Tag: Peru

  • 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off Peru, tsunami threat over: USGS

    7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off Peru, tsunami threat over: USGS

    A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, but a tsunami threat from the tremor has passed.

    The USGS said the tremor hit 8.8 kilometers (5.5 miles) from Atiquipa district.

    The quake was felt in Lima and a large part of the southern and central coast of Peru.

    The mayor of Yauca, Juan Aranguren, told local media that walls came down in his town.

    A major highway running through the area also suffered cracks, he said.

    “The children were crying, the earthquake was felt strongly,” said a villager from the area.

    Speaking to RPP radio, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen: “I want to convey tranquility. The earthquake has passed, we are making the first evaluations, and so far there are no fatalities to lament.”

    The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had earlier said “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts” but later said the threat had passed.

    Peru, with some 33 million inhabitants, lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area of intense seismic activity that runs along the west coast of the Americas.

    Peru is hit by hundreds of detectable quakes every year.

  • Man burnt ex-girlfriend alive in town square

    Man burnt ex-girlfriend alive in town square

    A Venezuelan man accused of burning his ex-girlfriend alive in a town square in Peru last year has been extradited to Lima, authorities said Tuesday.

    Sergio Tarache Parra stands accused of dousing 18-year-old Katherine Gomez with gasoline and setting her alight on a central square in the Peruvian capital in March 2023.

    She had broken up with him days earlier.

    Tarache was tracked down and arrested in Colombia the following month.

    Security cameras captured Gomez’s attacker fleeing the scene of the crime, and Peruvian police offered a reward equivalent to $12,500 for information leading to his capture.

    Gomez was admitted to hospital with burns to 60 percent of her body and died after six days of agony in a case that shocked Peruvians.

    Prosecutors are requesting life in prison for Tarache.

    The country has one of the region’s highest femicide tallies in absolute numbers, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, though not one of the highest rates per 100,000 people.

    In a crime similar to the one that claimed Gomez, a man boarded a bus in Lima in 2018, poured gasoline on his ex-girlfriend Eva Agreda, and set her alight. She died days later.

  • 40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    The new year is just over one month away and it is going to be the biggest election year in history yet.

    40 countries are scheduled to vote in 2024 across the globe which, as calculated by Bloomberg Economics, represent 41% of the world’s population and 42% of its global GDP.

    The marathon will begin with Taiwan in January and end with the US in November.

    Here are some of the prominent countries lined up for elections: Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gambia, and Libya in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela in the Americas; Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Australia, and Pakistan in Asia and Oceania; Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in Europe.

    There are, however, four elections that the world has eyes on — elections that are expected to alter geopolitics in the next decade.

    Russia will elect the new president in March who will govern until 2030, putting Russia-NATO relations at the forefront.

    In April-May, India will hold elections and as per analysts, Modi’s loss can push back investors.

    The European Union will conduct bloc-wide polls in June to appoint members of the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 which will be pertinent for the increasing friction between right-wing and left-wing policymakers on issues like immigration and Ukraine.

    The United States will hold legislative and presidential elections in November for 2025-2028, while everyone curiously waits whether Republicans will return to the White House or not.

  • Hum tou gaye: Netflix plans to stop password sharing with friends, family

    Hum tou gaye: Netflix plans to stop password sharing with friends, family

    Netflix announced on Wednesday that it is testing new solutions to terminate the sharing password facility between friends and family.

    Netflix will add an extra payment to add more users to an account.

    Director of product innovation in Netflix, Chengyi Long said, “While [separate profiles and multiple streams] have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared.”

    He further continued, “As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

    Netflix is conducting a first experiment phase in three countries which includes Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

    The streaming platform will send notifications to subscribers regarding options to add households to an account with discounted prices which are 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica and 7.9 PEN in Peru.

    Then, subscribers will have the option to turn the viewing profiles either into a new account or an extra member account.

    Long also talked about future plans, “We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world.”