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Saturday, August 27, 2005

TANS CRASH

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:

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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Friday, August 26, 2005

TANS CRASH: For updates on the TANS plane crash, see the end of today’s other news.

PPK Wins Vote: Dow Jones (Robert Kozak), Reuters, and Xinhua News Agency report that "Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won a confidence vote in parliament on Friday after he promised to fight poverty and improve security in the Latin American country. The vote was passed by 60 votes for and 6 against with 29 abstentions after a 7-hour debate." NOTE: Dow Jones reports that "during a speech to Congress before the vote, Kuczynski reiterated that the economy could expand by about 6.0% this year. But he pointed to high oil prices as a concern." Reuters (Jude Webber) focused on Kuczynski’s talk to the Congress leading up to the vote. "Kuczynski said Peru's economy was worth $75 billion, jobs were growing, wages had increased for teachers, judges, police and soldiers, and public finances were solid. But he added: ‘We must intensify our efforts to double the size of our economy in the next decade and increase income per person by 60%. Only then will we be able to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty’." NOTE: "Peru is seeking a free-trade pact with the United States and Kuczynski vowed to compensate corn, cotton and possibly wheat producers who fear a flood of cheap imports. He said Peru also wanted similar deals with the European Union, Chile, Singapore, Thailand, China, India and Japan in future."

Jurado vs. Kuczynski: The Associated Press and Reuters have several photographs of opposition Peruvian congressman Ronnie Jurado Adriazola putting a Chilean flag on the table in front of Kuczynski during the debates preceding the vote. Jurado accused "a shocked-looking Kuczynski of favoring companies from arch rival Chile in the upcoming sale of port facilities and presenting him with a Chilean flag, which Defense Minister Marciano Rengifo hurled to the ground." Jurado represents Tacna, on the border with Chile. In Spanish: Read the official Chilean reponse from their Ministry of Foreign Relations.

OTCA In Lima: Radio Brasil reports on the "1st Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities in Science and Technology of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization" which begins today in Lima. OTCA Representatives from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela will participate. NOTE: "This meeting will take up a series of issues raised at the VIII Foreign Ministers Meeting of the OTCA which was held last year, and follows on the heels of the 1st Meeting of Authorities in Intellectual Property and Industry." ALSO: "The meeting today in Lima will also deal with ways and means to strengthen science and technology in the Amazon so as to ensure sustainable development and protection of the region's biodiversity." SEE ALSO: ‘Trans-Amazon Cooperation, cont.’ in September 16, 2004’s Peruvia.

Rodriguez Cuadros with Nuclear Arms: The Pakistan Times reports on the United Nation’s Conference on Disarmament and on notes that "Pakistan assumed presidency of the 65-member conference on disarmament on July 11. Ambassador Masood Khan on August 26 will hand over the presidency to his successor Ambassador Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros of Peru."

Rumsfeld in Lima, cont: Knight Ridder (Jack Chang) and the Washington Post (Marcela Sanchez) follow up Rumsfeld’s visit to Peru and the reverbations in the Bush/Chavez relationship. KR: "During visits to Paraguay and Peru last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had evidence that Chávez and Castro had aided the Bolivian protesters who were responsible for ousting two presidents in the past two years, including Carlos Mesa in June. NOTE: " ‘The U.S. doesn't like to have so much oil in someone like that's hands,’ said Peter Hakim, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue." The Washington Post’s online columnist Marcela Sanchez reviews the Bush/Chavez relationship and suggests that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez "is the Robin Hood who supports the poor with the money of the rich, and he is the ideologue who pushes an anti-imperialist, socialist agenda." NOTE: "During Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Latin America last week, a Pentagon statement reiterated concerns over the "menace'' that the Cuba-Venezuela axis poses to the region. Rumsfeld, on his third visit to the region in 10 months, stopped in Paraguay and Peru to shore up support among U.S. allies for what amounts to a policy of Chavez containment."

Adventists Praised: A press release notes that Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Peru was presented with the Medalla de Honor by Marcial Ayaipoma Alvarado, president of the National Congress of Peru, for its years of service to the Peruvian people in "development and relief activities, highlighting ADRA's work with women and children." Said Doug Havens, country director for ADRA Peru, "The Medal of Honor is the highest award presented by the National Congress, and ADRA Peru accepts it with pride and gratitude."

Who Did the Moche Kill? Science Daily and the UPI report on a new study showing "new archaeological evidence regarding the identities of human sacrifice victims of the Moche society of Peru.. … The findings of this archaeological comparison indicate that the sacrificial victims were not local Moche elite. Instead they were likely warriors captured from nearby valleys." NOTE: The study is published in ‘The Origins and Role of the Moche (AD 1-750) Human Sacrificial Victims: A Bio-Archaeological Perspective’ by Richard Sutter and Rosa Cortez in the August/October issue of Current Anthropology (46:4).

Discovering Tiwanaku: Business Week reviews Charles C. Mann’s new book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus suggesting that "the real triumph of 1491 is to make a compelling case that Mesoamerica, much like the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, was a cradle of civilization." SEE ALSO: Mann’s cover article ‘1491’ in The Atlantic in March 2002; an interview with Mann in Time, August 17, 2005. Other reviews include The San Francisco Chronicle (August 14, 2005); The Washington Post (August 7, 2005). Mann will be at the University of Kansas on September 23.

MACRO/MICRO ECON:

People:

Other:

TANS CRASH
LATE UPDATE: Reuters (Mariana Bazo) is reporting that "a 28-year-old woman ... believed killed in Peru crash found alive: her name was not released, she was found by her husband in a hospital in Pucallpa. … The woman has been transferred to Lima, where she was in serious condition and on a ventilator. Her son, who was traveling with her, was reported to have undergone surgery in the capital." NOTE: "Only six of the dead, all Peruvians, have not been identified, said Belevan." UPDATE: "Peru has said it has had preliminary contacts about selling a stake in the airline to Air China, but a source at the Chinese airline stressed the talks were only informal and unlikely to lead to any deal as TANS is too small."

Analyses:

Personal Stories:


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Thursday, August 25, 2005

TANS CRASH: Updates on the TANS plane crash is found below, following today’s other news.

PERUVIAN INJURED IN HAITI: Bloomberg (Bill Varner) and the United Nations News Service reports that a Peruvian United Nations peacekeeper in Haiti "was shot in the leg and seriously wounded when his patrol came under fire from armed bands in Port-au-Prince yesterday as violence in the city continued to raise serious concerns." Bloomberg reports that "UN soldiers from Peru were patrolling an oil storage facility just outside Cite Soleil when they came under fire yesterday from inside the slum. … The two sides exchanged fire for an hour before the troops left the area.

Rio Group To Review Haiti: Cuba’s Prensa Latina reports on the the foreign ministers and deputy ministers of the Rio Group that began today at the Bariloche tourist center, following the postponement of the Rio Summit of their presidents. "Issues under discussion will be the strengthening of the group, the multiplicity of forums, and a common position for the Summit of the Americas, promoted by the US and to be held in Mar del Plata on November 4-5. The meeting was postponed due to the inability of some heads of state to attend due to their extensive agendas and high-level meetings. The main topic is concern about continued Haitian instability weeks out from the elections due to the lack of institutionality and security, and the meeting aims for consensus to request an extension of time for the multinational troops."

Tsunami Reached Peru: Agence France Press reports on a new study by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory which suggests that last December’s tsunami in Asia reached the Peruvian coast.

PPK Ready for Congress: Dow Jones (Robert Kozak) reports that Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski "plans to appear before Congress Thursday to outline various policy goals for the last year of the government of President Alejandro Toledo. Congress will also vote on whether to approve Toledo's new cabinet, sworn in last week." Quotes from PPK: Theme One: "One sector is on what we will do with the economy, what we have done, and to see if the growth has trickled down." Theme Two: "We are also going to talk about the theme of security, which is fundamental for living in an orderly and prosperous nation." Theme Three: "A third theme is to see what we can do with the rest of the term to make the government more efficient."

Peru is Melting, cont.: The BBC (Hannah Hennessy) reports that Peru’s glaciers are in retreat and suggests that the Pastouri glacier’s ice caps have retreated by about 200m" in the past 10 years. Soon it, like many other glaciers in Peru, will have disappeared almost completely." NOTE: "Peru, in turn, is one of the countries worst affected by climate change in the world. … Experts predict all the Peruvian glaciers below 5,500m will disappear by 2015. This is the majority of Peru's glaciers." CITED: Marco Zapata (Institute for National Resources) in Huaraz; and Emilio Himenez a famer near the Llanganuco lakes for almost four decades. SEE ALSO: 'Peru is Melting' in July 23, 2004's Peruvia.

Commission Delays: The IPS News Service (Ramiro Escobar) reoprts on the delays in the impementation of what Peru’s Miami Herald (Jacob Goldstein) offers a ‘pisco primer’ including the current politics surrounding it, in their food section. "It may be possible to understand pisco without considering the Spanish conquest of South America, the Chilean invasion of Peru and the first Peruvian driver to finish the Paris-Dakar road rally." NOTE: There is now "a case before the United Nations-sponsored World International Trade Organization." CITED: Pisco Montesierpe and a quote from the website of Chile’s USA Embassy: "'Shared with our Peruvian neighbours, pisco is a grape brandy of high alcoholic grade'."

Press Awards: The Miami Herald applauds the honorable mention for feature writing from the Inter American Press Association for a series on the problems of land ownership in Peru, Venezuela and Mexico which ran last year, and included stories by Tyler Bridges, who is based in Lima, Peru; Jane Bussey, a business-desk staff writer who covers Latin American issues; and Frances Robles, then the newspaper's Andean Bureau chief based in Bogotá. NOTE: Héctor Tobar, Latin American correspondent for The Los Angeles Times, won the top award in the category with a series of articles on the dangers that Latin American democracies face. SEE ALSO: The August 3 IAPA press release on the awards also noted that an honorable mention for feature writing went to "Juan Ponce Valenzuela, El Comercio, Peru, for "Cara y Sello," a picture showing the contrast between poverty and wealth in portraying a beggar outside a store window containing a mannequin in a luxurious wedding dress." NOTE: The Awards Comittee included: María Ofelia Cerro Moral (La Industria de Trujillo y Chiclayo); Silvia Miró Quesada (El Comercio) Editorial Note: It is unfortunate that the Miami Herald now block their stories. For a brief summary, see 'Land: Power/Problem' in Apirl 4, 2004's Peruvia; Google still has an archived version of Bridge's story.

IAPA vs. Luis Toledo: The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has a press relesase that expresses "outrage at attacks carried out by a brother of Peru’s President Alejandro Toledo on two television reporters while they were investigating alleged wrongdoing by government officials. According to complaints received by the IAPA from local news media, journalists and press organizations, the president’s brother, Luis Toledo Manrique, punched reporter Gino Márquez Alvarez and cameraman Germán Huaroto Parra from the América Televisión news program ‘Cuatro Poder’, who at the time were investigating allegations of unlawful use of official vehicles."

Rumsfeld in Lima, cont: Cuba’s Granma International (Juana Carrasco Martin) reports that "the most noteworthy recent visit, and the one with the most commitment to the southern geographic area, has just been made by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on his fifth tour of the region and his third in just 10 months, this time through Paraguay and Peru. He suspended his stopover in Uruguay given that the work agenda had been made public." NOTE: "With that usual Bushite-team blindness, Rumsfeld told the Peruvian president: ‘We recognize and respect the leadership role that you have taken in this country politically and from an economic standpoint as well as a security standpoint.’ And – surprise! –, while Toledo affirmed that "encouraging democracy is a shared responsibility," he also stated that he did not want to discuss other countries’ internal affairs."

Ayahuasceros and Shamans: The Guardian (Mark Pilkington) reports that "in 1985, Swiss-Canadian anthropology student Jeremy Narby spent a year at Quirishari in the Peruvian Amazon, studying how the Ashaninca tribe made use of indigenous resources. Asking where their knowledge of jungle plants and animals originated, Narby was pointed towards ayahuasceros, shamans who work under the influence of the hallucinogenic plant brew, ayahuasca. They told Narby their knowledge came to them during ayahuasca sessions, and that they were taught by nature itself." SEE ALSO: Narby’s 1998 book, The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge.

China in Lat Am: International Relations Center (Sam Logan and Ben Bain) offers an anaylysis titled ‘China’s Entrance into Latin America: A Cause for Worry?’ NOTE: "Last November Chinese President Hu Jintao swept through South American capitals with pledges of future investment and carrying a "golden pen" that he used to sign agreements along the way with Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela." NOTE: "According to figures from a recent report published by fellows Tomoe Funakushi and Claudio Loser from the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), Chinese trade with Latin America jumped from $200 million in 1975 to $40 billion in 2004."

Macro/Micro Econ:

PEOPLE:

Life and Death on the Cordillera: Cambridge Evening News offers story on Peter Shefford embarking on the challenge of a life time - a high altitude Peruvian trek in an effort to raise funds for the National Autistic Society. Swiss Info (Rosa Amelia Fierro) reports that Michel Siegenthaler scaled 60 South American peaks over 6,000 metres – one for every year of his life. NOTE: "He first set foot on a glacier in the Andes in 1982, when he visited the Cordillera Blanca in Peru. Since then he has visited the region more than 30 times."

Pervian Cuisine: The Miami Herald (kira Wisniewski) and Sun Sentinentel (Deborah Hurtz) reports on the month-long ''Flavors of an Empire: The Art of Peruvian Cuisine'' at the Panorama Restaurant on the eighth floor of the Sonesta Beach Resort Coconut Grove, 2889 McFarlane Rd. "In coordination with Sonesta Hotels Posadas del Inca of Peru, the Consulate General of Peru in Miami and Club de Peruanos, the culinary festival features menus fusing traditional and contemporary Peruvian delicacies."

Other:


TANS CRASH:

Other Media:

Personal Stories:

Analyses:


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Wednesday, August 24, 2005

TANS CRASH: The TANS plane was a Boeing 737-200 carrying 98 people, including six crew members, on a flight from Lima to Pucallpa. The aircraft was on loan from Safair, a South African company. (It is possibly this aircraft.)

A review of the days reporting on the crash is found below, following today’s other news.

Death in Texas, cont.: The McKinney Courier-Gazette (Danny Gallagher) and the Dallas Morning News reports that Edgar Vera was buried on Tuesday. “At the Moore Memorial Garden burial, Peruvian Consul Eduardo Rivoldi and Ambassador Eduardo Ferrero had a few words with Mr. Vera's wife, Lorena. … ‘The meeting was basically to ask that an exhaustive, objective and detailed investigation is carried out,’ said Mr. Ferrero, who also said it was his first time looking into a case about police force used on a Peruvian immigrant in the U.S.

Lourdes #1, Valentín #2, Alan #3: Angus Reid reviews the latest University of Lima poll and concludes that 21.9% of Peruvian voters named Lourdes Flores Nano and her Popular Christian Party (PPC) as theic choice in next year’s presidential race. Former head of state Valentín Paniagua of Popular Action (AP) is second with 16.8%, followed by former president Alan García of the American Revolutionary People’s Alliance (APRA) with 14.1%, and Alberto Andrade of We Are Peru (SP) with 9.6%. Others mentioned include Callao mayor Alex Kouri, Jaime Salinas of National Justice (JN), Martha Chávez of New Majority (NM), David Waisman of Possible Peru (PP), Yehude Simons of the Humanist Movement (MH), journalist Alfredo Barnechea, and Fernando Olivera of the Independent Moralizing Front (FIM).

LFN #1, AGP #2, VP #3: Dow Jones (Robert Kozak) reviewed on Datum International’s latest poll with slightly different numbers. Lourdes Flores leads voter intentions in this poll as well (“26% would vote for Flores”) but Garcia follows with 20%. “The poll also found that 36% said they would never vote for Garcia. … In third place in voter intention is former president Valentin Paniagua, with 19% support.” NOTE: “The poll found that Flores would defeat Garcia in a hypothetical second round run off vote, by a 53% to 26% difference.”

Peru/USA Trade: The Miami Today News reports that “forty-five Miami-Dade executives are headed for Peru, where it is expected that President Alejandro Toledo will endorse Miami as the preferred site for the secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. They were expected to join the business development mission to Lima headed by Gov. Jeb Bush and sponsored in part by Florida FTAA - which is working to bring the secretariat to Miami if the Western Hemisphere's 34 nations sign a free-trade agreement.” NOTE: An updated story in the Associated Press reports that as Tropical Storm Katrina nears Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has “canceled a business trip to Peru that was to begin Wednesday.” Separately, the Miami Herald offers a general report on Washington’s free trade negotiation talks with several countries around the Americas, including Peru. NOTE: “Peru is among Florida's top 20 trade partners and offers a wealth of international business opportunities for companies in a variety of industries throughout the Sunshine State," Gov. Bush said.” Florida has a $1.2 billion annual trade relationship with Peru.

Rumsfeld in Lima, cont: The Toldeo Blade runs an editorial by Dan Simpson, a retired diplomat, titled, “Rumsfeld, Rice foreign policy not rooted in reality” “Mr. Rumsfeld, 73, went to Paraguay and Peru and used the visits as a platform to warn Latin Americans against falling under the pernicious influence of leftists - old, ancient leftist Fidel Castro, 79, and new rich leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. 'Leftist' meant something entirely different back in Mr. Rumsfeld's younger days when the Soviet Union was still around as America's global rival.”

BHP Billiton: BNAmericas reports that “Anglo-Australian resources group BHP Billiton posted a record attributable profit of US$6.4bn, including exceptional items, for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2005, 89% higher than the previous year, and at the higher end of analyst forecasts of US$6.12bn-6.5bn.”

SPORTS:

PEOPLE:

Other: Agência Brasil (Thaís Brianezi ) reports that “Brazil assists Peru in combating malaria” among indigenous populations.

TANS CRASH:

Photo and Video:

General Stories:

ANALYSIS:

LOOKING FOR PAISANOS:


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TANS CRASH UPDATE, 9:00am (GMT+5):

Editorial Note: There is yet no acknowledgement of the accident on TANS' website.

View wire service photographs.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005

TANS JET CRASHES IN PUCALLPA

UPDATE, 7:00pm (GMT+5): Australia’s SBS, Pravda and Xinhua are offering what seem to be Associated Press wire stories. Reuters reported that the TANS Boeing 737-200 “made an emergency landing without its landing gear on a road near[Pucallpa] several miles (km) before the runway. It was due to fly to the northern jungle city of Iquitos.” AFX is reporting that passengers survived the crash. One of the survivors, Tomas Ruiz, told reporters the plane appeared to be affected by the bad weather. "With 10 minutes remaining for us to land in Pucallpa we noticed that the plane was moving too much because of the weather," he said. Another survivor, William Zea, said the "plane had problems and we fell."

UPDATE, 5:09 pm (GMT+5): Associated Press is reporting that “a commercial airliner carrying an unspecified number of passengers crashed today near [Pucallpa] and radio reports said at least two people were dead and about 20 others injured with burns and broken bones. “We standing next to the cabin and we can see the body and it appears that it is a flight attendant in her unform. We can also see a person, it appears to be a female," a correspondent for Radioprogramas radio said. "There are bodies of children. Many bodies."

Rumsfeld in Lima: The Asian Tribune reprints an ‘''Intelligence Brief: Rumsfeld Visits Paraguay and Peru'' by the Power and Interest News Report. It was drafted by Purdue University Professor Michael Weinstein. “The pressing reason for Rumsfeld's trip is the deterioration -- from Washington's viewpoint -- of the political situation in Bolivia. ... Washington's primary concern is the escalating support for Evo Morales.” NOTE: “The overriding aim of Rumsfeld's trip to Paraguay and Peru, where he met with the countries' presidents and defense officials, was to persuade them to increase military cooperation with Washington and to create a coalition geared to isolating Caracas in the hemisphere. ... The present strategic importance of Paraguay and Peru for Washington is enhanced by the fact that they border Bolivia.” ALSO: “Toledo stressed that the focus of his talks with Rumsfeld was not strategic, but economic. Lima wants Washington to conclude a promised free trade agreement with it, claiming that progress on the coca problem depends on opening up markets in the U.S. for alternative crops.” SEE ALSO: ‘Rumsfeld in Lima’ in August 19’s Peruvia.

Peru in PANAMAX: The Navy Newstand reports on ‘Fuerzas Aliadas PANAMAX 2005 which ended August 17 in Panama City. PANAMAX is a multinational training exercise, took place Aug. 4-17, and brought 15 nations [including Peru] together in the common goal of securing the Panama Canal and its pathway to trade throughout the world. NOTE: “Peruvian Capt. Jorge Moreno, commander of the Combined Task Group Pacific, said forces he commanded from the various participating countries "operated in harmony" to meet those challenges.” SEE ALSO: ‘Inter-American Naval Conference’ in May 7, 2004’s Peruvia.

Toledo’s Numbers Dismally Up: Angus Reid reviews the latest poll from the University of Lima to conclude that “most Peruvian adults are dissatisfied with Alejandro Toledo, according to a poll by Universidad de Lima. 85.3% of respondents in Lima and Callao disapprove of the president’s performance, up 3.9% since July.”

Maurtua in Chile: The Associated Press and Reuters offer photographs of Peru's Minister of Foreign Relations Oscar Maurtua Romaña with Chile's president Ricardo Lagos at La Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago. Maurtua is in Chile for a two-day official visit. The Associated Press shows Maurtua with his Chilean counterpart Ignacio Walker upon their arrive at La Moneda.

Violence In Ayacucho: The Miami Herald (in its Latin American Briefs column) offers a wired report from Ayacucho saying that “police said Monday they had discovered the bodies of four suspected cocaine traffickers who apparently were ambushed, shot and robbed of a drug shipment last week on a remote mountain path in Peru's central Andes. Police were alerted by a local man who found the victims Sunday on the path, more than 15,000 feet above sea level in Viracocha, 35 miles north of this provincial capital city.” According to police, “the path is a known route for cocaine smugglers.”

Violence in Paterson: NorthJersey.com reports that “police were searching Monday for a city man who they say opened fire on two others outside a Wayne Avenue restaurant, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition. Police say Robison Urruti, 49, of Madison Avenue, got into an argument over a woman with one of the men, Arturo Labaton, during a gathering early Sunday at the El Sabor de Mi Barrio Restaurant [a Peruvian restaurant]. Urruti left, but returned with a handgun to wait outside for Labaton, police said.” NOTE: “Rolando Mendoza described his son as a lover of soccer and Latin music and said he had been working most recently as a welder after coming to the United States from Peru 10 years ago.” ALSO: “Police described Urruti as 5 feet 6 inches, 170 pounds, with short black hair, brown eyes and dark skin. A native of Peru, he also goes by Carlos E. Duran and Roberto Huaman Sanchez, police said.”

Peruvians in USA: The Brunswick News (Georgia) reports on new Hispanics migrating into the United States and reviews legislation before the US Congress in this matter. The story features Enrique and Rossana Patron, “who left Peru with their two sons 10 years ago. A graduate of Peru's merchant marine academy, Enrique Patron was hired to work as an engineer aboard the Emerald Princess casino cruise boat. Within six months, he was promoted to chief engineer. ... His wife arrived with an accounting degree from a Peruvian university.” The Westchester Journal News (New York) offers a similar story and includes “Eva Escalante, one of 10 brothers and sisters whose father is a mechanical engineer in Lima, Peru. She said her two oldest siblings, a brother and sister, went to Argentina to find work. The two youngest, herself and a sister, came to the United States.” She says, “The economic situation (in Peru) is very bad. From here, one way or another, I can support myself and my child, and at the same time send something every month so that my parents can live decently.”

Americans in Peru: The Boston Globe reports on investigations into the affairs of Massachussetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey’s husband but cannot interview either of them because “Healey is vacationing with her family in Peru this week and was unavailable for comment.”

SPORTS:

Macro/Micro Econ:

MINING:

PEOPLE:

OTHER: North Korea reports that the Peruvian-Korean Institute of Culture and Friendship arranged a meeting on Aug. 12 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of its foundation. Attending it were leading officials of political parties and organizations, including Angel Castro Lavarello, chairman of the institute, Luis Mateo Munoz, general secretary of the Socialist Party of Peru, and Manuel Castillo Cabrera, international secretary of the Central Committee of the Peruvian Communist Party. NOTE: KCNA also reported that DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun “sent a congratulatory message to Oscar Maurtua de Romaña on his appointment as Peruvian foreign minister. The message wished him success in his new job, expressing the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would grow stronger in the days ahead.”


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