Eleven Asia-Pacific countries have just signed the trade pact formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Although the US pulled out last year, the deal was salvaged by the remaining members, who signed it at a ceremony in the Chilean city of Santiago.
The Peruvian president announced on Sunday night that he granted a medical pardon to jailed former strongman Alberto Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses, corruption and the sanctioning of death squads. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski released a statement on Christmas Eve saying he decided to free Fujimori for “humanitarian reasons,” citing doctors who had determined the ex-leader suffers from incurable and degenerative problems.
During his visit to Chile and Peru, Pope Francis will honor the country’s religious roots and underline the plight of indigenous men and women. The Vatican said the pope will be in Chile Jan. 15-18, visiting the cities of Santiago, Temuco and Iquique. He then will fly to Peru and, from Jan. 18-21, he will visit Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo.
Lawmakers in Peru initiated proceedings to impeach President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who refuses to resign after being accused of failing to disclose decade-old payments from a Brazilian company embroiled in Latin America’s biggest corruption scandal. In a brief session, 27 of 130 members of congress put forward a request to consider removing the former Wall Street banker for “permanent moral incapacity”. Lawmakers could summon Kuczynski to defend himself before congress as early as next week.
Peru's Renato Tapia admitted discussing World Cup qualification with Colombia captain Radamel Falcao during their match on Tuesday night but denied making a pact. Falcao, who plays his club football for French Ligue 1 side Monaco, was seen in discussion with Peruvian players with his hand covering his mouth towards the end of the 1-1 draw in Lima.
A group of British Parliamentarians visited Peru during September. The group, comprised of six members of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, travelled to Latin America to look specifically at parliamentary and bilateral relations between the UK and Peru. The groups´ members were drawn from a range of political parties in Parliament.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla and his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop, Friday signed a memorandum of understanding whereby both countries will strenthen their economic ties.
China's Navy Wednesday launched a new 10,000-tonne domestically designed and produced destroyer. The vessel, of the Type 055 class, is the first of a new generation of destroyers equipped with new air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, and it is regarded as a challenge to naval rivals in Asia. The ship entered the water following a ceremony at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard.
Argentine president Mauricio Macri is convinced that in the second half of the year Mercosur will sign the long awaited trade agreement with the European Union and will establish closer links with the Pacific Alliance, according to a report in one of Buenos Aires leading radios.
Mercosur and Pacific Alliance foreign ministers are scheduled to meet this Friday in Buenos Aires, on an Argentine initiative to advance in a possible political and trade confluence with the prospect of a regional alliance in the near future. The controversial Venezuela case will also be on the table, but attendants have anticipated that they won't let this issue dominate the agenda or cast a shadow on the purpose of the summit.