Peru plans to build a 27.5bn-sol (US$9.8bn) railway project to connect southern Ica city and northern Piura, transport minister Jos� Gallardo said.

Running along the Pacific coast and through Lima, the railroad will be 1,340km long. It will pass through Ancash, La Libertad and Lambayeque.

Peru's gross domestic product is on course to expand as much as 6.5% as right economic policies are maintained and a desirable investment environment is established, said the president of Peruvian broker GPI Valores, Luis Felipe Arizmendi.
 

Finance Minister Alonso Segura said that Peru's weakening sol currency will help exporters offset the lower international demand for their products in a sluggish global economy, daily Gestion reported.
 "The depreciation, as long as it is gradual, has positive effects because it helps the exporter, in a context in which external demand has declined and other currencies are also depreciating," said Segura, who was appointed minister earlier this year.

Downgrades are projected to outpace upgrades by a comfortable margin in 2015, according to Fitch Ratings. Having the vision to see the positive long-term outlook for Peruvian corporates is challenging due to weak near-term economic conditions that have sapped the spending power of middle and lower income consumers during the past year. 
 

Peruvian fresh produce exports are poised for huge growth in volumes and sales over the coming years as demand for its widening range of fruit and vegetables continues to climb.

That was one of several stand-out messages from this year's Eurofruit Congress Southern Hemisphere, which saw more than 250 key industry players from a total of 17 countries convene for a two-day conference and networking event designed to uncover new opportunities in Peru's fresh produce business.

Peru has doubled rural water coverage over the last three years, according to housing minister Milton von Hesse.

"Years ago, in rural areas, one out of three families had access to water. Today, two out of three families have potable water access in their homes," von Hesse was quoted as saying by state news agency Andina.

The civil society will display a selection of the best projects related to climate change during the largest informal environmental event in Lima prior to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20).
 

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala had a meeting with Japan's Primer Minister Shinzo Abe, in which Humala assured Peru is interested in promoting Japanese investment in sectors such as port, road infrastructure and energy.
 

President, Ollanta Humala, and Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping, will sign additional agreements concerning: economic and infrastructure cooperation, as well as several covenants regarding mining investments, confirmed Foreign Affairs minister, Gonzalo Gutierrez. 
 

Peru's Head of State, Ollanta Humala, met Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, in China's capital, where the 22nd APEC Summit is under way.
 

During a get-together with the Church's most important person alive, Peruvian President, Ollanta Humala, will formally request His Holiness Pope Francis to visit Peru. 
 

Felipe Rojas-Lombardi did not invent quinoa, of course, but he gets much of the credit for introducing it to North Americans. The Peruvian-born chef, honored in September with a Celebrity Chefs stamp from the United States Postal Service, did much to popularize the ingredients, cooking and food traditions of Latin America and Spain - notably tapas-like small plates - in the U.S.
 

Great chefs, like great artists, go far beyond their materials (in this case, food) to provoke an experience that fulfills their creative vision. Unlike artists, however, they are running a business that requires putting diners in the seats, balancing costs, and managing overhead in order to turn a profit. How do these chefs express the full extent of their culinary innovativeness while at the same time as creating a return for investors?

Two recent Harvard Business School case studies explore this tension through the experience of two high-profile chefs who came up with different answers to these questions.

A number of artistic, cultural activities have been run today by the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, located in northern Peru's Lambayeque region, as part of its 12th anniversary celebrations.
 

Fujimori, 76 years, made a second bid to reverse a court decision sentencing him to 25 years for his corruption abuses as president.

In 2013 the Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled against his initial plea to serve the remainder of his 25 year sentence under house arrest. The former president claims his health is in dire condition, suffering multiple chronic diseases.

A Lebanese citizen, detained in Lima last month on suspicion of handling explosives, recognized to be a member of the Islamic armed group Hezbollah.