The Santiago Times reports that Chilean troops will continue to serve with United Nations peacekeeping forces in Bosnia for another year, joining soldiers from 23 other nations. Chile is the only Latin American country participating in this operation. Chilean troops also work with the UN in Haiti: http://www.santiagotimes.cl/world/chile-abroad/25542-chile-to-keep-peacekeepers-in-bosnia-for-another-year.
The British travel book company, Rough Guides, has included Valparaiso on its Travel Hot List 2013, describing the Chilean port as “one of the most distinctive cities in Latin America, with colourful houses draped across a series of steep, undulating hills overlooking the Pacific. Valparaiso has an edgy bohemian atmosphere, character-filled cobbled streets, and wonderful turn-of-the-century architecture, plus some of Chile’s best restaurants and bars.” http://www.roughguides.com/website/Travel/SpotLight/ViewSpotLight.aspx?spotLightID=592
Entertainment Weekly has an interview on its blog with director Pablo Larrain about the making of the film “No,” Chile’s entry for the Oscar’s best foreign film: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/12/19/prize-fighter-chile-oscar-foreign-film-no-director-pablo-larrain/
The British Foreign Office’s announcement that the southern part of its claimed Antarctic territory would be named Queen Elizabeth Land has raised eyebrows in Chile and Argentina, as both countries have overlapping claims to the region as well. The Guardian newspaper calls the move “a retro piece of neo-imperialism for Her Majesty” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/19/queen-elizabeth-land-retro-neo-imperialism while the Telegraph notes that “Australia, Norway, France and New Zealand are the only countries that formally recognize the existence of British Antarctic Territory; Argentina and Chile clearly don’t.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/antarctica/9755939/Whats-in-a-name-in-Antarctica-A-lot-….html.
MercoPress reports that Chile’s Antarctic bases expect to host some 250 scientists, including researchers from Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Germany, the United States, South Korea and Venezuela, who will work on 50 different projects over the 2012-2013 austral summer. http://en.mercopress.com/2012/12/19/chilean-antarctic-bases-expect-to-host-250-scientists-and-over-50-projects
Notes on the Americas 