Peru is now the second-largest gold producing nation in the world after recording sales' output value of US$ 7.84 billion last year, the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy (SNMPE) announced Monday.  

In a surprise raid, about 1,500 police and troops dynamited $20 million worth of heavy machinery as Peru's government dialed up a crackdown on illegal gold mining that has badly scarred the ecologically rich southeastern jungle region of Madre de Dios.  

Peru has approved an environmental permit for $1.39 billion of exploratory work in one of the natural gas blocks that Petrobras has agreed to sell to China's CNPC, a report said.

Peru's government has marked a milestone in shaping the modernity and future of the nation's capital Lima in the 21st century with the upcoming construction of Lima Metro's Line 2, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala said Monday.

Humala, speaking at the signing of the US$ 5.65 billion contract to build and operate the 35-km-long railway infrastructure tunnel, stressed Lima's first subway line is by far the largest project ever carried out in the Andean nation. 

The president, Ollanta Humala, will participate today in the opening ceremony of the International Book Fair of Bogota 2014, in which Peru is the guest of honor.  

Peru's President Ollanta Humala has begun a one-day state visit to Panama on Monday with the aim of lifting the two countries' bilateral relations to a higher level.  

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake travelled to Peru this week where he met with children, community members, government officials and civil society partners to see how education, health and social protection programmes are bridging the equity gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children. 

An indigenous activist who led a campaign to halt two hydroelectric projects that would have flooded 35 square miles of Amazon river basin, displacing some 24,000 fellow Ashaninka, is among six environmental advocates being given this year's prestigious Goldman Prize.  

An estimated 2500 individuals in Puno region have reported health problems related to prevalent ash and smoke from the recent Ubinas, according to a report in the news publication El Economista America. Affected areas include Tolapalca, Charamaya, Pichacani, Laraqueri and Huacochullo. Individuals, the majority of whom are children, are reporting throat irritation and conjunctivitis.  

Ceviche is such a point of pride in Peru that it has its own national holiday - 28 June. Javier Wong, the chef/owner of Chez Wong in Lima, is considered a master of ceviche (spelt cebiche in Peru). His restaurant, which is far from fancy, is in one room of his house, in the rough and tumble district of La Victoria. There's not even a sign on the door. If you don't have a reservation, you don't get in. No exceptions. There's no menu, substitutions or alterations. Wong works with Pacific sole only. He gets the best pick from the market and is a master with the knife. He breaks down the entire fish at a small table at the head of the dining room and dices it up for a ceviche. He mixes it in a bowl right at the table with just the right amount of salt and lime. On most days, he'll add octopus, though occasionally you will see squid. It's served immediately. After the ceviche, you can add a tiradito (a sashimi-like cousin to ceviche) and/or a saltado (stir fry), which Wong prepares in the kitchen in a wok with a high flame. It's unbelievably simple, yet no one has been able to do it better. Diners reserve months in advance for one of seven tables at Wong's, proof that with the right ingredients and techniques, a classic recipe from a simple place can be as powerful and tasty as food from the world's most expensive restaurants.  

More than 160,000 people visited the Gold and the Incas: Lost worlds of Peru exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, injecting an estimated $33.5 million into the ACT economy.

The exhibition opened on December 6 and the gallery said it attracted 160,647 visitors from across Australia before it closed on Easter Monday, April 21.

It was the gallery's fifth highest attended exhibition in the past 13 years.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday's (22 April 2014) attack on the home of Peruvian journalist Yofr� L�pez Sifuentes and calls on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and hold the perpetrators to account. Lopez was unhurt after a bomb exploded, but his parents were injured, according to news reports.