Briefly

CHILE

Clothier creates vast nature sanctuary

CALETA GONZALO, Chile — He spent more than $30 million and wrangled with the Chilean government and public for eight years, but a former American clothing magnate turned conservationist has now realized his dream of turning his vast lands in southern Chile into a nature sanctuary.

In a ceremony at the gateway to his rainy Patagonian wonderland, Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of Esprit clothing, donated more than 714,000 acres of almost untouched forest to a Chilean foundation that will run South America’s biggest nature preserve.

The Pumalin Park Nature Sanctuary is a rugged land of mossy trails, steep mountains, deep fjords, and clear rivers, with camping and cabins for hardy tourists who fly or boat in from the city of Puerto Montt, 75 miles away.

SOUTH KOREA

President to visit Mexico, Costa Rica

SEOUL — South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will visit Mexico and Costa Rica early next month before attending a summit at the United Nations in New York, the presidential office said yesterday.

He will embark on a state visit to Mexico from Sept. 8 to 11 and then to San Jose, Costa Rica until Sept. 13. Mr. Roh will then fly to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, where he will deliver a keynote speech on establishing a new order of peace.

VENEZUELA

Chavez rejects U.S. criticism

HAVANA — Leftist President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela Sunday scoffed at U.S. charges that he and Cuban leader Fidel Castro were destabilizing troublemakers in Latin America.

With Mr. Castro at his side during a visit to Cuba, Mr. Chavez said instead that President Bush was the real threat to world peace, calling him the “lord of war” because of U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

PERU

Emigration is up 39 percent

LIMA, Peru — Peru, with growth officials say could be more than 7 percent this year, is enjoying an export-led recovery. But according to figures published yesterday, one of its top exports is its people.

An average of 1,149 Peruvians left the country every day in the first half of 2005, a rise in net migration statistics of 39 percent compared with a daily rate of 826 persons in 2004, according to the National Statistics Institute.

CUBA

Panama re-establishes diplomatic relations

HAVANA — Cuba and Panama re-established diplomatic ties Saturday, putting to rest a yearlong dispute stemming from Panama’s decision to pardon four Cubans convicted in a plot to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro in 2000.

The move came in an exchange of diplomatic letters between Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Ricardo Duran, Panama’s deputy foreign minister.

From wire dispatches and staff reports