Electric motorcycles ride to rescue in fuel-short Cuba

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos BATISTA, November 8, 2019

Electric motorcycle riders have come to the rescue of Cuban passengers
delayed by fuel shortages (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - It is rush hour in Havana and the queue at the bus stop is longer than ever. Then a fleet of electric motorcycles appears, beeping their horns.

Surprised and relieved, passengers jump on the backs of the 50 or so electric mopeds.

It is a new solution for Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports.

Cuba has long been known for the classic American cars that people here lovingly maintain decades after they stopped being built.

But urban transport on the communist island is evolving.

The bikes' horns beep and some of the riders play reggaeton music -- but, being electric, their motors make hardly any noise.

A Chinese-made electric motorcycle costs between $1,800 and $2,300 in Cuba. A basic petrol-powered bike on the island can cost up to six times that.

Authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcyles in use in Cuba 

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Volunteer riders

The electric bikes -- with a maximum speed of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour -- were first licensed for import in 2013.

They have multiplied in the streets since then -- and have come into their own with the recent fuel shortages.

"I really like this initiative, it helps a lot with the economy," says passenger Yanet Figueroa, 42, sitting on the back of one of the bikes.

"It really helps people who have great need of it."

Cuba plunged into a fuel crisis in September after Washington imposed restrictions on fuel shipments from Cuba's top ally Venezuela.

Cuba had to make do in September with just 30 percent of its usual fuel supply and the level has still not recovered -- it is forecast to reach no more than 80 percent this month.

With the public transport network badly hit, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on drivers to pick up passengers voluntarily.

The owners of electric bikes known as "motorinas" answered the call.

"We have volunteered to do this as a service to society," says one of the drivers, Javier Capote, 33.

"It is going very well. We are very happy about it."

The president himself during a televised address mentioned "those famous... what do you call them, the bikes? The 'motorinas', that have come out to help."

Mechanics have work to do servicing Cuba's fleet of electric motorcycles

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Electric bike era

Cuban authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcycles currently in use on the island.

That figure is expected to rise as the government in late October began to sell them with the price capped at $1,700.

Those who make a living servicing the bikes are pleased by that move as it will bring down costs.

"It seems like a very good idea to us mechanics," says one, Enrique Alfonso, 47, in his workshop.

He recalls the economic crisis of the 1990s that followed the end of cheap imports from the Soviet Union.

"That was the era of (affordable) Chinese bicycles. Now we are in the era of electric motorcycles," he says.

"With everything that is going on the country, they have become obtainable for a lot of people."

Members of the Electric Motorcycles of Cuba club ride passengers home

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Accidents

The electric bikes had a mixed reception at first. Silent and often inexpertly ridden, they are often involved in accidents in a country that already suffers from thousands of crashes a year.

Officials say that of the 7,000 road accidents recorded so far this year, a third have involved electric motorcycles.

Authorities have responded by insisting riders have a license and register their vehicles.

The flourishing of electric bikes follows several years of gradual opening-up of Cuba's state-run economy. It has also coincided with a digital mini-revolution.

Thanks to the availability of 3G-standard internet connections since last year, riders can network more easily.

The 3G connections helped spawn the Electric Motorbikes of Cuba online group, a club with more than 80 members.

It started out as a club for enthusiasts seeking to have "healthy fun and share the passion we all have for electric motorcycles and road safety," says its president Osdany Fleites, a 37-year-old taxi driver.

"The motorcycles do not pollute the environment, they do not make a noise," he says.

Now the club has evolved to have an environmental and "social purpose."

Along with another club, Eracing, its members take part in rescuing bus passengers stuck due to the fuel shortages.

They have also taken part in environmental clean-up jobs, helping eradicate an infestation of troublesome giant snails in Havana, donated blood and visited children in a cancer ward.

VIDEO: 🇨🇺 Electric motorcycles are providing a new solution for #Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports https://t.co/VhwAuWCCIS pic.twitter.com/9fAmyc0W57

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 8 november 2019

El Salvador expels Venezuela diplomats in challenge to Maduro

Yahoo – AFP, November 3, 2019

The President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has granted Venezuelan
diplomats 48 hours to leave the country (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

San Salvador (AFP) - El Salvador ordered Venezuela's diplomats to leave the country in a challenge to their president Nicolas Maduro, prompting his government to respond by expelling Salvadoran envoys in Caracas on Sunday.

El Salvador under its new President Nayib Bukele is one of more than 50 countries that have declared Maduro's government in Venezuela illegitimate.

They have switched their recognition to his lead rival, national assembly speaker Juan Guaido, who has declared himself Venezuela's acting president.

Bukele said El Salvador had ordered "the diplomatic corps from the regime of Nicolas Maduro" to leave the country within 48 hours, in a statement posted on his Twitter account late Saturday.

In response, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday it had declared each of the Salvadoran diplomatic staff in Caracas "persona non grata" and gave them 48 hours to leave.

Maduro's leftist government has jailed opposition leaders and is accused of using torture and arbitrary arrests as it struggles to hold on to power amid a collapsing economy.

But his government still has support from Russia and China.

Before his election in June, Bukele said he would maintain a "distant" relationship with Caracas and close ties with the United States, Maduro's biggest diplomatic foes.

US Ambassador Ronald Johnson reacted warmly to El Salvador's decision.

"We applaud the government of President Nayib Bukele for ensuring that El Salvador is on the right side of history," he said on Twitter.

US President Donald Trump was one of the first leaders to recognize Guaido when the opposition leader mounted an unsuccessful bid to oust Maduro in April.

Chile's middle class takes to streets over crushing debt

Yahoo – AFP, Jordane BERTRAND, November 1, 2019

Clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Santiago have been
going on for two weeks (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - It is not poverty that is driving Chile's middle class into the streets to join massive protests: it is debt, brought on by sky-high private health and education costs that have created an economic fragility many find unbearable.

That is why so many have taken part in two weeks of social upheaval, protesting against the economic policies of Chile's ruling elite.

Chile has an economic record that is the envy of Latin America: poverty has never been lower, dropping from 40 percent to less than 10 percent in 30 years, and transforming this country of 18 million into one where middle class citizens are the majority.

But for many, the ultra-liberal economic model inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-90) -- which privatized water, health, education and pensions -- has generated a "permanent worry" about unexpected expenses.

Nicolas Achondo, 33, was forced to close his restaurant.

After paying bills, wages and taxes, he had nothing left for private health insurance.

A motorbike accident left him owing thousands of dollars for treatment.

"I couldn't pay, they put me on the debtors list. That closes all doors to you: you can no longer get a bank loan or rent an apartment," he said.

Protesters are mostly angry about high private health and education costs --

 alongside low public standards -- and insufficient state pensions (AFP Photo/

Martin BERNETTI)

"I no longer had access to credit and my business started generating debts. It's very unfair."

Thanks to help from his family, he managed to pay off his debts but has no capital to relaunch his restaurant business. He now wants to emigrate to Canada.

"We don't get state subsidies. The only thing we can do is access bank loans to pay for housing, health, education, clothing," said Achondo.

His parents suffered the same fate. They owned a video store in the 1980s-90s but fell victim to evolving technology.

They managed to pay for their two eldest children's private education without needing loans, but could not afford the same for their younger two children, both of whom are in the vastly inferior public school system.

'With or without uterus'

Marisol Berrios, a social worker, took out loans to pay for her two children's higher education.

"Now they're both university professors but they have insecure contracts. They receive the minimum wage and have no health care."

At least 20 people have been killed since the protests began two weeks ago, 

with sporadic incidents of looting, arson and street violence (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

In a model with minimal state intervention, profitability is king.

As is often is the case, women are the hardest hit. They have to pay up to three times as much as men for health insurance when they want children.

"There are 'with uterus' contracts and 'without uterus' contracts that are cheaper. You pay a higher percentage when you're fertile," said Berrios.

Women also pay more in old age, says the 59-year-old, who admits to fearing retirement.

"I will retire in one year and my pension will be 170,000 pesos ($230)," said Berrios, who currently earns 1.2 million pesos ($1,620) a month.

"I went into depression about it this summer."

Health, education and pensions may be the biggest worries but on top of that are increases in electricity costs, a proliferation of motorway tolls around Santiago and an unregulated medication market.

For fed-up Chileans, it's this accumulation of expenses that weighs so heavily.

Decades of pent-up frustration have come pouring out over the last two weeks as 

Chileans protest against social and economic inequality (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

It was against this backdrop that a seemingly innocuous 3.75 percent hike in the price of a metro ticket lit a fuse under decades of pent-up frustration.

In a bid to douse the flames of discontent, conservative President Sebastian Pinera announced a raft of social measures: suspending a 9.2 percent hike in electricity bills and an annual 3.5 percent increase in toll charges.

But that didn't calm the public.

"Chile has awoken," has become one of the main slogans of anti-government protesters since October 18.

"We've woken up to the brutality of the system," said Berrios.

Crisis-wracked Chile pulls out as APEC, climate meet host

Yahoo – AFP, 30 October 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said said "common sense"
dictated that neither meeting could be held in Chile

Chile pulled out of hosting two major international summits Wednesday as it struggled to restore order amid clashes between protestors and security forces that have left at least 20 dead.

President Sebastian Pinera said "common sense" had dictated the decision to withdraw from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the Cop 25 climate change conference.

US President Donald Trump had said he was planning to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to lock down a "phase one" agreement at the November 16-17 APEC meeting that would partially have ended an 18-month trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

After more than 10 days of street protests, however, Pinera said the South American nation was not in a position to host that gathering or the December 2-13 climate convention.

"This has been a very difficult decision, a decision that has been deeply painful because we know exactly how important APEC and COP are for Chile and the world," said Pinera.

But he said "common sense" dictated that he had other priorities.

"When a father has problems, he must always prioritize his family over other options. The same goes for a president, he must always put his own compatriots first, ahead of any other considerations," he added.

Chile is grappling with its worst social crisis in decades that shows little sign of abating despite Pinera announcing a raft of measures aimed at placating protesters.

Demonstrators have demanded that the 69-year-old right-wing leader -- whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $2.8 billion -- step down.

They have been angered by low salaries and pensions, poor public health care and education, and a yawning gap between rich and poor.

Pinera announced last week an increase in the minimum wage and pensions as well as measures to alleviate sky high health care costs and a streamlining of public offices.

On Monday he reshuffled his cabinet for the third time since coming to power in March 2018, but the street movement continues.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin had also been due to attend APEC, while teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 25,000 delegates expected for COP 25.

Bishops urge Pope to open priesthood to married men in Amazon

Yahoo – AFP, Catherine MARCIANO, Ella IDE, October 26, 2019

The synod brought some 184 bishops to the Vatican, over 60 percent of
whom hail from the nine Amazon countries (AFP Photo/Vincenzo PINTO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly called on Pope Francis Saturday to open the priesthood to married men in the Amazon, as well as giving women a greater role to play and making damaging the environment a sin.

The bishops issued a list of recommendations at the close of a three-week "synod" on the Pan-Amazonian region which highlighted challenges such as the destruction of the rainforest, the exploitation of indigenous peoples and a scarcity in priests.

The pontiff said Saturday he would addressing the issues before the year's end.

The text could have repercussions not only for the vast, isolated territory, but the whole of the Roman Catholic Church.

The synod brought some 184 bishops to the Vatican, over 60 percent of whom hail from the nine Amazon countries.

Together with representatives of indigenous peoples, experts and nuns, they discussed a multitude of regional concerns, from climate change to poverty, land-grabbing, mercury-polluted waters and violence against women.

The most hotly-debated question was whether or not to allow "viri probati" -- married "men of proven virtue" -- to join the priesthood in remote locations, where communities seldom have Mass due to a lack of priests.

It would not be necessary to rewrite Church law; the bishops simply asked Francis for an exemption to the rules -- like the one already granted to married Anglican pastors who later converted to Catholicism.

'Ecological sin'

"Sometimes it takes not just months but even several years before a priest can return to a community to celebrate the Eucharist, offer the sacrament of reconciliation or anoint the sick," the synod document said.

It suggested ordaining as priests "suitable and esteemed men of the community" who had "a legitimately constituted and stable family".

But the ultra-conservative wing of the Catholic Church -- particularly in Europe and North America -- has spoken out strongly against the idea, warning that making exceptions could pave the way to the abolition of celibacy globally.

A representative of one of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups reads a 

document (AFP Photo/Andreas SOLARO)

The bishops also urged the Argentine pope to make "the acts and habits of pollution and destruction of the harmony of the environment" an "ecological sin" -- or the breaking of a divine law.

It called for the Church to lead the battle against "our culture of excessive consumption", saying "we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the use of plastics".

People should also change their eating habits and stop an "excess consumption of meat and fish/seafood", they said.

They also proposed creating a "world fund" to protect the Amazon and its indigenous communities from "the predatory compulsion to extract their natural resources by national and multinational companies".

'Ministries for women'

The document also called for an official recognition by the Church of the key role played by lay women in the evangelisation of indigenous people by creating a formal specific role, or "ministry", called "woman leadership of the community".

There are some in the Church who would even like them to be allowed to become deacons, a function currently reserved for lay men.

Male deacons, who can be single or married, are able to baptise, witness marriages, perform funerals and preach homilies.

Francis said Saturday he would reconvene a commission to study the history of female deacons in the early Catholic Church, after the body's initial report -- delivered to the pontiff this year -- was inconclusive.

Two thirds of the indigenous communities without priests are guided by women.

"We still have not grasped the significance of women in the Church. Their role must go well beyond questions of function," Francis said.

Representatives of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups attended the 

synod with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

Related Articles:

Pope blames Amazon fires on destructive 'interests'

Pope 'opens door' to female deacons with new panel

Pope Francis' No. 2: Clerical celibacy is open to discussion
Pope Francis visits John Paul II's shrine

Church of England creates second female bishop

Church of England’s first female bishop named as Libby Lane

Church of England General Synod approves female bishops

Jubilation as Church of England's synod votes to allow female bishops

Clerics at the Church of England synod in York take a 'selfie' as they celebrate

after the vote to allow female bishops. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Chilean president vows major reshuffle after week of protests

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, in an address to the nation on October 26, 2019,
promised a major government reshuffle after a week of massive protests (AFP Photo/
Pedro Lopez)

Santiago (AFP) - Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Saturday announced a major government reshuffle, a day after more than one million people took to the streets in a massive protest for economic and political change.

"I asked all ministers to resign in order to form a new government and to be able to respond to these new demands," he said in an address to the nation, adding that a highly controversial state of emergency might be lifted Sunday if "circumstances permit."

The military also announced that an overnight curfew would be lifted Saturday.

"We are in a new reality," Pinera said. "Chile is different from what it was a week ago."

The government has been struggling to craft an effective response to the massive protests that were sparked by a rise in subway fares but fueled by a growing list of economic and political demands that include Pinera's resignation.

The breadth and ferocity of the demonstrations appear to have caught the government of Chile -- long one of Latin America's richest and most stable countries -- off guard.

A poster reading "Pinera Resign," combining pictures of Chilean President 

Sebastian Pinera (L) and the late dictator Augusto Pinochet, is seen on a 

lamppost during a demonstration in Santiago (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Another reshuffling

At least 19 people have died in the worst political violence in decades, and there has been widespread looting and arson.

Pinera, who assumed office in March 2018, had already shuffled his cabinet twice in 15 months as doubts grew about a slowing economy and his leadership.

One of the most controversial members in the current cabinet is Interior Minister Andres Chadwick, the president's cousin.

The police and army troops have been accused of using unnecessary force in putting down the protests. The United Nations is sending a team to investigate allegations of abuse.

More than one million people, representing a range of political backgrounds and from all social classes, took to the streets of Santiago and other cities on Friday in some of the largest protests ever seen in this country of 18 million.

Demonstrators carrying indigenous and national flags sang popular resistance songs from the 1973-90 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship era.

Santiago's governor Karla Rubilar praised the march, saying it represented "the dream of a new Chile." Police said 820,000 people marched in the capital.

People protest under a giant Chilean national flag in Santiago, on October 25

 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

'Dream of a new Chile'

For the past week, pent-up anger has erupted over a socio-economic structure that many feel has left them by the wayside, with low wages and pensions, costly health care and education, and a big gap between rich and poor.

The protesters' demands now includes not only better social benefits but also the scrapping and replacing of the nation's Constitution, which dates from the Pinochet dictatorship.

Pinera apologized earlier in the week for failing to anticipate the outbreak of social unrest, and he announced a raft of measures designed to placate people, such as increases in minimum pensions and wages, higher taxes on the wealthy, and a rollback in the subway fare increase.

He called on legislators to "urgently approve these projects rather than arguing and debating so much."

Pinera, a conservative billionaire, said Friday on Twitter that "we have all heard the message. We have all changed. With unity and help from God, we will travel the road towards a Chile that is better for all."

Francisco Anguitar, a 38-year-old software developer attending the demonstrations Friday, told AFP, "We're asking for justice, honesty, ethical government. It's not that we want socialism or communism."

Drivers angry over toll charges demonstrate as part of protests over 

socio-economic woes (AFP Photo/Pablo VERA)

Drop in violence

In an initial burst of violence, metro stations were destroyed, supermarkets torched and looted, traffic lights and bus shelters smashed, and countless street barricades erected and set alight.

The national human rights institute INDH said 584 people have been injured and 2,410 detained during the protests.

Authorities deployed some 20,000 police and soldiers in Santiago, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators.

Soldiers have been guarding Santiago's metro stations as three of the seven lines -- which usually carry three million people per day -- have reopened.

Despite a recent decrease in serious incidents and arrests, the violence has been the worst since Chile returned to democracy after the Pinochet dictatorship.

The movement still lacks recognizable leaders and was mostly roused through social media, which analysts say makes it harder for the government to negotiate any resolution.

Demonstrators play the guitar performing Chilean musician Victor Jara's "The 

Right to Live in Peace" in Santiago, on October 25 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

APEC summit still on

The government said on Thursday that next month's APEC trade summit in Santiago would go ahead despite the protests.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among those expected to attend the November 16-17 meeting.