International
Chile sinks controversial mining project over environmental concerns
January 19 | By AFP | Paulina Abramovich |
Chile’s government on Wednesday torpedoed a controversial billion-dollar mining project due to be built near a nature reserve that is home to a rare species of penguin.
Environmentalists had criticized the proposed open-pit mine and port project in the north of Chile close to the National Humboldt Penguin Reserve due to its potential ecological impact on a unique area known for its natural diversity.
The $2.5 billion project was unanimously rejected by left-wing President Gabriel Boric’s cabinet.
“We are confident that a robust, traceable, evidence-based (decision) has been adopted here,” said Maisa Rojas, the environment minister.
The project aimed at extracting millions of tons of iron ore and thousands of tons of copper in an impoverished area of northern Chile around 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Santiago, the capital.
But the area comprises a nature reserve encompassing three islands that are home to 80 percent of the world’s Humboldt penguins, which are an endangered species, as well as whales, sea lions and the world’s smallest otter species.
‘Unique ecological value’
Chilean company Andes Iron, which also wanted to build a treatment and deposits plant, a water desalination plant and a port for loading minerals, said it would appeal the decision.
“The port is in a place that has an absolutely unique ecological value,” said Rojas.
When taking office in March 2022, Boric’s government had expressed its rejection of the port’s construction.
“The Dominga project doesn’t just comply, but exceeds all standards and is aligned with principles established by the government for sustainable industrial and mining projects,” Andes Iron said in a statement.
That was disputed by Matias Asun, the director of Greenpeace Chile.
“It’s a project that not only does not meet the norms required for approval, but was also pushed by the main groups associated with corruption in our country,” said Asun.
Right-wing opposition senator Matias Walker branded the decision as political.
Activists, though, applauded the decision.
“I’m defending my home, the place where I live, which is pristine,” Maud Ferres, an activist who opposed the project and had traveled to Santiago to hear the decision, told AFP.
However, Alexis Sanchez, spokesman for a community association in La Higuera, where the mine would have been, said the project would have provided economic opportunities for the village of 3,700 people.
“This is project we want to achieve our development to stop being one of the poorest communes in the country,” Sanchez told AFP.
Had it been approved, the Dominga project would have involved the extraction of 12 million tonnes (tons) of iron ore a year along with 150,000 tonnes of copper, over a 22-year period, making it the biggest such venture in Chile.
Andes Iron promised to create 10,000 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect ones during the construction phase of the project.
Once operational, the company said the mine would have created 1,500 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect ones.
Pandora Papers scandal
Andes Iron’s Dominga mine project has had a controversial history in Chile.
It first underwent an environmental impact evaluation a decade ago before it was rejected in 2017 by the socialist government of then-president Michelle Bachelet.
But under her conservative successor Sebastian Pinera, the supreme court ordered a new evaluation.
The controversy then turned into a scandal in 2021 when leaked documents known as the Pandora Papers implicated Pinera — then serving his second nonconsecutive term as president — in a seemingly shady deal surrounding the Dominga project.
Dominga was sold through a company owned by Pinera’s children to a businessman close friend of his for $152 million.
The leaked papers said a large part of the operation was carried out in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.
Despite the embarrassing revelations, the Senate voted against impeaching Pinera — it failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to do so — thus sparing him a potential jail sentence of up to five years.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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