MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Kast rules out backing bill that ties abortion access to hearing the fetal heartbeat]]> “It is legitimate for lawmakers to introduce their bills and for a debate to be generated around that, but we are not going to move forward on this matter,” the president said Chilean President José Antonio Kast said on Monday that his government would not push forward a bill introduced by lawmakers from his own coalition that would condition access to legal abortion on a woman agreeing to hear the fetus's cardiac activity.

]]> Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:18:00 GMT <![CDATA[Sixty deputies ask Kast to pardon officers convicted over the 2019 unrest]]> Kast wrote that Crespo had been cleared of all charges and that it was confirmed he acted in self-defense, a reading of the ruling that is the president's own Sixty Chilean deputies asked President José Antonio Kast on Wednesday to grant individual pardons to members of the Carabineros police force and the armed forces convicted over acts linked to their duties during the protests that began on October 18, 2019.

]]> Wed, 05 Aug 2026 21:37:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bachelet places fourth in first Security Council straw poll ahead of Uruguay debate]]> Bachelet, 74, a former executive director of UN Women and former high commissioner for human rights, faces an unusual situation: her candidacy lacks the backing of her own country's government Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet placed fourth in the Security Council's first informal poll on the candidates seeking to succeed António Guterres at the head of the United Nations, held behind closed doors in New York on Thursday.

]]> Sun, 02 Aug 2026 20:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[Chilean shipping company weighs a monthly route between Punta Arenas and the Falklands]]> The visit was organized by the Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC), the territory's economic development body Chilean company Easter Island Naviera (EIL) is considering establishing a monthly cargo shipping service between Punta Arenas and the Falklands, following a visit to the archipelago in which its representatives held around a dozen meetings with local businesses and presented the project to the Islands' chamber of commerce.

]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2026 09:45:00 GMT <![CDATA[Six candidates to lead the UN debate in the General Assembly with no clear front-runner]]> The common thread across the interventions was the need to restore the credibility of an organization facing financial strains and largely absent from negotiations over the world's major conflicts The six contenders to succeed António Guterres at the head of the United Nations set out their proposals on Thursday in a debate held in the General Assembly Hall, a week before the formal start of the selection process. For nearly two hours they answered questions from diplomats, UN staff, and civil society representatives, in a publicly broadcast session.

]]> Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[Chile declares state of catastrophe in the north after storm leaves at least ten dead]]> The weather front began on July 15 in the south of the country and moved north, where it hit the desert regions — areas where rainfall of this magnitude is uncommon Chile's president, José Antonio Kast, declared on Monday a 30-day constitutional state of catastrophe in the Coquimbo region and the Huasco province, in the Atacama region, in response to the intense storm battering the country's north. According to the government's latest tally, the phenomenon has left at least ten people dead nationwide, four missing, and nearly 100,000 residents cut off by road closures. Authorities warned the toll could rise, as numerous areas remain unreachable.

]]> Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:59:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentina-UK: HMS Medway protest, released after the match, reignites Falklands tension]]> Britain's Defense Ministry said HMS Medway made “a routine logistics visit” to Punta Arenas, supporting British Antarctic Survey operations in Antarctica. Argentina's government released on Wednesday night, amid celebrations over its team's World Cup semifinal win against England, a note of protest to the United Kingdom over the movements of HMS Medway, a Royal Navy patrol vessel assigned to the Falklands. The protest had been formally lodged with the British Embassy in Buenos Aires on July 13, but the Foreign Ministry chose to make it public once the match had ended, fusing the diplomatic complaint with the gesture of the Argentine players, who celebrated with a banner backing the sovereignty claim.

]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:48:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentina weighs protest over British patrol ship's passage to Chile]]> Any Argentine claim could rest on the Madrid II Agreement, signed by both countries in 1990 after diplomatic relations were restored Argentina's foreign ministry is considering a formal statement following the transit of the Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Medway, which sailed from the Falklands to the Chilean port of Punta Arenas, in an episode over which Buenos Aires and London offer conflicting accounts.

]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:25:00 GMT <![CDATA[Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Medway makes first port call at Chile's Punta Arenas]]> According to the Austral Port Authority (Epaustral), the ship will be handled during its stay at the Arturo Prat pier by a local agency The British Royal Navy's patrol vessel HMS Medway (P223) docked on Sunday morning at Punta Arenas, in Chile's Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, on its first visit to the port. The stop, for resupply, is due to last until Wednesday, July 8.

]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:05:00 GMT <![CDATA[In Uruguay, Kast urges harsher penalties for crime leaders and total prison isolation]]> Kast held that security is the main condition for economic development and described organized crime as a “cancer” affecting all of Latin America Chile's President José Antonio Kast argued on Wednesday in Montevideo that the region's countries must toughen their laws to combat organized crime, with life sentences for those who lead gangs and a regime of total isolation in prisons to stop them from continuing to operate from behind bars. The president laid out his position after meeting with Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi, as part of an official visit to Uruguay.

]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:55:00 GMT