Boulder Mountain, British Columbia
Reckless snowmobiling: A snowmobile race triggered an avalanche last week that killed two people and injured at least 30. Two snowmobilers participating in an “extreme snowmobiling” competition were racing up Boulder Mountain when the snow gave way, burying them and injuring spectators. After the tragedy, British Columbia authorities said they would introduce legislation to regulate snowmobiling in the Canadian province’s isolated “backcountry” areas, requiring licensing and insurance and banning snowmobiles during times of high avalanche risk. Snowmobilers were skeptical, noting that avalanche warning signs on Boulder Mountain last week had failed to deter racers. “You can’t legislate what people are going to do in the middle of nowhere,” said snowmobiler Dan Hill.
Bogotá, Colombia
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Staying the course: In the latest parliamentary elections, Colombians registered a strong show of support for the conservative, law-and-order policies of outgoing President Álvaro Uribe. The conservative party led by former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who has positioned himself as heir to Uribe, took the most votes, while three other parties in Uribe’s ruling coalition also did well. Opposition parties lost a few seats. “The results show we are going to have more ‘Uribism’ without Uribe,” said political analyst Carlos Guzman. The one major change in the parliament was the addition of a new, far-right party linked to jailed paramilitary fighters; it took eight seats. Santos is now the front-runner in the presidential election scheduled for May.
Valparaíso, Chile
Political aftershocks: Strong earthquake aftershocks last week cut short the inauguration of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. Foreign leaders looked around nervously as a magnitude 6.9 quake struck the National Congress building during Piñera’s swearing-in. Piñera did not acknowledge the tremors during the ceremony, but he went on TV shortly afterward to announce new troop deployments to areas still digging out from the massive Feb. 27 earthquake. “This government will not hesitate one instant, nor wait one second to act,” he said, in a veiled critique of the slow response of his predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, to the 8.8 magnitude quake. The recent aftershocks have damaged Chile’s main power grid, which supplies electricity to about 90 percent of the population. Piñera said his administration’s first priority is to get the lights back on.
