Home

Machu Picchu tourist airlift ends with 1,300 flown out

Jan 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Machu Picchu tourist airlift ends with 1,300 flown out

Police in Peru say they have airlifted the last of the tourists stranded near the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu after floods destroyed road and rail links.
Nearly 1,300 travellers were flown out by helicopters on Friday, a local policeman told the Associated Press.
A total of nearly 4,000 tourists and local residents have now left the area following last Sunday’s heavy flooding.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

A costly gold rush in the Amazon

Dec 16, 2009 | Comments Off on A costly gold rush in the Amazon

In the heart of Peru’s rainforest, the pursuit of gold is pushing one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems to the brink of catastrophe.
Peru is the world’s sixth producer of the precious metal – but officials say almost a quarter of it is illegally mined.

See the video report on the BBC.

Read More

Anger at Peru quake rebuilding

Aug 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Anger at Peru quake rebuilding

People in the southern Peruvian towns of Chincha and Pisco have marked the second anniversary of an earthquake which killed more than 500 inhabitants and destroyed thousands of homes.

Two years on, and there is anger among some residents that only 25% of the planned reconstruction has taken place in Pisco.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

Peru rebuilds two years on from quake

Aug 15, 2009 | Comments Off on Peru rebuilds two years on from quake

Since 1970, Peru has been hit by five powerful and deadly earthquakes. The latest struck Peru’s coast exactly two years ago with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale.

It fiercely shook the capital Lima, but its devastating epicentre was about 200km (124 miles) to the south, near the town of Pisco, a small fishing port built largely of adobe – mud bricks which Peruvians have used for thousands of years.

More than 500 people were killed and about 75,000 homes were left uninhabitable.

For Peruvian engineer Marcial Blondet, it was the devastating quake in 1970 that first motivated him to develop earthquake-resistant buildings, particularly for those who could least afford them.

Some 70,000 people died in the mountainous region of Huaraz, many of them in an avalanche of snow, ice and rock which obliterated the town of Yungay. It was the deadliest earthquake in Latin American history.

See the full article and video on the BBC

Read More

Strikers take to the streets of Peru

Jul 6, 2009 | Comments Off on Strikers take to the streets of Peru

Thousands of Peruvians have demonstrated against their government’s economic policies as part of a nationwide three-day strike.
The protests follow clashes in the north of the country which left at least 33 people dead.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

Mass Peruvian grave found

Jun 12, 2009 | Comments Off on Mass Peruvian grave found

Forensic investigators in Peru say they have recovered the remains of at least 70 people from a mass grave.
They are all victims of a 1984 massacre in Putis, Ayacucho and the excavation is believed to be the largest-ever in Peru.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

Protesters clash with police in Peru

Jun 12, 2009 | Comments Off on Protesters clash with police in Peru

Riot police in the Peruvian capital, Lima, have used tear gas to disperse protestors marching in support of indigenous groups.

The demonstrators were calling on Congress to revoke two laws which they claim threatens their lands.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

Search on for missing Peruvians

Jun 8, 2009 | Comments Off on Search on for missing Peruvians

Indigenous protesters are reported to be missing in northern Peru following some of the worst violence seen in the country for 10 years.

At least 30 indigenous protesters and 24 police officers are reported to have been killed in two days of clashes. Dan Collyns reports.

See the video on the BBC

Read More

Fujimori defends himself at trial

Apr 24, 2009 | Comments Off on Fujimori defends himself at trial

The former Peruvian president has taken the stand at the end of his trial for human rights violations.

Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, is charged with responsibility for two death-squad massacres, where 25 people were killed.

He says he is innocent.

See the video report on the BBC.

Read More