MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: Breaking News

Headlines:
President Lagos mother dies; German Antarctic scientific cruise; New 170 bedrooms hotel for Punta Arenas; Concern with new gas supply legislation; Wide band reaches Punta Arenas; Preparing for cardiovascular surgery; China's Travel Channel films Patagonia.

President Lagos mother dies

Emma Escobar Morales, mother of Chilean president Ricardo Lagos died of septicaemia complications Sunday. Mrs. Lagos, 108, had been gravely ill for some time and this last week President Lagos cancelled a visit to Europe and reduced considerably his agenda. "As the only child, he was very close to his mother" reported Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza. Actually Mr. Lagos lost his father at the age of ten and developed a very close relation with his mother. President Lagos' mother was born May 1896 in a middle class family and after finishing school became a piano teacher. In 1924 she married farmer Froilán González, a widower with five children. Fourteen years later and when she was over 40, her first and only son was born. Mrs. Lagos although very proud of her son's achievements became famous because on the day he took office, after kissing him and from her wheel chair with motherly tone said: "Son, why are you involved in this kind of things? How are you going to get out?"

German Antarctic scientific cruise

German icebreaker "Polarstern" called in Punta Arenas overt the weekend before leaving for yet another Antarctic cruise that will extend until May 21, carrying on board 23 scientists with different expertise. The 12,600 tons, 118 metres long "Polarstern" belongs to the German Alfred Wegener Antarctic exploration Institute and during the northern hemisphere summer is involved in Artic research. Doctor Hans Werner Schenke, a geodesics expert and head of the expedition said the vessel will be visiting the island of Moe, British base Signy, the South Georgia and South Orkney area in the central Scotia Sea. Besides geodesics, geological and geophysics surveys, the helicopter on board with a magnetometer will take daily readings of the Earth's magnetic field fluctuations. Sedimentary and benthonic surveying south of South Orkneys is also in the agenda. The German scientist also underlined the close cooperation between the German Antarctic expeditions with the Chilean Antarctic Institute and the Magallanes University. An oceanographer from Valaparaiso University has been included in the cruise. Captain Uwe Pahl recalled that the "Polarstern" first visited Punta Arenas in late 1982 and has been calling in ever since, although it missed 2003 and 2004.

New 170 bedrooms hotel for Punta Arenas

A Chilean company will be building a 170 room hotel in downtown Punta Arenas with a total investment of seven million US dollars reports La Prensa Austral. The hotel will occupy the former Waldron Company Ltd. Barracks to be demolished and work will begin once a similar hotel is finished in Puerto Montt. The investor is a Spanish expatriate who arrived in Chile in 1961 and has several hotels in at least seven Chilean cities, including the latest incorporation a couple of miles from Santiago Pudahuel airport. Cristian Martinez head of the works in the Puerto Montt hotel, which is 90% finished, the Punta Arenas enterprise will have 170 rooms, six to eight stories high involving 10,500 square metres of construction. Further details including the timetable for its delivery will be decided this month in Santiago.

Concern with new gas supply legislation

New natural gas legislation currently under consideration in the Chilean Congress with the purpose of limiting dependency from Argentina could have negative impacts for Punta Arenas industry. The new proposal means that companies can only import up to 85% of their natural gas from an only country supplier. "This is a disastrous proposal for Magallanes and its methanol industry, because although the purpose of the legislation is for electricity generating plants it will impact in Methanex, which uses mostly Argentine natural gas", claimed Deputy Rodrigo Alvarez. "This threatens directly Methanex fourth plant to be soon inaugurated and any future investment in the region", he added. A release from the Methanex complex, whose CEO Rodolfo Krause is in Santiago talking with Congressmen, indicated that the company has ample natural gas local and foreign supply to keep working normally including the new plant. Furthermore the bill is to become effective January 2010. However apparently Mr. Krause argued during hearings that differently to other industrial sectors where natural gas can be substituted or replaced in the "energy generation or distribution process", for Methanex it is a basic input and therefore requested the company be specifically exonerated from the bill.

Wide band reaches Punta Arenas

Telemag Ltd officially inaugurated this weekend its Magnet wide band 128 kbps internet service which can be requested for a monthly fee equivalent to 42 US dollars. Mr. Ivan Gonzalez Mimica, Manager of Telemag said that in the first phase of the scheduled program they expect to have 3,000 subscribers to the wide band service. "Since we began with trials a month ago we haven't had a single service interruption, not even a quarter of a second", underlined Mr. Gonzalez Mimica. The Magnet wide band has an ISP equipped backup system with a specific wireless and extreme weather conditions proved distribution net, which offers a fast, stable and reliable connection. Mr. Gonzalez Mimica added that the suppliers of the wide band are: an international company direct to a Network Operation Centre and a Chilean company which acts mostly for backup.

Preparing for cardiovascular surgery

A team from the Carabineros main hospital in Santiago recently visited Punta Arenas to help Magallanes regional hospital prepare for cardiovascular surgery. The auxiliary equipment has already been flown in from Santiago and six specialists including surgeons, anesthetics experts and support staff have began regular courses for local medical personnel. "We hope that in less than two years time Punta Arenas becomes autonomous and independent in cardiovascular surgery", said Doctor Luis Miguel Berr Chief Medical Officer from the Santiago Carabineros Central Hospital. Dr. Berr indicated that the most vulnerable fields of the process are the coordination of the team and with the extra-corporeal blood circulation equipment as well as the post surgery recovery with intensive care units. Punta Arenas apparently is one of the Chilean cities with the highest coronary cardiopathy death rates. Every week five cases have to be flown to Santiago. "This whole operation will be of great prestige for our regional hospital, plus all the savings, and helping families overcome the trauma of having to travel to Santiago for treatment", pointed out Dr. Guillermo Anareda.

China's Travel Channel films Patagonia

The Travel Channel from China, with an audience of 300 million in 1,200 Chinese cities visited Magallanes Region to film a special on Chilean Patagonia, including Torres del Paine park and the different economic activities of the region. The trip of the Chinese television crew which spent a week in Magallanes, after having visited other areas of Chile, was agreed in an agreement between the Chilean Embassy in Beijing and The Hong Kong Wine Club, linked to the tourism industry. Johnny Chan head of the delegation said it was the first time they visited Chile and they hope to contribute in making Patagonia an attraction for Chinese tourists. The Travel Channel is on the air 24 hours and has 35 different programs daily with an estimated audience of 300 million people, revealed Mr. Chan. He further indicated that the Chilean program is expected to be aired in May in seven to ten chapters during two weeks. A DVD production will also be available.