China National Petroleum Corp. is close to a deal to buy Petr�leo Brasileiro's assets in Peru for more than $2 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. 

Divestment comes as holding company seeks to raise cash ahead of June 2015 deadline for repaying $950 million in debt. Facing a cash crunch, the Israel Corporation is weighing the sale of its 21.1% stake in Peruvian electricity producer Edegel. The market value of the holding company's share in the private energy company is $430 million.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari met in Lima on Monday to discuss boosting bilateral relations. 

After years of ignoring Latin America as not worth its while, India took one more decisive step towards acknowledging that region's importance to its resource-needy future when it set up mechanisms and processes during Vice President Hamid Ansari's meeting with the Peruvian leadership in Lima on Monday, October 28.

"For years, Latin America didn't matter to us," a senior Indian diplomat told Rediff.com on Monday evening. "That has changed now. We have realised distances don't matter, and we can have relationships anywhere in the world. Latin America and India are natural partners"

Latin American countries like Peru, the diplomat felt, "are looking up to India. But we are somewhat shy of playing that role. I hope we can match their aspirations. The vice-president's visit is certainly the trigger for a new 21st century relationship."

India has signed four agreements with Peru, including one on defence cooperation, to boost its ties with the fastest growing and resource-rich Latin American country. The agreements were signed on Monday at the end of Vice President Hamid Ansari's three-day visit to Peru.

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari has launched the Indian Chambers of Commerce (INCHAM) in Lima to facilitate Indian trade and industry in doing business in Peru and other Latin American countries.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala is scheduled to meet Monday with Italian Defense Minister Mario Mauro to strengthen cooperation and frienship ties between the two countries.

Gold mining in Peru is ravaging the Amazonian region of Madre De Dios, researchers have found, with thousands of small illegal mines operating in the area.

For the first time, a team has mapped the extent of gold mining in the area, showing it has increased by 400% between 1999 and 2012. The average annual rate of forest loss as a result has tripled since 2008.

The area affected by illegal gold mining in Peru's south-eastern Amazon region increased by 400% from 1999 to 2012, according to researchers using state-of-the-art mapping technology.

Using airborne mapping and high-satellite monitoring, researchers led by the Carnegie Institution for Science also showed that the rate of forest loss in Madre de Dios has tripled since the 2008 global economic crisis, when the international price of gold began to rise to new highs.

Peru's school feeding program Qali Warma is of high importance and should be further supported and strengthened, said Rebeca Arias, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Peru. 

On Sundays Rub�n Villanueva Toro liked to escape the small village of Buena Vista nestled high in the Andean mountains where he was a school principal. On the afternoon of March 30, 1990, he was in the nearby town of Lircay. He  was near the main plaza with friends when a group of military officers stopped them and asked for their identity cards. Ruben did not have his electoral card. He was detained and taken to the military base in Lircay. "It's just a routine detention", his friends were assured. But the hours passed, and Villanueva Toro remained in custody. 

Strips of tenderloin stir-fried in a wok, flamb�ed swiftly, then tossed with saut�ed aji amarillo chiles, tomatoes, garlic and onion paste, soy sauce, cilantro and rice - yes, lomo saltado is what Peruvians miss most when not in Peru. 

The Northern Territory Country Hour crossed to the International Potato Centre in Peru today, to speak to our Alice Springs reporter Caddie Brain.

Supported by the Crawford Fund, Caddie is in the middle of a very unique journey, learning everything about potatoes in the birthplace of the spud.

Potatoes are native to Peru, and it's believed they were 'domesticated' there around 8,000 years ago.

Remember when acai was the "it" food? Imported from the Brazilian rain forest, this antioxidant-rich berry went from exotic stranger to an ingredient in yogurt, juices and ice cream.

According to Forbes, Restaurant News, CNN and the Wall Street Journal, the next healthy South American import could be coming from Peru. If you want to stay ahead of the trend, pick up Peruvian Power Foods (Health Communications, $18.95) by registered dietitian Manuel Villacorta, which offers descriptions, nutritional benefits and recipes for 18 traditional Peruvian foods.

The small but legendary surfing town of Huanchaco in Trujillo, northern Peru, has been formally recognized as a World Surfing Reserve, the first in Latin America and fifth in the world. 

A Carnoustie man who was born deaf and is 95% blind is set to trek 60 miles through South American mountains.

John Whitfield lives with Usher's syndrome, which means he has no hearing and suffers from an eye disease which causes gradual sight loss.

But the 55-year-old is planning to hike to the Machu Picchu mountain in Peru in April.

We spoke to cartoonist Dave Anderson who recently relocated his life and work to Lima, Peru.

Dave Anderson, the founder and owner of '"bloodsausage":http://www.bloodsausage.co.uk/,' a web-based Artistic Design company producing illustrations, animations, commercials, and storyboards for anyone who wants them, came to Peru following a woman. 

Dave Anderson now works out of a small studio here in Lima, producing award-winning work for all sorts of different companies in the UK and further afield.  

Early yesterday morning, an Inca wall in the historical center of Cusco was defaced with a crude 'U' in white spray paint.

According to El Comercio, the 'U' is likely meant to represent the Club Universitario de Deportes, one of Peru's most popular club teams.

El Comercio reports that the wall in question is part of a building that contains shops and living spages, located on Calle Maruri in the historical center of the city. The graffiti is about 30 centimeters in height, reports El Comercio.

The legal team of Alberto Fujimori has again raised concerns that the ex-president may not be fit to face a full trial due to his declining health. After a judge-mandated suspension so the court could consider Fujimori's lawyer's request that the case be reviewed by the Supreme Court, another suspension has been ordered. 

Group of young Australians accused of murdering hotel employee in Lima will be permitted to give evidence from their home country instead of returning to Peru.

The "Peru 6," the group of young Australians who were accused of murdering a hotel doorman in Lima, have expressed satisfaction with the recent ruling that will allow them to give evidence from Australia instead of forcing them to return to Peru, where the case is being tried.