Author: Embodo

Peru’s largest lender, Credicorp Ltd, is bracing for delinquent loans to soar, a signal that the the country’s recession initially triggered by unrest and bad weather is spreading to the broader economy. “Peru’s economic performance is significantly weaker than expected,” the company said in a statement alongside quarterly results, flagging bad weather brought by El Niño as a key risk extending through early 2024. The bank said that new estimates “reflect significant additional provisions for expected losses.” Credicorp said provisions — the amount in loans the bank doesn’t expect to be repaid — had increased 85% compared to a year…

TIRANA – The brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia has dramatically shifted geopolitical dynamics and energized efforts to bring Western Balkans closer to the EU, it is said during the panel “Breaking Barriers to Regional Security Cooperation”, at the Civil Society Forum in Tirana. The panel discussed strategies for rationalizing regional security cooperation initiatives and building greater confidence for exchange and collaboration among security institutions in the region. Participants expressed their views on the current state of regional security cooperation, as well as the cybersecurity, organized crime, and corruption threats. The Interior Minister of Albania, Taulant Balla, mentioned during the discussion a…

Russian producers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have restarted regular exports of propane and butane via the port of Kerch in Crimea after an eight-year hiatus, industry sources said, despite security threats. Regular LPG exports from Kerch were suspended in 2015 following broader international sanctions against Russian companies and producers over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The resumption of exports highlights Russia’s ability to manage international sanctions and continue its sea-borne energy exports. According to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, regular supplies of LPG, or propane and butane, from Russian plants to Kerch for further exports,…

Fresh Andean water flows abundantly in Hualcayán, a picturesque hilltop settlement studded with archaeological gems in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru. A network of artificial stone canals channel those glacial waters to the community’s vast expanse of farmlands, feeding into fields of ruby-red strawberries, succulent sugar-snap peas, and the ever-growing number of reservoirs that dot the land. “It’s easy work,” says Hugo Adriano Echeverria Paulino, a 48-year-old farmer who cultivates sugar-snap peas on seven hectares (17 acres) of land amid a breathtaking scene of snow-capped mountains and soaring valleys. “But it requires a lot of water.” A decade ago,…

Montenegro’s former president, Milo Djukanovic, on Thursday criticized the government’s decision to support Saudi Arabia’s candidacy to host the World Expo 2030, saying it should favour neighbour and NATO member Italy. On Wednesday, the government said it would back Saudi Arabia’s candidacy at the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions, BIE, in November, when BIE member states will elect the host country for the World Expo 2030 via secret ballot on the principle of one country, one vote. The Saudi capital, Riyadh, Rome, Italy and Busan, Korea, are the only candidates, after Russia and Ukraine withdrew their candidacies.…

It has been 26 years since the tragic death of Celia Ramos, who underwent an unnecessary and unwanted operation. In 1997, this young woman from Peru visited a health center seeking dental care but left with a handful of insistent recommendations to undergo a tubal ligation. Doctors identified the 34-year-old woman as a candidate of a sterilization plan initiated by Alberto Fujimori’s regime to combat poverty. Under pressure from health workers who regularly visited her home, Ramos underwent the procedure and died 19 days later. This case marks the first case of forced sterilizations in Peru before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).…

LIMA, Sept 6 (Reuters) – President Dina Boluarte of Peru reshuffled six posts in her cabinet on Wednesday, the second partial reshuffle in her eight-month-old administration, though she retained ministers overseeing the key economy and energy and mining portfolios. Boluarte took office in December after her predecessor Pedro Castillo, whom she had served as vice-president, was ousted and arrested after trying to dissolve Congress. The ouster was followed by months of protests demanding early elections and Boluarte’s resignation, leaving dozens dead. Cabinet changes are frequent in the world’s second-largest copper producing nation, which has seen six presidents in just five…

BEIJING, China — China said Monday it had lodged complaints over a statement released at a first-of-its-kind summit of the leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan in which they criticized Beijing’s “aggressive behavior”. The United States’ Joe Biden hosted the summit — described as launching a “new chapter” of close, three-way security cooperation — at the presidential retreat Camp David. In a joint statement on Friday, the three leaders said they opposed the “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” of China in maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea. Beijing hit back on Monday, saying the leaders had…

The Amazon, which occupies a large part of Peru’s territory, is home to the country’s greatest diversity of flora and fauna, but its intricate geography also makes it the ideal setting for illegal mining carried out by transnational criminal organizations, and destroying hundreds of hectares of virgin land every day. Peruvian authorities have not let their guard down to pursue this crime and are carrying out seizures and arrests with the support of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (FEMA), the Environmental Directorate of the National Police, and the Armed Forces. A 2012 legislative decree ordered nationwide interdiction actions against this…

The U.S. government is committed to providing nearly $110,000 in foreign aid to projects in Russia, and $240,000 to China, in 2023, despite surging tensions with Moscow and Beijing. According to the American state-run website foreignassistance.gov this money has already been committed, with much of it going to tiger conservation projects in the two countries. Relations between the U.S. and Russia nosedived following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, since which Washington has provided more than $43 billion in military aid to Kyiv. The U.S. has also clashed with China over Taiwan, human rights, trade and the South China…