Gwinnett Daily Post

Chile: Quake left 700 dead

SANTIAGO, Chile — The earthquake and tsunami that struck Chile last month killed 700 people and caused damages of nearly $30 billion, according to the government. And the ground hasn't stopped shaking.

A magnitude-6.7 aftershock rocked south-central Chile Monday night, adding to the raw nerves and mounting damages caused by the Feb. 27 quake.

Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter updated the known death and damage toll on Tuesday, saying 200 people previously listed as missing would be added to the count of 500 previously known dead.

‘‘In economic terms, this is the worst catastrophe Chile has suffered,'' Hinzpeter added. He estimated that damages could reach nearly $30 billion, with insurance covering just $5 billion to $8 billion.

Challenger overtakes PM in Iraq vote

BAGHDAD — A coalition challenging Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in parliamentary elections is ahead for the first time in the overall vote count, although still trailing in the province-by-province count.

The Iraqiya coalition, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, has about 9,000 votes more than al-Maliki's State of Law coalition in the overall vote tally with about 79 percent of ballots counted.

However, al-Maliki is still winning in seven of Iraq's 18 provinces — including all-important Baghdad — compared with five for Allawi. That could prove important since parliament seats are apportioned mainly by provinces, not according to the overall vote total. Still, the nationwide tally showed Allawi could be narrowing the gap.

Shakespeare's lost play found

LONDON — Is this love's labor no longer lost? A scholar says a play written in the 18th-century is very likely based on a missing work by William Shakespeare.

After years of literary investigation, a professor at the University of Nottingham said Tuesday he's certain ‘‘Double Falsehood, or the Distressed Lovers'' was born out of ‘‘Cardenio,'' a play Shakespeare scholars believe existed.

Some scholars believe Lewis Theobald's ‘‘Double Falsehood,'' first performed in London's West End in December 1727, was based substantially on the Bard's ‘‘Cardenio.''