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2008
Sunday 20 April 2008 CHILE
Chilean mining subcontractors continued their labour strike on Saturday for a fourth day. Output was affected at three of the five divisions of state-run Codelco, the world's largest copper producer. The company canceled two shifts at its Teniente division, but work there continued with a skeleton staff. Subcontracted workers argue that large revenues from copper prices at record highs are not trickling down to them. Codelco's Salvador and Andina divisions have been paralyzed since Wednesday. The strike is the latest in a series of sometimes violent protests by subcontractors.
Saturday Apr 5, 2008 Court blocks morning-after pill
Chile's top constitutional court yesterday blocked a bid to promote the free distribution of the morning-after pill to minors. The Constitutional Tribunal overruled a decree signed by President Michelle Bachelet more than a year ago that authorized the free distribution of the contraceptive to children 14 and up. Right-wing opponents of the president argued the pill was tantamount to abortion - which is illegal in Chile. [dumb church]
Saturday 19 January 2008 Chile has recalled its ambassador from Peru for consultations as the two nations prepare for their cases involving Pacific Ocean fishing rights in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Earlier this week, Peru filed suit at the court to officially define the maritime border between the countries. Peru is claiming an area of about 100,000 square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean currently under Chilean sovereignty. But Chile says the maritime border was settled by treaties in 1952 and 1954. Peru argues the treaties were to regulate fishing not demarcate
Monday 26 November 2007 French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday urged China to revalue its currency and improve its record on the environment, hours after arriving in Beijing for a state visit. Mr. Sarkozy also said China should play a more active role in resolving the Iran nuclear stand-off and other international disputes. Neither side disclosed details of discussions during an informal dinner between the two leaders. But in his speech after the dinner, Mr. Sarkozy revealed the key goals of his trip: to persuade China to revalue its currency, to improve its record on the environment and to help resolve issues involving Iran and Burma, also known as Myanmar. He said he wanted "vigorous" action from China on Burma, a close Chinese ally which crushed pro-democracy protests in September, sparking global outrage.
 Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary
Will the South be resilient to Northern turmoil? - October 3, 2007
A recent visit to Argentina and Chile reveals a singular preoccupation in the region. Specifically, local business people are watching the financial market turmoil associated with America’s sub-prime mortgage market, and wondering what implications it will have for them.
There are clearly two sides to the question. The first is, how large is the economic disturbance currently developing in the U.S.? The second is, for a given economic or financial shock of global significance, how well prepared are the various South American countries to absorb it? Past issues | his WN page
Commentary podcast. 
Tuesday 21 August 2007 The Canadian government has announced $2 million of emergency aid for countries stricken by Hurricane Dean. The state-owned Pemex oil company has ordered the abandonment of its offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and has evacuated the 18,000 workers who operate them as Hurricane Dean approaches the Yucatan Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the hurricane could ascend from a Category Four storm to Category Five. The resort city of Cancun has arranged extra flights to enable visitors to flee. Cancun was devastated by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Hurricane Dean has already killed 10 people as it proceeds through the Caribbean.
Sunday 15 July 2007 In Chile, a judge has ruled that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori should not be extradited to Peru to face human rights and corruption charges. The verdict is open to appeal. Peru is seeking Mr. Fujimori's extradition from Chile on a dozen criminal charges from his 1990-2000 presidency. He has been under house arrest since he unexpectedly arrived in Chile in November 2005. Mr. Fujimori has been asked to run in Japan's July 29 election as a member of the People's New Party. However, the Japanese government is reserving its decision on his candidacy. The 68-year-old Mr. Fujimori holds both Japanese and Peruvian citizenship.
Monday 11 December 2006 Policy on Morning-After Pill Upsets Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 16 — President Michelle Bachelet of Chile is a feminist and physician who used to practice pediatric medicine at public clinics in poor neighborhoods. So it was hardly surprising that her government recently liberalized contraception policy by making the so-called morning-after pill available free at state-run hospitals.
.... The influential Roman Catholic Church, however, has condemned distribution of the pill as a form of abortion that encourages promiscuity and intrudes on personal freedoms. In a statement, the national conference of bishops said the government’s actions are “reminiscent of public policies established in totalitarian regimes, by which the state aimed to regulate the intimate lives of its citizens.”
Monday 25 December 2006 In a letter written for release after his death, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet justifies the bloody 1973 coup that put him in power. Pinochet, who died December 10th of heart failure, says he wishes he hadn't had to stage the coup, and calls the abuses under his long rule inevitable. In the letter, released Sunday, Pinochet insists the military takeover avoided civil war and a Marxist dictatorship. He says his 1973-90 regime never had "an institutional plan" to abuse human rights but says it was necessary to act with maximum rigour to avoid a widening of the conflict. According to an official report, almost 3,200 people were killed for political reasons in the 17 years after Pinochet overthrew Marxist President Salvador Allende on September 11th, 1973. Tens of thousands were illegally imprisoned, tortured and forced into exile after the coup, during which Mr. Allende committed suicide rather than surrender.
Monday 11 December 2006 Chileans cheer as former dictator Pinochet dies
Even in death, Augusto Pinochet managed to outfox his enemies. Despite numerous attempts to prosecute him, the former Chilean dictator, who died of heart failure Sunday at 91, goes to his grave without ever being convicted of a crime.
nyt video
Augusto Pinochet. [91] -2006
08 December 2006 Most Chileans want Augusto Pinochet out of the way ec
Tuesday 05 December 2006 Pinochet in Stable Condition After Heart Attack Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator of Chile, underwent angioplasty following a serious heart attack.
Tuesday 05 December 2006 PINOCHET’S LAST RITES AND CONFESSIONAL
CBC
Sunday, CTV
News, the
Post, la
Presse go inside with the deteriorating health of former Chilean
dictator, Augusto Pinochet. The 91-year-old remains in hospital after
undergoing angioplasty this weekend. Although last rites were performed at
a hospital in Santiago, early this morning doctors considered that his
condition was improving. Besides having heart trouble, which necessitates
the use of a pacemaker, Pinochet also suffers from dementia, diabetes and
serve arthritis. His range of medical ailments have saved him from
facing justice for the deaths of thousands and torture of tens of
thousands that occurred during his 17-year rule of Chile following the
overthrow of Marxist leader Salvador
Allende in 1973, according to CTV
News. Pinochet marked his birthday last week with a statement read by
his wife in which he took full "political responsibility" for abuses
committed by his regime.
Ceri Au is an Ottawa-based
MediaScout writer for Maisonneuve Magazine.
Monday 04 December 2006 Chile's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, was given his final rites on Sunday after he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent surgery. Pinochet is 91. He's been kept under house arrest in Santiago on charges related to the disappearance of two people during his regime in 1973. It's estimated that about three thousand people were killed or disappeared during his 17 years in power. Another twenty-eight thousand political opponents are thought to have been tortured. Pinochet has never stood trial for any of his alleged
Sunday 26 November 2006 The former dictator of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet, has admitted for the first time that he was responsible for the death of thousands of his political opponents during his 17-year regime. Speaking on Saturday at a celebration marking his ninety-first birthday, Pinochet defended the violent military coup in 1973 that toppled President Salvador Allende and brought him to power. Pinochet declared that the coup was necessary to prevent social and political turmoil. He spoke surrounded by family, bodyguards and retired generals at his home in Santiago. About 200 supporters wished him happy birthday. An official report says that 3,197 people were killed for political reasons under Pinochet, and thousands of others were illegally imprisoned, tortured or forced into exile.
Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary
Copper and Chile, for Better or for Worse - November 1, 2006
Copper and Chile go together like Jack and Jill. They both have gone up the hill together, but it is legitimate to ask how things will turn out for Jill when Jack tumbles down the hill. Past issues | his WN page
Tuesday 31 October 2006 Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has been placed under house arrest for crimes including torture, murder and kidnapping during his years in power between 1973 and 1990. An estimated 3,000 people were killed and another 28,000 were tortured during the Pinochet dictatorship.
Wednesday 30 August 2006 The strike at the world's biggest privately own copper mine continues in Chile. Negotiations between the owner, the Anglo-Australian firm BHP Billiton and the union representing 2,000 strikers at the Escondida mine broke down a week ago after the employer cancelled a negotiating session. The main issue in the conflict is wages.
Wed 09/08/2006 Wednesday was the third day of a strike at the world's biggest privately owned copper mine. Talks between the union representing 2,052 workers at Chile's Escondida mine were broken off by the union, although the company says it expects them to resume on Thursday. The chief issue is wages, with the company offering three per cent and financial incentives and the union demanding 13 per cent plus a bonus. The strike has reduced Escondida's production by 60 per cent. The mine produce 23.5 per cent of Chile's total production and almost eight per cent of total world production.
Thu 27/07/2006 Six officers of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's feared secret police were sentenced Wednesday in the 1989 murder of an opponent of the military regime.
Sentences ranged from five years to 18 months on parole.
The six men included two colonels and two captains. They were found guilty in the September, 1989 assassination of Jecar Neghme Cristi. Mr. Cristi was the spokesman for the Revolutionary Leftist Movement.
Mr. Pinochet, who is now 90 years old, has never stood trial for any of the 3,000 murders, tortures and disappearances from state custody during the dictatorship
Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary
Free Trade with Chile: What has it delivered? - June 28, 2006
Chile has been a strong proponent of liberalised trade, and has signed many bilateral trade agreements over the years, including one with Canada in 1996 and one with the U.S. in 2003. But has Canada benefited? Has the U.S. benefited? And did Canada benefit more by being first? Past issues | his WN page
Monday Mar 13, 2006 rci Chile inaugurated its first female president on Saturday. Michelle Bachelet, a doctor and a single mother, won elections in January. She takes over the helm of a centre-left coalition that has governed Chile for 16 years. She was onced jailed and tortured by Chile's former military junta. Among those at the inauguration in Valparaiso were the U.S. secretary of state and the presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela. Canada was represented by Governor-General Michaelle Jean. Madame Jean she said that she would express congratulations on behalf of Canada to Ms. Bachelet.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 
Who has noticed that Chile has its first ever woman president-elect ? Brava Michelle Bachelet!
Monday Jan 16, 2006 What Is Missing in This Woman's Victory? Coattails
By LARRY ROHTER
Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist, a doctor and a former political prisoner, defeated a conservative billionaire businessman to win Chile's presidency.
maisonneuve.org/ CHILE KEEPS LEFT
The
Globe fronts, while CTV
News, La Presse, the Citizen and the Post (none available online) go
inside with the election of Chile’s first female president. The
Globe reports that Michelle Bachelet, a pediatrician and former political
prisoner under General Augusto Pinochet, won 53.5 percent of
Sunday’s run-off vote, beating Sebastian Pinera, a multimillionaire
businessman, who garnered 46.5 percent support. Bachelet’s election
continues the centre-left rule in Chilean politics which began in 1990
after the fall of Pinochet. Her campaign included promises to reform the
country’s private pension system, to achieve wage parity and reduce
social inequities, to provide child care for the working poor, and ensure
better access to public health care. She served as minister of health and
then minister of defense in outgoing President Ricardo Lagos’
cabinet. Bachelet is set to be sworn in as President on March 11, and is
South America’s first legitimately elected female head of
state.
Saturday Jan 14, 2006 rci A Chilean court has ruled that former dictator Augusto Pinochet will have to stand trial in a human rights case. The 90-year old Pinochet will be tried for the killings of two political prisoners on September 11, 1973, the day of the CIA-backed military coup in Chile. At least 3,000 opponents of the military government are said to have been killed during General Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship, Hundreds of others were jailed and tortured.
Wednesday Jan 11, 2006 rci Chile's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, has been granted bail after seven weeks of house arrest on charges related to the disappearance of people during his 17-year rule. Pinochet, 90, ruled Chile from 1973 to1990 during a period in which an estimated three thousand people died in political violence and some 28,000 people were tortured. Many Chilean former military officers have been convicted of human rights abuses during the Pinochet era. But General Pinochet has never gone on trial because in other human rights cases the Supreme Court accepted the defence argument that the former dictator is too ill to stand trial.
2005
1 December 2005 ind
CHILE: Retirement age is 60 for women, 65 for men. Chile pioneered the private capitalization system for retirement that has been in effect since the 1980s amid sporadic debate, with some saying the system is bound to failure because many employers are not making the mandatory contributions to their employees' retirement funds.
Saturday Nov 26, 2005 rci A court in Santiago has ordered that the former dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet be placed under house arrest in connection with operation an operation in which 119 left-wing activists disappeared. Members of a leftist group disappeared after being taken into custody in 1975. Their bodies were later found in Argentina and Brazil. On Wednesday, a second court also ordered Pinochet to be put under house arrest for tax fraud. The former dictator is now 90 years old.
Wednesday Nov 9, 2005 rci Chile's Supreme Court has denied bail to the former president of Peru. Alberto Fujimori was arrested Monday after arriving in Santiago on a surprise visit from Japan. He planned to use Chile as a base to relaunch his political career and return to Peru to run for president next year. The authorities in Peru want him extradited to face charges of corruption and human rights abuses. Meanwhile, officials in Tokyo have asked Chile to treat Mr. Fujimori appropriately. The former president is of Japanese origin.
Tuesday Nov 8, 2005 rci The Chilean government has arrested a former president of Peru. That country says it will request the extradition of Alberto Fujimori. Mr. Fujimori was arrested after arriving in Santiago on an unexpected visit on Sunday. He was Peru's president for 10 years starting in 1990. Peru wants him on charges of corruption and of political responsibility for a death squad accused of killing two dozen people in the early 1990s.
Thursday Sep 29, 2005 ts Chileans say they've found pirates' $10B plunder
This story has everything you ever wanted in a newspaper article. But you can't have it because the Star has moved it !!!
Thursday Jun 30, 2005 rci China accounts for 14 per cent of the world`s greenhouse gas emissions
The World Bank found that not only does China have seven of the world`s 10 most polluted cities, but economic losses and health costs tied to environmental problems knock more than 8 per cent off its GDP.
Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary
Chile Dealing with Energy Shortfall - June 1, 2005
Canada’s export outlook is pretty positive this year, given that the global economy is in the best shape it has been in for over eight years. But a key soft spot is the very important auto sector. Past issues | his WN page
Monday May 23, 2005 rci New storms in the Chilean Andes on Sunday were hampering the search for 22 soldiers who disappeared in a fierce blizzard during military exercises two days earlier. The bodies of 23 other soldiers have been recovered. More than 400 troops were in the area near the Argentine border when the unexpected storm struck. The army has admitted that only one regiment had protective clothing. Angry relatives of the dead and missing accused army officers of abandoning the soldiers. Three oficers have been discharged and Chile's president, Ricardo Lagos, has offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
Saturday May 21, 2005ts
`Lady Bi` scandal captivates Peru
LIMA—The latest scandal swirling around President Alejandro Toledo involves a 23-year-old policewoman who posed on the cover of Peru`s leading news magazine in a black sleeveless sweater and tight red jeans, with her midriff exposed and 9-mm pistol drawn.
Monday May 2, 2005 ft
Setback for US as Chilean takes OAS helm
José Miguel Insulza, Chile's interior minister, was yesterday elected secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, marking a setback for the US which had failed to win enough support for its two preferred candidates.
Thursday Apr 28, 2005 ts
Canada`s gunslinger diplomat
PHILADELPHIA—Frank McKenna strode to a podium in a Civil War-era ballroom in the City of Brotherly Love yesterday and took less than a minute to usher in a new era of diplomacy in Canada-U.S. relations.
Thursday Apr 28, 2005 A Japanese politician long known for his adversarial views concerning China has taken a position on the territorial dispute between the two nations over islands in the East China Sea. He's the governor of Tokyo, 72-year-old Shintaro Ishihara. He discussed in an interview with the Reuters news agency the conflict over possession of the islands which the Japanese call the Senkakus and which the Chinese refer to as the Diaoyus. The waters around the remote islands are thought to contain huge deposits of oil and natural gas. Mr. Ishihara suggests that the Japanese military send vessels equipped with ship-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles to ensure Japan's sovereignty over the islands. Toyko's governor also suggests that the past month of public demonstrations in China against Japan were instigated by the Chinese government. Mr. Ishihara attributes the decision to tolerate the protests to the Chinese government's wish to distract public attention from popular discontent with its own performance.
Friday Apr 8, 2005 The chief lobby for the U.S. textile industry has demanded that the American government restore quotas for imports of Chinese textiles. The National Textile Association says urgent measures are needed to protect the domestic textile and apparel industries. The lobby claims that imports from the U.S. from China have ballooned by 63 per cent since international textile quotas were abolished on Jan. 1. The lobby says that the end of the quotas has caused an unprecedented "disruption" in U.S. markets. The agreement under which China was accepted as a member of the World Trade Organization permits a continuation of the WTO quotas in cases in which governments determine that there has been such "disruption." The Chinese government has denounced the calls for that reimposition, saying that its exporters shouldn't be punished for being more competitive.
Saturday Mar 12, 2005 The European Union says it has received expressions of worry from its textile industry but hasn't acted on them. The EU's trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, says the industry is concerned about a rise in Chinese textile imports since international textile were lifted on Jan. 1, as required under the rules of the World Trade Organization. Several European firms on Thursday asked the EU to avail itself of legal safeguard measures to stop a flood of cheap Chinese imports. WTO rules allow such measures if it can be proven that imports pose "serious injury" to a domestic industry. The European Commission says it lacks credible data at present from the EU's member states. The Commission's spokeswoman says that safeguard measures should only be a last resort. Canadian textile manufacturers also have said they're worried about a possible flood of Chinese products that are cheaper because of China's low production costs.
Thursday Jan 6, 2005 Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has been formally arrested and is now under house arrest. He's accused of murder and of nine kidnappings carried out as part of Operation Condor, a co-ordinated operation by right-wing dictators to eliminate their left-wing adversaries. Chile's justice officials read Pinochet the accusations and took his fingerprints and photos at his villa at Bucalemu, 110 kilometres west of Santiago.
Tuesday Dec 21, 2004 The family of Augusto Pinochet says it will try to stop a trial against the former Chilean dictator on medical grounds. Pinochet has been charged with human rights violations committed during his 17-years of military rule. The former dictator is in hospital recovering from a reported stroke on the weekend. His son says he's not fit to stand trial. State prosecutors reject the family's claim, describing it as further moves to prevent Pinochet from facing justice. The 89-year old is also under investigation for tax fraud and money laundering. He was stripped of immunity by the Chilean Supreme Court last August.
Monday Dec 20, 2004 Chile's former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, was reported to have made a partial recovery after suffering a stroke on Saturday. But he will remain in hospital for the time being. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the former leader was fit to stand trial on alleged human rights abuses during his 17 years of military rule. The 89-year-old Pinochet is also under investigtion for tax fraud and money laudering. He was stripped of immunity by the Supreme Court last August.
Sunday Dec 19, 2004 Chile's former dicatator, General Augusto Pinochet, was reported to be in stable condition in hospital on Saturday after he suffered a stroke. Doctors said that he was left with "impaired mobility and a neurological deficit. General Pinchet, 89, is awaiting a ruling by Santiago's Court of Appeals on whether to uphold his house arrest under an indictment that charged him with ordering the kidnapping of nine political opponents during his military regime. It is now unclear how the change in his health will affect the outcome of the court's ruling.
December 17, 2004 ts Justice stalks Pinochet
He is an old man now. At 89, Gen. Augusto Pinochet is unlikely to see the inside of a jail cell. But Chile`s "patriotic angel" is spending his twilight years haunted by crimes committed during his long military dictatorship.
Monday Dec 13, 2004 ts
Chile's Pinochet 'suffers stroke'
General Augusto Pinochet
Pinochet was president of Chile from 1974 to 1990
Former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet has been taken to hospital after suffering a stroke, doctors say.
Sunday Nov 21, 2004 cbc
PINOCHET FACING MORE CHARGES AFTER RULING
Chile's Supreme Court has struck down an amnesty law that former
dictator Augusto Pinochet passed in 1978, shielding military and police
officers in the country from prosecution for human rights violations
during the early years of his rule.
Saturday Nov 20, 2004 PROTESTS MARK BUSH'S ARRIVAL IN CHILE
Street protests greeted U.S. President George W. Bush's arrival at the
Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Chile Friday, while Canada
talked to South Korea about a free trade pact.
Friday Nov 19, 2004  PINOCHET FACING MORE CHARGES AFTER RULING
Chile's Supreme Court has struck down an amnesty law that former
dictator Augusto Pinochet passed in 1978, shielding military and police
officers in the country from prosecution for human rights violations
during the early years of his rule.
It's estimated more than 3,000 people were kidnapped and murdered from 1973 to 1978, the first five years after the right-wing Pinochet staged a coup to take over Chile. [this sweet old man should have been locked up years ago! made to write long letters to each of the families those he killed every year of his life]
Thursday Jul 22, 2004 cbc
CHILE OPENS PROBE INTO PINOCHET FINANCES
Chile has opened an investigation into corruption allegations against former dictator Augusto Pinochet after a U.S. Senate report found an American bank helped him hide millions of dollars.
 Fury over Pinochet 'angel' claim
Monday Oct 6, 2003 Chile Sunday celebrated the 15th anniversary of a referendum that led to the end of General Augusto Pinochet's military rule. Patricio
Aylwin, the first president after democracy was fully restored in
1990, and his successor, Eduardo Frei, participated in an official
ceremony marking the event. Vice President Jose Miguel Inzulza
attended on behalf of President Ricardo Lagos, who is travelling
abroad.
 Timeline: Chile A chronology of key events:
Friday Sep 12, 2003 CHILE
Chileans on Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the military coup
that overthrew the leftist government of President Salvador Allende.
Mr. Allende committed suicide in the course of the coup staged by
Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who then ruled Chile as a dictator for 17
years. More then 3,000 Chileans were tortured and murdered during
those years. The current president, Ricardo Lagos, presided over a
ceremony commemorating the date. A spokesman for the president said
the ceremony at la Moneda palace in Santiago was not intended as a
memorial to Mr. Allende but rather an expression of Chile's national
unity and recovery. The Communist Party and other leftist groups held
a separate commemoration outside the palace. Chileans are divided
about the legacy of both Mr. Allende and Mr. Pinochet, who is now 87
years old.
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