The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Peru

  • Copa America: Soap opera actress offers kiss incentive

     

    A kiss that will last the distance awaits any member of the Peruvian squad who seals victory for Peru against Chile in the semifinal of the Copa America .

    The unusual but special incentive is coming from a popular Peruvian soap actress Stephanie Cayo.

    Peru are considered underdogs in the fixture in some quarters but Cayo believes her country men can go the extra mile to carry the day in Porto Alegre.

    “We want to give a kiss to the Peru national team. I’m seriously thinking about offering a kiss (obviously with permission) to whoever is responsible for beating Chile “the 31-year-old actress wrote on Twitter to her almost 800,000 followers which generated 8,000 likes and more than 7,000 comments.

    Caro who is well known in Peru and Columbia added on Instagram that she was “offering my grain of sand” towards Peru victory.

    Peru who are two time winners of the Copa America last won the title in 44 years ago and Cayo who was born way after the last victory in 1975 is eager to see her countrymen lift the trophy in her presence.

    The country first won the title in 1939. This is the third time in the last four editions that they have reached the semifinals.

    Chile on their part have won the last two Copa editions, on home soil in 2015 and then the Centenario tournament in the United States a year later.

    The winner of Thursday’s semifinal tie will face Brazil in Sunday’s final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil defeated Argentina 2-0 to book a place in the final. Uruguay are the highest winners of the Copa America with 15 titles in the kitty. Brazil who are already waiting for their Sunday opponents are searching for their 9th title haven won 8 editions previously.

     

  • World Cup: France 1-0 Peru – Mbappe the match-winner

    • France 1-0 Peru
    • Kylian Mbappe the matchwinner.

    France advance from Group C into the knockout stages, Peru advance to the airport to fly back home.

    Peru will be out of the World Cup if they fail to avoid defeat.

    A France win would ensure they join Russia and Uruguay in the last-16 of the competition.

    Team News – France

    Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas, Pogba, Kante, Mbappe, Griezmann, Matuidi, Giroud.
    Subs: Mandanda, Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, Tolisso, Nzonzi, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola.

    Team News – Peru

    Gallese, Advincula, Ramos, Rodriguez, Trauco, Aquino, Yotun, Carrillo, Cueva, Flores, Guerrero.
    Subs: Caceda, Corzo, Santamaria, Araujo, Hurtado, Farfan, Ruidiaz, Tapia, Polo, Cartagena, Loyola, Carvallo.

    Referee:

    Mohammed Abdulla Hassan (United Arab Emirates)

  • Venezuelan President says will not participate in summit of Americas

    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that he has decided not to participate in the forthcoming Summit of Americas in Peru, local media reported on Wednesday.

    The two-day summit will start in Lima on Friday.

    Maduro has been invited to attend the event but later the Peruvian authorities have revoked the invitation, following the decision to withdraw the invitation, the Venezuelan leader has repeatedly stated that he would do utmost to attend the event.

    “Last night I made a decision that I would not go to the Summit of Americas in Lima.

    “I will stay with my nation to celebrate the failure of the 2002 coup,’’ Maduro said on Tuesday as broadcast by the state television channel.

    The politician added that the summit was not an event of high priority for Caracas.

    Read Also: Venezuelan calls on Trump to start dialogue between Caracas, Washington

    The president of Peru said that his Venezuelan counterpart Maduro could visit Lima, but he would not be able to participate in the forthcoming Summit of the Americas due to the absence of an official invitation.

    “Any Venezuelan citizen could come to our country. As for the specific case of the Venezuelan president, he has no invitation to participate in the summit.

    “So we speak not about the way he could enter the country, he could cross the border without any problems. The state has sent a clear signal, Mr. Maduro has not been invited,’’ Martin Vizcarra.

    Recently, the Venezuelan leader has had an intention to participate in the summit, however earlier in the month; Maduro changed his position on the issue saying that the event would be a waste of time.

    NAN

  • Pope Francis apologises for sexual abuse within catholic church

    Pope Francis apologises for sexual abuse within catholic church

    Pope Francis has apologised for cases of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church, saying he felt “pain and shame at the irreparable damage caused to children by some ministers of the church’’.

    “I am one with my brother bishops, for it is right to ask for forgiveness and make every effort to support the victims.

    “Although, we have committed ourselves to ensuring that such things do not happen again,’’ the pope said.

    He was speaking before Chilean dignitaries in Santiago de Chile.

    Earlier this week, the Vatican took over a Peru-based Catholic sect whose founder has been accused of sexual and psychological abuse.

    Meanwhile, in Chile during the pope’s visit on Monday, activists promised to protest every day of the visit over his 2015 appointment of a bishop accused of covering up for one of the country’s most notorious pedophiles.
    On Jan. 10, the Vatican said it had appointed a commissioner to oversee the lay Catholic movement Sodalitium of Christian Life.

    However, Peruvian prosecutors had announced they were seeking the arrest on charges of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, of the group’s founder, Luis Fernando Figari, and five other members.

    Meanwhile, the Pope had shown particular attention to the gravity of the information.

    The pontiff would return to the Vatican on Sunday.

    NAN

  • World is one step away from nuclear war – Pope warns

    World is one step away from nuclear war – Pope warns

    The world is on the “brink” of nuclear war, Pope Francis warned on Monday, as he set off on a trip to Chile and Peru that threatens to become overshadowed by sexual abuse scandals.

    “Yes, I am really afraid. We are on the brink. We only need an accident to trigger war,” Francis said

    “If we go on like this the situation risks precipitating.

    So, we need to destroy the weapons and to strive for nuclear disarmament,” he added.

    On Francis’ instructions, reporters on the papal plane were each given a picture of a child survivor of the Nagasaki bomb carrying his dead brother, with the inscription: “the fruit of war.”

    The same picture has been circulated by the Vatican over the Christmas and New Year period, in a show of the pope’s concerns about a new nuclear conflict.

    The pope’s appeal came as North and South Korea held working-level talks on Monday, raising hopes that months of rising tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes may be easing.

    Francis said Jan. 10 that the global community must “support every effort at dialogue” with North Korea.

    Francis was expected to arrive in the capital Santiago de Chile late on Monday, and to travel on Thursday to neighbouring Peru, where an earthquake killed one person and injured dozens on Sunday.

    Read Also: Insecurity: Pope urges FG to prioritize future of youth

    The pope’s visit was preceded by six arson attacks against Chilean churches or parishes.

    A leaflet left at a parish in Santiago de Chile criticised “the domination” the Catholic Church wanted to exercise over people.

    Chile is the Latin American country where the pope is least valued, receiving an approval rating of 5.3 out of 10, according to a poll by the non-governmental organization Corporacion Latinobarometro.

    Latinobarometro director Marta Lagos said Francis’ popularity had declined over the case of Chilean priest Fernando Karadima, whom the Vatican finally found guilty of abusing minors in 2011, after years of accusations.

    The pope has been criticised for his 2015 appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno, Chile, in spite allegations that Barros had protected Karadima.

    The Vatican has meanwhile tried to mitigate the repercussions of another sexual abuse scandal in Peru, announcing Jan. 10 that it was taking over a Catholic movement based there, Sodalicio, whose founder prosecutors want to arrest over alleged abuses.

    Thousands of believers were travelling from neighbouring countries to Chile to see the pope, whose programme includes visits to Temuco in the centre and Iquique in the north.

    Francis, an Argentine, is making his sixth visit to Latin America.

    He has been to Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia, but, much to the chagrin of his compatriots, never to his homeland.

    dpa/NAN

  • Pope orders takeover of Catholic group in Peru

    Pope orders takeover of Catholic group in Peru

    Pope Francis on Wednesday ordered the Vatican takeover of an elite Catholic society in Peru whose founder is accused of sexually and physically abusing children and former members of the group.

    The move, according to a statement that was released by the Vatican, is the latest step in a saga that has damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church in Peru.

    It comes a week before Francis is due to make his first visit as pope to the country and Chile as victims of sexual abuse said that he has not done enough to stop root it out.

    The credibility of a commission he formed in 2014 has been severely damaged by the defections of senior members who accused the Vatican of dragging its feet.

    The Vatican said the pope had appointed an administrator to run Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), whose founder Luis Figari, a layman, is due to go on trial in Peru for the sexual abuse of minors later in the year.

    However, Figari has denied wrongdoing.

    An internal report by the group in 2017 concluded that Figari, who founded it in 1971 and headed it till 2010, and three other high-ranking ex members had abused 19 minors and 10 adults.

    Most of the cases took place between the 1970s and 2000.

    The report, published on the group’s website, describes Figari as a charismatic, authoritarian and cult-like leader who publicly humiliated members as part of his strategy to control them.

    Peruvian authorities opened an investigation into Figari in 2015 following the publication of a book into the alleged abuse written by Peruvian investigative journalists Pao Ugaz and Pedro Salinas.

    Salinas once belonged to the ultra-conservative Sodalitium, whose members include businessmen, writers and politicians from Peru’s upper classes and was founded as a part of a backlash to the “Liberation Theology”, which took sides with the poor.

    The Vatican statement said the pope had been following the group’s situation “with worry” for years and had taken the action “after a detailed analysis of all the documentation”.

    It said the pope was concerned about “the gravity of information regarding the internal system, (religious) formation (of members) and economic and financial management”.

    The Vatican move came a month after a lawyer for victims said a public prosecutor was seeking pre-trial detention for Figari and three other former leaders of the group.

    The Vatican, which officially recognised the group in 1997, however, in 2017 prohibited Figari from having any contact with members.

    The takeover of the SCV was similar to the action the Vatican took against another conservative group, the Legionaries of Christ.

    An administrator was appointed to run the Legionaries after its founder, the late Mexican priest Marcial Degollado, was discovered to have been sexually abusive with a secret family.

    The Vatican said the SCV would be run by a Colombian Bishop Noel Buitrago.

  • IOC and Peru working together to deliver IOC Session in Lima

    IOC and Peru working together to deliver IOC Session in Lima

    Following the devastating floods affecting large parts of the country, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Peruvian government today confirmed that preparations for the IOC Session, to be held in Peru, in September are going ahead as planned.

    The 130th IOC Session is scheduled to take place in the Peruvian capital from 13 September 2017. It will see the election of the host city for the Olympic Games 2024 from the Candidate Cities of Los Angeles and Paris*.

    The President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, said that following the floods that have hit the country it was important that the IOC Session went ahead. “The eyes of the world will be on Lima and we believe that hosting the IOC Session will send a vital message to the world and to Peru that we are ready to welcome the world after the emergency situation. In addition, the event will bring positive international attention to the country as we receive several Heads of State, many high-level government officials and over 2,000 international press members. This is why we have reaffirmed our support to the organisation of the IOC Session. The event had already been declared of national interest and we will now issue an Executive Order that creates the framework to implement the declaration and support”.

    Speaking for the IOC, President Thomas Bach said: “This decision of the IOC Executive Board is also a demonstration of solidarity with Peru and its people following the wish of the Peruvian government. On this occasion the Peruvian government has given us all necessary assurances that the IOC Session will be organised in a great way,” he added.

    Last week, the IOC, together with Olympic Solidarity and the Pan-American Sports Organisation (PASO), announced a donation of USD 600,000 to support the immediate flood recovery efforts in Peru.

    The Executive Board also took the decision today that the first Olympism in Action Forum will now be held in Buenos Aires in conjunction with the Youth Olympic Games 2018. This decision will help facilitate the task of Peru and will also have the advantage of the link to the Youth Olympic Games, since ‘Youth’ is one of three pillars of Olympic Agenda 2020, and the Forum will be a chance to take stock of the already far-reaching implementation of the reforms. It will also help to draw global attention to the Youth Olympic Games. The Olympism in Action Forum will be another major step towards the realisation of Olympic Agenda 2020, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to address the role of sport in society.

    IOC Member in Argentina and the man leading the organisation of the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, Gerardo Werthein, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Olympism in Action Forum at the same time as the Youth Olympic Games. The Forum is about the future of the Olympic Movement and making it more relevant to a new generation. Holding the two events together is a perfect match.”

  • Police seize $85m cocaine haul with Lionel Messi photos

    Police seize $85m cocaine haul with Lionel Messi photos

    Peru law enforcement on Wednesday seized 1,417 kilos of cocaine, much of it adorned with logos that bear the photo and name of Barcelona star Lionel Messi. The haul was found wrapped in containers of squid fillets and destined for Belgium.

    The drugs were worth an estimated $85 million in street value, Peru officials said in a news release.

    Many packages of the drugs bore Messi’s likeness and name, while the rest was wrapped in black packaging with a logo saying “King” with a likeness of the king of Spain.

    A spokesperson for the Peruvian National Police’s Anti-Drugs Office (Dirandro) said that no one has been arrested or detained yet.

    “Most of the 1,288 packages of drugs were camouflaged as squid filets and had a label that said ‘Messi’ along with a picture of the Argentina player Lionel Messi wearing the shirt of the Spanish club Barcelona,” the news release said.

    The logos are used to guarantee the purity of the drugs by the gangs who traffic them, the official said, as well as guaranteeing that drugs, which are packaged in bricks, remain sealed.

    The shipment was found over the weekend after arriving in Lima over land, headed west with a final destination as the port of Callao.

    This is the second major police intervention this year, the news release said.

    In January, Peruvian police found more than 4,508 pounds of cocaine worth $174 million in street value, hidden in packages of asparagus destined for Amsterdam. The group arrested was part of an international drug-trafficking network that shipped cocaine to European countries, Reuters reported.

    Peru is believed to rival Colombia as the world’s largest producer of coca leaves, from which cocaine is made. Dirandro officials said they believe cartels from Mexico operate in their country and use their distribution networks to send the drugs to Europe and the United States.