MOSCOW, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday begins a three-nation trip to Latin America to beef up trade ties with the region's emerging markets, with a first stop in Peru.

Lavrov is the first Russian foreign minister to visit Peru, a foreign ministry statement said Monday. He will then go on to Uruguay and Paraguay and return on Thursday.

'This visit will give a fresh impetus to commercial cooperation and trade ties to bring the volume to its true potential,' said ministry spokesman Mikhail Kaminin.

MONTEVIDEO, July 25, 2007 (AFP) - More than 40 oil-covered penguins found on the coast of Uruguay have been scrubbed clean and will be returned to the wild next week, animal protection activists said Wednesday.

The group Profauna said roughly 45 of the birds ended up on Uruguay`s shores in recent days, and that last year more than 200 were identified.

Oil coating a penguins` plumage reduces the insulating effect of the feathers, putting oil-slickened birds at risk of hypothermia.