Fans of San Lorenzo, one of Argentina's most popular football clubs, are in heaven: one of their own just became pope, a feather in the cap for a team founded by a priest.

"The new pope, from San Lorenzo, is more important even than Diego Maradona or (tango singer) Carlos Gardel," enthused Marcelo Ladelfa, invoking the most Argentinian of superlatives.

An abandoned power plant in Buenos Aires dating back to the early 20th century has been transformed into a cultural center, a key part of plans to revitalize the "poor" south of Argentina's capital.

The old brick factory topped with a giant tower, built by the Italian-Argentine electricity company from 1914 to 1916 by Italian architect Giovanni Chiogna, had been nearly forgotten along the highway to La Plata.

A strong storm in Argentina's capital has blown down trees and destroyed roofs, killing at least 13 people in the region and leaving more than 20 injured.

Authorities said four people died in the capital of Buenos Aires as hail fell and heavy gusts of wind tore through the city Wednesday night. One person was killed when a wall collapsed, and three others died under a roof that fell, city official Maria Eugenia Vidal told the Argentine television channel Telefe.

The engineer operating the Argentine train that crashed this week killing 51 passengers blamed the brakes for failing, after he repeatedly warned they were faulty, a judicial source said Saturday.

The engineer, Marcos Cordoba, is being investigated by police but was free after being treated at a hospital.

A packed commuter train slammed into barriers at a railway terminus in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires during rush hour Wednesday, leaving an unknown number of people dead, 550 injured, and dozens trapped in the wreckage.

"The train was full and the impact was tremendous," a passenger identified only as Ezequiel told local television, stating that medics at the scene were overwhelmed.

Argentinians are flocking to see "The Iron Lady", intrigued not just by the tale of the nation's arch-nemesis Margaret Thatcher but also her uncanny incarnation as played by Meryl Streep.

It was Thatcher, the then British prime minister, who ordered troops into war after the Argentine junta invaded the Falklands Islands in 1982, sparking a brief but bloody war over the remote South Atlantic archipelago.

More than 100 people were taken to hospital in Argentina's capital, some with serious burns and eye injuries, after they were hurt by Christmas fireworks, medical officials said Sunday.

"We had a 20 percent increase over last year, with 57 patients admitted with severe eye injuries," said Fernando Pellegrino, head of emergencies at the Santa Lucia Eye Hospital.

Colombian lingerie model Angie Sanclemente on Wednesday was convicted of trying to ship cocaine to Europe in her suitcases, and sentenced to more than six years in jail.

Sanclemente, 31, is a former beauty queen and model whom authorities said tried to smuggle cocaine to Europe in late 2009 with a stopover in Cancun, Mexico. She was arrested in a Buenos Aires hostal in May 2010.

Lebanon may be known more for its civil strife than its fledgling movie industry, but Nadine Labaki hopes to change all that.

The director-actress is out to transform the way the world sees her native country.

About 400 couples are competing in this year's World Tango Championships beginning next week in Argentina's capital, organizers said Wednesday.

More than 500 artists also will participate in the festival that starts Tuesday and runs through Aug. 30.