting those 'preying' on migrants
- Porzingis out but 'better than we thought' says Celtics coach
- Hummels stuns Mbappe and PSG to take Dortmund to Champions League final
- Sideways day on Wall Street as London notches another record
- China's Xi lands in Serbia after talking Ukraine, trade in France
- OpenAI unveils tool to detect DALL-E images
- Argentina introduces 10,000-peso banknote
- Security guard shot outside Drake's home in Toronto
- Cappuccino-fuelled Kane must 'deliver' against Madrid: Bayern coach Tuchel
- Delhi down Rajasthan to stay in IPL play-off race
- ArcelorMittal hit by Olympic flame greenwashing accusations
- Tiger and world's top 100 named in PGA Championship field
- Brazilians queue for precious water as flood damage intensifies
- TikTok challenges potential US ban in court
- Israel seizes Rafah crossing as Gaza truce talks resume
- Ukraine says thwarted Russian-led plot to kill Zelensky
- US repatriates two dozen Westerners from Syria IS camp
- Penske bans team president, three more over cheating scandal
Barking mad? Milei's attachment to 'dead' dog raises sanity worries
Does Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the Argentine president's office has lashed out at "disrespectful" speculation.
Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei's English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago.
Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as "four-legged children."
Or is it five?
The president himself referred in an interview with CNN this month to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton.
Conan, Milton, Murray, Robert and Lucas were also among the first Milei thanked after his election victory last August.
Yet, only four mastiffs -- enormous animals that can weigh up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) -- have ever been seen in photos with Milei.
At a press conference Thursday, Adorni was asked if Milei has four dogs -- but sees five -- and if so, whether he can be said to have a firm grip on reality.
Adorni shot back that it is "disrespectful to describe the president as a person who speaks to things that do not exist. It seems to me to be absolutely disrespectful... it is to mess with his family."
The spokesman did not clarify how many dogs the president owns.
On Monday, Adorni answered a similar question by stating: "I don't see what the difference is whether it be four or five dogs or 43 rabbits."
- 'The Madman' -
Often described as eccentric, Milei raised eyebrows on the campaign trail by occasionally dressing up as a superhero alter-ego "Captain Ancap" -- short for anarcho-capitalist.
He also repeatedly wielded a live chainsaw to illustrate the deep cuts he would make to state spending.
And then there are the dogs.
According to journalist Juan Luis Gonzalez, author of the unauthorized Milei biography "The Madman," Conan died in 2017.
The dog had been named after the muscled fictional hero Conan the Barbarian.
Devastated by the loss, Milei sent Conan's cells to US-based firm PerPETuate, which states on its website that five pups were the result of a cloning process, though only four appear on a photo that accompanies the post.
Milei has said the clones were named after economists Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard and Robert Lucas.
Gonzalez's book also claims the wild-haired Milei consults all his dogs -- dead and alive -- with the help of a medium specialized in "interspecies communication."
The medium, Celia Melamed, recently told TN television she had helped Milei "overcome the grief over his dog."
And politician Rafael Bielsa -- who had previously worked with the now-president in the private sector -- told Argentine media Milei had spoken to him about receiving "divine" messages via Conan.
Milei himself has refused to answer questions about his dogs.
For Gonzalez, "while it may seem like a laughing matter, this is a subject concerning the mental health of the president" and its impact on government.
Milei's predecessor Alberto Fernandez entered the fray this week in a social media tiff with the incumbent, stating on X: "You must know, my dog does not advise me and is alive."
Protesters, too, have jumped at the chance to make fun, with university students proclaiming "Without science, no Conan!" at a rally against funding cuts on Tuesday.
One walked an invisible "dog" on leash at the end of an empty collar with the name "Conan" on it.
R.Adler--BTB