September 27, 2005 [LINK]

Earthquake in Peru

The temblor occurred on Sunday evening, registering magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale. It was centered in the remote northern jungles, near the town of Moyobamba, and there seem to be few fatalities thus far. Thousands have been displaced, however, and aftershocks threaten to destroy the flimsy homes that most poor people live in.

Toledo the night owl

When he was running for president against Alberto Fujimori in 2000, Alejandro Toledo was scandalized when photographs of him in a compromising position with a woman were published in local newspapers. He claimed he had been drugged and kidnapped for blackmail purposes, which would not be surprising under the Fujimori government, which went to great lengths to defame opponents. Now, however, it is reported that his credit card records show that he has been a regular customer of the night clubs "of ill repute" where dirty deeds are done. See Peru.com (en español). Toledo was married to an ambitious Belgian woman, Eliane Karp, but they were not regarded as a close couple; indeed, Toledo was forced to acknowledge an illegitimate daughter.

Web site updates

I have begun redoing the photographs on the Latin America country pages. The separate photos have been merged together into a single montage. Also, the Latin America culture page has been updated with a new photo montage and more information on soccer and baseball. I plan to fully update the news chronologies for each country over the next month.