International
Chile: rocky road to new constitution
AFP
Chileans head to the polls for a referendum on September 4 to vote on a proposed new constitution that would overhaul the country’s dictatorship-era system.
Here is a timeline of the country’s turmoil since bloody protests broke out nearly three years ago, in which a new constitution was a key demand.
2019: violent clashes
Protests in Chile’s capital, Santiago, against a rise in metro fares on October 18, 2019, escalate into clashes between police and demonstrators angry at gaping social inequality.
Center-right president Sebastian Pinera declares a state of emergency.
Soldiers are deployed in the city the following day for the first time since the end of the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
Pinera — a billionaire — suspends the ticket price hike, but protests and clashes continue.
‘Chile is awake’
The state of emergency is extended to other regions as protests spread with people chanting: “Chile is awake.”
About 30 people are killed.
Pinera apologizes and announces more social spending on October 22, but a general strike begins with leaders demanding the military return to barracks.
After some 1.2 million Chileans take to the streets in Santiago on October 25, the curfew and state of emergency are lifted and Pinera reshuffles his cabinet.
The street movement continues.
Constitutional referendum
In a breakthrough on November 15, lawmakers agree to a key opposition demand for a referendum on replacing the Pinochet-era constitution.
The government follows this up in early December with a $5.5-billion social plan, and a month later, the president announces reforms of the health system.
The United Nations, meanwhile, denounces multiple rights violations by police.
2020: New clashes
After a period of calm despite demonstrations every Friday in Santiago, new clashes in late January 2020 turn deadly, with four people killed.
Violence erupts again on February 23 at Vina del Mar near Valparaiso, and then in early March in several other towns.
The president announces police reform.
Virus, referendum put off
Chile declares a “national disaster” in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with protests paused and a referendum — originally scheduled for April — postponed until October.
‘Yes’ to new constitution
On October 25, Chileans vote by nearly four to one (79 percent) for a new constitution to be drawn up.
2021: more delays
In late March 2021, Chile locks down four-fifths of its population as the virus surges again. The election of the constituent assembly charged with revising the constitution is put off to May.
Leaning left, new president
A third of newly-elected members of the constitutional convention — a majority left-leaning — are independents, with no single group winning a majority.
In the presidential election at the end of 2021, many voters after a polarized campaign — driven either by anti-communist sentiment or fear of a return to rightwing tyranny — opt to cast a protest vote for the candidate they consider the “lesser evil.”
Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric wins the election on December 19.
2022: progressive prospects
The new president introduces several measures addressing the economy and social rights.
In April he presents a recovery plan of 3.7 billion dollars, notably to help families and create 500,000 jobs.
On July 4 Chile’s constitutional convention hands its draft to Boric. If adopted, it will make Chile one of the most progressive countries in the region.
In the first of the new constitution’s 388 articles, Chile is described as “a social and democratic State of law,” as well as “plurinational, intercultural and ecological.”
As well as recognizing the different peoples that make up the Chilean nation, the new constitution accords a certain amount of autonomy to Indigenous institutions, notably in matters of justice.
The right to elective abortion would become enshrined in law. It is today permitted only if there is a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, in cases of fetal non-viability and rape.
International
Florida officials warn against raw milk after dozens sickened
Unprocessed milk from a farm in Florida has sickened at least 21 people, prompting state authorities to issue a public health alert, U.S. media reported Monday.
The 21 cases include six children under the age of 10, all diagnosed with infections caused by E. coli and Campylobacterbacteria linked to raw milk from the farm in the southeastern U.S. state. Local authorities have also warned about the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk.
Seven people have been hospitalized, two of whom have suffered complications, according to multiple reports.
The Florida Department of Health has urged the public to avoid raw milk consumption and blamed the outbreak on the farm involved—without naming it directly—citing poor sanitary practices.
Florida law prohibits the sale of unprocessed milk for human consumption, although it can be sold if labeled for pets. Pasteurization, which involves heating milk to kill harmful bacteria, is required under U.S. federal regulations for any dairy products sold across states.
Despite these regulations, sales of raw milk have been increasing in recent years, fueled by online promotion from wellness influencers and advocates of unprocessed foods.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that raw milk can contain potentially deadly bacteria such as E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, or Salmonella, which can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea, vomiting, and indigestion to severe complications like kidney failure.
International
Massive wildfire in Southern France kills one, injures nine
Hundreds of firefighters battled on Wednesday to contain a massive wildfire in southern France that has left one person dead and nine others injured.
The blaze, which broke out Tuesday in the Aude department, is the largest recorded in France during the current summer season. Authorities have deployed 1,800 firefighters in an effort to bring it under control.
An elderly woman died in her home in the town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, while two others were injured—one in serious condition due to burns—according to the local prefecture. Seven firefighters suffered smoke inhalation injuries, and one person remains missing. The wildfire has already scorched an estimated 12,000 hectares of land.
“The fire is spreading very quickly due to unfavorable weather conditions. This is one of the driest areas of the department, and strong winds are fueling the flames,” said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture. Rémi Recio, subprefect for the city of Narbonne, added, “The fire is still spreading and is far from being contained or under control.”
The A9 motorway, which runs along the Mediterranean coast between France and Spain, has been closed in both directions between Narbonne and Perpignan, along with numerous secondary roads.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, the smell of smoke lingers over the charred hectares. A helicopter was seen drawing water from the river below the village and dropping it several kilometers away, AFP reporters observed.
A campsite and at least one village were partially evacuated, with 25 houses and around 35 vehicles damaged, according to a preliminary assessment.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou announced he will visit the affected area on Wednesday.
International
Japan marks 80 years since Hiroshima bombing with call for nuclear disarmament
Japan observed a minute of silence on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a solemn reminder to the world of the horror it unleashed, amid heightened tensions between nuclear powers the United States and Russia.
At exactly 8:15 a.m. local time (23:15 GMT), the moment when the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, the city paused to remember.
The bombing claimed an estimated 140,000 lives, not only from the devastating blast and fireball but also from the deadly radiation that followed. Three days later, another bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed 74,000 more. Japan’s surrender on August 15 marked the end of World War II.
On a sweltering morning, hundreds of students, survivors, and officials dressed in black laid flowers at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The city’s mayor, Kazumi Matsui, warned of “an accelerating trend toward military buildup worldwide,” citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that Japan has a mission “to take the lead toward a world without nuclear weapons.”
Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, yet the skeletal remains of one building still stand at its center as a powerful reminder of the tragedy.
Wednesday’s ceremony was attended by representatives from around 120 countries and regions, including delegates from Taiwan and Palestine for the first time.
Among the attendees was 96-year-old Yoshie Yokoyama, who arrived in a wheelchair accompanied by her grandson. She told reporters that her parents and grandparents were victims of the bombing.
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