Representatives from Peru, Colombia and Ecuador met in Quito on April 24 and 25 to formulate a joint-effort to halt illegal mining operations and also to provide means of formalization to informal miners. The representatives came from different sectors, including mining, environmental protection and defense, according to a report published today in Andina.  

Peru awarded a $182.4 million contract for the construction and operation of a maritime port to a consortium of Brazilian and Spanish companies, the government said on Wednesday.

The terminal port near Peru's southern coastal city of Pisco, which the consortium will manage through a 30-year concession, is expected to speed up mineral shipments from the Andean country's southern mines.  

Government officials announced today that plans will move forward next year with the construction of a new highway between the city of Tacna and the Bolivian capital La Paz, according to the Spanish news agency EFE. Investment in the project will total $182 million (S./510 million).  

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to visit Peru on April 30th to meet his Peruvian counterpart Eda Rivas and President Ollanta Humala Tasso, it was reported.  

Canadian arms manufactures may now export automatic weapons and certain other types of military equipment to Chile and Peru. The two South American countries have just been added onto Canada's Automatic Firearms Country Control List.

34 countries are eligible to buy and import various military-grade weapons from Canada. Among the list are all of the NATO member nations, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, and Botswana.

Peruvian Defense Minister Pedro Cateriano will travel to Italy from May 5-9 to hold bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti, it was reported.

The working visit of Cateriano also includes a visit to the Italian aerospace company, Alenia Aermacchi, which builds the C-27J Spartan, a medium sized military transport aircraft that Peru has bought to the government of that European country.  

The Confederation of Amazonian Nationalities of Peru (CNAP) released a statement on Thursday that called for greater access and participate with respect to local leadership and governance, according to the news publication El Economista America.  

Residents in eastern Peru's Amazon region believe there are more mass graves from the country's internal conflict that remain hidden under the thick tropical forest.

The native communities of Mapotoa and Yaynapango, located in Junin region's Satipo province, said that another 200 bodies, including children, have yet to be found in nearby mass graves, according to RPP Noticias. The individuals would have been the victims of Peru's bloody internal conflict between Maoist Shining Path guerrillas and state security forces.  

Within the past four days, three more earthquakes have shaken different regions of Peru, according to reports from Andina and Peru's Geophysical Institute (IGP). The first, measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday night at 11:12 pm at a location 89 kilometers from Lima. Another, this time measuring 3.9, took place early Monday morning about 20 kilometers from the city of Mala to the south of Lima.  

A new report from the Atmospheric Electricity Group (ELAT), a division of Brazil's Ministry of Science and Technology found that Peru ranked third for lightning-related deaths in South America, according to the news publication Peru 21. The study found that lightning-related fatalities are much higher in the developing world, roughly 17 times more than in the US and Europe.  

A tasty trip around Peru through its street food. Try it!  

Pope Francis has created a committee of cardinals based in the Vatican to work out a solution to an ongoing dispute with the Pontifica Universidad Catholica de Peru (PUCP), according to the news publication Terra. The committee will be lead by Cardinal Archbishop of Estzgom of Budapest, along with representatives from Quebec and Chile.