Chile

SANTIAGO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean government received a second shipment of nearly 2 million vaccines developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech on Sunday, which will be used to begin the mass vaccination in Chile, scheduled to start on Wednesday.

Chilean Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza said at a press conference that the arrival of the two shipments of Sinovac vaccine CoronaVac will allow for the vaccination of about 4 million people in February.

SANTIAGO, Jan 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Saturday off the coast of Antarctica triggered a tsunami warning but panic ensued when a message to abandon coastal areas was sent to a large number of Chileans, some of whom experienced a separate, less dangerous temblor.

The shallow Antarctic quake struck at 8:36 pm (2336 GMT) in the sea east of Chile’s Eduardo Frei base, the country’s National Emergency Office (Onemi) said, prompting the agency to urge evacuation from “the beach area of the Antarctic” ahead of a possible tsunami.

SANTIAGO, Dec 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chilean President Sebastian Piñera was slapped with a US$ 3,500 fine after posing for a selfie on the beach with a bystander without wearing a mask as required during the coronavirus pandemic, health authorities said.

Chile has strict rules on mask wearing in all public places and violations are punishable with sanctions that include fines and even jail terms. Piñera apologized then turned himself in shortly after the selfie surfaced on social media in early December.

SANTIAGO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Latin America and the Caribbean will see economic growth in 2021, but not enough to match pre-pandemic levels of economic activity, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said on Wednesday.

According to the United Nations agency, the regional economy will plunge 7.7 percent in 2020, then see a positive growth rate of 3.7 percent in 2021, "insufficient for recovering the economic activity levels seen prior to the coronavirus pandemic."

SANTIAGO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted 98 km northwest of Constitucion, Chile, at 21:54 on Saturday (0054 GMT on Sunday), according to the University of Chile's Seismological Service.

The offshore earthquake occurred near costal city Constitucion in the middle region of country. The epicenter, with a depth of 20.14 km, was initially determined to be at 34.6194 degrees south latitude and 73.0759 degrees west longitude.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Amid a year of contagion and turmoil, Chileans turned out Sunday to vote overwhelmingly in favor of having a constitutional convention draft a new charter to replace guiding principles imposed four decades ago under the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

SANTIAGO, Oct 13 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Chilean government is keeping close tabs on a large fleet of Chinese fishing vessels that has stirred up controversy further north along the Pacific coast of South America, Foreign Minister Andres Allamand said.

Allamand said Chile´s Defense Ministry and Navy were monitoring the advance of the fleet in order to protect the “sovereignty” of the country´s exclusive economic zone.

The fleet consists of some 300 ships that frequent the Pacific Ocean, often around Peruvian waters, Allamand said.

SANTIAGO, Oct 5 (NNN-TELESUR) — Chilean Attorney General’s Office ordered the arrest of a carabinero (Chilean police) who threw a 16-year-old boy into the Mapocho River from the PIo Nono Bridge, in Santiago, when military police were repressing a demonstration.

“The officer will face trial for the crime of attempted murder,” the North Central Prosecutor’s Office stated as it recalled that the young man attacked fell to an approximate height of seven meters.

SANTIAGO, Oct 3 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Chilean government has begun to gradually lift restrictions in the country in an attempt to reactivate the economy, given a drop in new cases with 1,556 (the lowest rate in three months), though areas with a high level of new cases remain under quarantine.

According to the latest study published by the Catholic University of Chile, in one year 1.8 million jobs have been lost (between the civil unrest and the pandemic), and the unemployment has reached an historical rate of 12% from March to date.

10 July 2020; MEMO: The Chilean Senate last week approved a resolution calling on President Sebastian Pinera Echenique to adopt a law boycotting settlement goods and banning commercial activity with companies that operate in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The motion passed on 30 June with 29 votes in favour and six abstentions, no votes were cast against the move.