Presidents of Chile

Chile's former president Sebastian Pinera, a billionaire tycoon who twice held the South American nation's top job, died Tuesday in a helicopter crash, his office said in a statement.

The 74-year-old Pinera often flew himself around in his own helicopter, and was a former shareholder in the country's national airline, with stakes in television and football, among other businesses.

Chilean lawmakers agreed on Nov. 15 to hold a referendum next April on replacing the country's unpopular Pinochet-era constitution, bowing to demands of protesters who say the country's decades-old social model has created deep inequality.

Spain proposed the 25th International Conference on Climate (COP 25) to be held in Madrid, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced today, cited by France Press.

Chile will host the UN conference scheduled for December, but yesterday Pinera said the country is refusing to organize the forum because of the social crisis it is experiencing, BTA reported.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera canceled two major international summits and said he would focus on restoring security and moving ahead in the coming days with an attempt to satisfy popular demands for better social services and a lower cost of living.

President Sebastian Pinera faced new protests on Oct. 28 after he replaced eight cabinet members including his interior and finance ministers, a house-cleaning aimed at taming the biggest political crisis since Chile's return to democracy in 1990.

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera declared a state of emergency in the capital Santiago early on Oct. 19, as the city of 6 million descended into chaos amid riots that left a downtown building engulfed in flames and its metro system shuttered.

Chile has become the first South American country to legally ban the widespread commercial use of plastic bags.

The new legislation, approved by Congress and enacted by President Sebastián Piñera, gives small shops two years to adapt to a total ban.

Larger business will have six months to stop using plastic bags.

SANTIAGO, Chile - President Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing Chilean leader leaving the office on March 11, fulfilled one of her electoral promises as she presented a bill for a new Constitution that will replace the current version that was drawn up during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Billionaire Sebastian Pinera won the presidential election in Chile with about 55 percent of the votes, reports sega. 

SANTIAGO, Chile - With no internal competition and a fractured camp on the other side of the ideological spectrum, former Chilean leader Sebastián Piñera holds the lead in the earliest of presidential polls before this November's election.