Saturday, August 27, 2005
TANS CRASH
- The International Federation of Free Trade Unions reported that they "sent a letter of condolence to the General Secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) following the tragic deaths of five trade unionists involved in a plane crash near Pucallpa." Ever Rodriguez Flores (the union’s Lead Negotiator), Luis Rojas Rojas, (the General Secretary of the Continental Bank Workers’ Union), Jose Flores Arroyo (legal advisor to the local NGO PLADES - Programme for Labour Development), Roberto Palma Guevara (an official from the Peruvian University Academics Union -FENDUP) and Jose Lino Reyna (from the regional branch of FENDUP), were among the dead. "In one foul swoop, the world has lost five people who dedicated their lives to the fight for workers’ rights and social justice," Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the ICFTU." NOTE: The five were on their way to a difficult negotiation for a collective agreement on behalf of the workers from the Maple Gas Corporation – Peru.
- A familiar Reuters story includes an Associated Press photograph of Brazilian Wagner Souza, 25, who survived a plane crash Tuesday in Pucallpa, and is now in a Lima hospital.
- "Kin shop to ease Peru pain" (NY Daily News, Nicole Bode and Maki Becker) "Hoping to keep the girls - Joshelyn, 15; Jacquelyn, 12, and Jharline, 10 - from dwelling too much on the horror of what they had witnessed, the family hit the stores of Pucallpa Thursday."
2006 Budget: Reuters reports that Peru's 2006 budget, "due to be presented to Congress next week, will be about 52 billion soles ($15.9 billion), some 4% higher than this year's 50 billion soles package," according to an interview with Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on RPP radio. NOTE: "Peru's mining- and fishing-based economy, which Kuczynski said this week was now worth $75 billion, is expected to beat official projections of 5.5% growth this year. Kuczynski has quoted national statistics agency INEI as saying growth could be more than 7%." ALSO: "He said budgetary pressures were easing "because we have a big saving in public debt due to the refinancing we did with the Paris Club."
Arresting Jack Welch: The Miami Herald (using the Financial Times, Hal Weitzman) reports that the Andean Trade Pact runs into hurdles when "a judge in Lima ordered the arrest of the current and former General Electric chief executives this month, and of 24 other GE employees. They are accused of breaching a contract with Guillermo Gonzales, a local businessman who says he invested $10m in offices and an assembly plant in the 1990s." NOTE: "While GE says it is confident the case will be dismissed, foreign investors in Peru often complain about biased or inconsistent court judgments and a lack of judicial independence that makes it difficult to enforce contracts." The report gets ahead of itself (particularly as it is reprinted in the Miami newspaper) when it ‘reports’ that "Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida and brother of the US president, arrived in Lima this week at the head of a trade delegation." Governor Bush did not travel to Peru. SEE ALSO: ‘Peru judge orders GE's Immelt, Jack Welch arrested’, August 9, 2005, Reuters.
Trans Amazon Highway: Mongabay reports with photographs on the deforestation of the Amazon. NOTE: "Yesterday Brazil announced that 3,515 square miles (9,103 square kilometers) of Amazon rainforest were destroyed between August 2004 and July 2005, a marked decline from the 7,229 sq. mi. (18,723 sq. km.) in the same period a year earlier. NOTE: The growth of agriculture in the Amazon has necessitated the improvement of roads and highways in the region. The Brazilian and Peruvian governments are currently paving a road that leads from the heart of the Amazon to ports in Peru. Scheduled to be completed by June 2006, the road has already spurred deforestation by settlers seeking lands for subsistence agriculture. SEE ALSO: 'Trans Amazon Highway' in August 14, 2004's Peruvia.
Travel:
- Frommer’s (Charis Atlas Heelan) offers a travel piece on Peru and Ecuador titled, "Andean Adventures and Amazonian Alternatives." "Peru and Ecuador are two of the most tunning and diverse countries on the planet. Luckily for the budget traveler, they are also both relatively inexpensive and very tourist friendly."
- The Independent reports that Neil Fox believes that the best hotels in the world are: "The Saint Géran is hard to beat. There's also a beautiful hotel called El Monasterio in Cuzco, Peru, which is stunning; the location is incredible because it's up in the Andes."
TEAM w/o Solano: Reuters reports that Midfielder Nolberto Solano has been left out of Peru's squad for next month's World Cup qualifier away to Venezuela, increasing speculation of a row between himself and coach Freddy Ternero. Solano was left on the bench for the match at home to Uruguay last June, when the 0-0 draw virtually ended Peru's chances of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1982."
Gold with Plexmar: Plexmar Resources offered a press release to announce the adjustment of their price of its private placement. "The financing expects to close on or around September 20th 2005. The funds will be used to explore the gold projects in Peru and for general working capital."
Preaching in Trujillo: The York Daily Record reports on a group of Southern Baptists who traveled to Lima and Trujillo recently. "The team was able to help the Baptist Seminary in Trujillo with educational supplies. The Rev. Alberto Hernandez was the coordinator of the mission and the evangelistic meetings in Peru."
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