Pope Francis' trip to South America is supposed to be all about peace, unity and hope. But the pontiff could also be welcomed with protests, threats of violence and controversy over allegations of abuses by the Catholic Church. Argentina born Francis comes to his home continent for a two-country, six-city apostolic visit that starts in Chile this Monday and ends in Peru a week later.
Four Catholic churches in Santiago were attacked with fire bombs before dawn on Friday, causing minor damage and leaving notes threatening Pope Francis just three days ahead of the pontiff’s visit to Chile next week, police said.
The RRS Discovery arrived on Tuesday in Chile's extreme south port of Punta Arenas in advance of her next research expedition, to undertake seismic survey and piston coring operations in the eastern Falkland Plateau region of the Sub-Antarctic Southwest Atlantic Ocean.
United States President Donald J. Trump spoke on Wednesday with President-elect Sebastian Piñera of Chile to congratulate him on his victory in the Chilean presidential runoff election. President Trump emphasized his desire to work closely with Mr. Piñera on issues of mutual interest.
The European Union and Chile have started negotiations in Brussels for the renewal of the Association Agreement. The first round was held in November and the Commission subsequently launched a consultation aimed at the sectors affected in order to find out their opinions on the issue. This process is planned to conclude on 19 February.
The Chilean port of Valparaíso has plans for a specific cruise ships pier, where calls have dropped due to berthing conflicts with the cargo business. Agencias Universales SA, Agunsa, has proposed the pier, designed in conjunction with the Dutch engineering company Royal HaskoningDHV, and it would be able to handle a pair of 300-meter ships simultaneously, with the possibility to expand for bigger vessels in future.
Bolivian President Evo Morales implied in a Tweet that he and Pope Francis had discussed Bolivia’s territorial dispute with Chile during a meeting at the Vatican on December 15. According to the Vatican, the 30-minute private meeting “took place in a cordial atmosphere.”
During his visit to Chile and Peru, Pope Francis will honor the country’s religious roots and underline the plight of indigenous men and women. The Vatican said the pope will be in Chile Jan. 15-18, visiting the cities of Santiago, Temuco and Iquique. He then will fly to Peru and, from Jan. 18-21, he will visit Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo.
Billionaire conservative Sebastian Piñera will begin a second term as Chile's president in March with a strong mandate after trouncing his center-left opponent in Sunday's election, and local markets soared on hopes of more investor-friendly policies.
Chile's Under secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, SUBPESCA, and Oceana Chile jointly announced the freezing of the fishing footprint for the common hake and demersal crustacean fisheries. This means that 98% of Chile's exclusive economic zone, EEZ, will be protected from bottom trawling.