Pinera sworn in as new quake hits

Posted by admin on Mar 11th, 2010 and filed under Top Stories, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Pinera sworn in as new quake hits Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement BBC correspondent Andy Gallacher: "Pinera has a huge job on his hands" Sebastian Pinera has been sworn in as president of Chile, minutes after it was hit by the largest aftershock since last month's devastating earthquake.The 7.2-magnitude tremor was centred in O'Higgins Region, some 140km (90 miles) south of the city of Valparaiso, where the inauguration ceremony took place. The National Congress building was evacuated shortly afterwards and a tsunami alert issued for coastal areas. Mr Pinera's presidency ends two decades of left-wing rule in Chile. The tycoon not only faces the challenge of reconstruction, but takes over from the highly-popular Michelle Bachelet, who was the country's first woman president. Ms Bachelet left office with an 84% popularity rating despite criticism of her government's response to the 8.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami, which left close to 500 people dead.[Read more...]

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