Senior officials have said that Chile wants all Latin American countries to be as transparent as it considers itself to be to remove the specter of a developing arms race on the continent.

He does not see an "arms race" on the continent but emphasized it would help to make public who was buying what and why, Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno Charme said. Other officials told the media they want Chile's neighbors to follow its example.

According to the official reports, Chile and Argentina will pool resources to form a joint military force for rapid response to humanitarian crises and peacekeeping missions in Latin America.

Officials said that the combined rapid response force, to be called Southern Cross, will be drawn from the armed forces of both countries and will comprise initially about 1,000 troops. The force will be ready for deployment before the end of the year.

The government said on Tuesday that the death toll has reached 795 from Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile and that number likely will rise.

We expect to find more victims as search-and-rescue crews dig under the rubble. An estimated 2 million people have lost their homes and more than 90 aftershocks have been recorded, ranging from 4.9 to 6.9 in magnitude, officials said.

One of the strongest earthquakes of all times had hit the country of Chile just some time back. The quake was reported as stronger than the one that occurred in Haiti and took thousands of lives, but there is a vast difference between the economic conditions of the two countries.

The Chilean economy is set to recover faster because Chile is among the best run economies in Latin America and is the 46th richest country in the world while Haiti is one of the poorest countries.

After the earthquake in Chile, the crude-oil prices soared on Monday, which further interrupted the copper production. The traders are expecting that this might give a push to commodity prices in general.

The crude delivery for April was 74 cents higher at $80.40 a barrel. Prices were moving around $80 a barrel but remained under $80.62 a barrel, which was the highest since Jan. 12. The futures in Gasoline were 2.64 cents higher.

Geologists have said that the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday was the fifth-strongest in the world since 1900.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that a 9.5-magnitude quake that struck near Concepcion in 1960, killing more than 2,000 people and leaving more than 2 million homeless was the strongest quake recorded since 1900 which also occurred in Chile.

Santiago, Dec 24 - Chilean flagship airline LAN has signed a deal to purchase 30 Airbus A320 jets at a price of around $1.97 billion, the company said, adding that they will gradually be incorporated into its fleet between 2011 and 2016.

The new airplanes will operate flights in Latin America and domestic routes in Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Chile and will be used for the renewal and growth of the company's short-haul fleet.

In a statement Wednesday, LAN said its fleet-renewal plan also involves the sale of five Airbus A318 aircraft in 2011.

Santiago, Dec 14 - Conservative millionaire Sebastian Pinera and ruling-party candidate Eduardo Frei Sunday led the first round of Chile's presidential election, according to the first preliminary official results.

Pinera got 44.67 percent of the votes to Frei's 32.08 percent, with more than 12 percent of the ballots counted, Chile's electoral commission said.

Santiago  - Chilean writer Isabel Allende vowed Thursday to write an erotic novel once her mother, Francisca Llona, dies and she rids herself of the sense of embarrassment that is typical of daughters.

"I have always thought that, some day, when my mum dies, I am going to write an erotic novel, because I love writing those scenes," she told Chile's Radio Cooperativa.

Washington - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet stressed Tuesday that bilateral ties between her country and the United States have "matured," as she tackled the first day of her visit to Washington.

Bachelet was set to meet later Tuesday with US President Barack Obama, with whom she said she has an "excellent" relationship, in the White House. The meeting will be "a most important one," Bachelet anticipated at a breakfast meeting organized by the US Chamber of Commerce in her honour.

Santiago - Hortensia Bussi, the widow of the late Chilean president Salvador Allende, died at the age of 94 at her home in Santiago.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and former presidents Patricio Aylwin and Ricardo Lagos took part in the post-death vigil Friday.

Allende himself committed suicide during the military coup that brought dictator Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile in September 1973.

Santiago - The Chilean Health Ministry Monday increased to four the number of infections of the influenza virus A(H1N1), the so- called swine flu, as lessons were suspended at the school which one of the patients attends.

Of the four people infected, three were friends who had returned to Chile Saturday on a flight from the Dominican Republic, via Panama.

The fourth was a 6-year-old child who had never left the country but who had been in contact with people who had travelled to Mexico, said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a pediatrician and epidemiologist by training.

Santiago  - At least 10 prisoners died Sunday in a fire inside a Chilean prison, police said.

Three inmates were seriously injured in the blaze, which was blamed on alcohol distillation being done illicitly by inmates. The fire reportedly broke out when the still was knocked over during a fight between prisoners in a barracks-style cell.

Six fire engines were needed to bring the blaze under control. Crowds of relatives of inmates gathered outside the penitentiary waiting for the dead and injured to be identified. (dpa)

Santiago de Chile  - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale struck off Chile's northern coast late Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.

No immediate reports about casualties or damage were available.

The quake occurred at 10:08 pm (0208 GMT Friday) off the Tarapaca region, about 1,600 kilometres north of Santiago. Its epicentre was located 80 kilometres north-west of the port town Iquique.

The US Geological survey later revised the magnitude down to 6.0. (dpa)

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday at a summit in Chile told off representatives of the United States, Britain and Spain for causing the global economic crisis.

"My dear Gordon Brown, my dear Biden, my dear Zapatero, unfortunately you are more responsible (for the downturn)," he said, addressing them directly.

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Saturday in Chile that his country and the United States are launching "a stage of great cooperation."

The Spanish leader - who took part in the Progressive Leaders' Summit in the Chilean resort town of Vina del Mar alongside US Vice President Joe Biden - said he wishes great success to the administration of US President Barack Obama.

"My government is among those who wish to facilitate things," Zapatero said in the presence of Biden.

Vina del Mar, Chile - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday told off representatives of the United States, Britain and Spain - seated before him at a summit in Chile - for causing the global economic crisis.

"My dear Gordon Brown, my dear Biden, my dear Zapatero, unfortunately you are more responsible (for the downturn)," he said, addressing them directly.

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Centre-left leaders from around the world said Saturday in Chile that they would demand from next week's G20 summit the imposition of urgent cross-border regulations regarding the financial sector, climate change and social protection.

"We cannot run the risk of postponing profound structural solutions," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Vina del Mar, Chile  - Centre-left leaders from around the world were gathering Friday and Saturday at a special summit in the Chilean seaside resort of Vina del Mar to seek common ground ahead of next week's G20 summit in London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is on a world tour to seek consensus on financial strategies ahead of the meetings, is a key figure at the weekend summit in Chile.

The United States and European Union do not agree on how to handle the global recession.

New Delhi, Mar 16 : The President of Chile, Dr. Michelle Bachelet, arrived here on a five-day official visit on Monday morning.

Bachelet is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Minister of Agriculture and Women Empowerment and a business delegation.

During the visit, the President of Chile will call President Pratibha Patil, who will host a State Banquet in her honour on Tuesday at Rashtrapati Bhawan.