The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ecuador

  • Gunmen storm Ecuador television studio live on air

    Gunmen storm Ecuador television studio live on air

    A group of armed men have broken into a live television studio in Ecuador and threatened staff, footage shows. 

    A live broadcast by station TC in the city of Guayaquil was interrupted yesterday by the group, who were wearing hoods and carrying guns. 

    Staff were forced on to the floor before the live feed cut out. 

    A 60-day state of emergency began in Ecuador on Monday after a convicted gang leader vanished from his prison cell. 

    The hooded men were seen leaving the TC studios, with police seen entering the set about 30 minutes after the gunmen first appeared.

    National police units in Quito and Guayaquil have been deployed to the scene.

    The country’s National Police Force said in an update on X, formerly Twitter, that staff had been evacuated from the studio.

    Read Also: Ecuadorian terminates Mati ‘s stay at WTT Singapore Smash

    Following the incident, President Daniel Noboa signed an Executive Order declaring an internal armed conflict and listed several organised crime groups as “terrorist organisations” and “non-state actors”.

    At least seven police officers have been kidnapped by gang members since the state of emergency was declared.

    The measures were introduced by President Noboa after the boss of the Los Choneros gang disappeared from a maximum security jail on Sunday.

    Nearly 40 other inmates, including another convicted drug lord, broke out from another prison in the city of Riobamba in the early hours of Tuesday.

     It is not clear at this stage whether the storming of the television station is linked to the prison escape, but it is an example of the deteriorating security situation in the country.

  • Nigeria, Ecuador to sign visa free deal

    The Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Deopoldo Rovayo, says his country and Nigeria have agreed to sign a visa free agreement to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

    Rovavo made the announcement in Abuja when he paid a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olukunle Bamgbose.

    He said the purpose of his visit was to strengthen bilateral ties between his country and Nigeria, especially in the communication sector.

    According to him, it is also to initiate an agreement between the two nations to enable their nationals visit each other’s country without having to apply for visa.

    He said this was necessary because the number of Nigerians in Ecuador were now increasing more than before.

    The envoy said that there were approximately about one thousand Nigerians living in Ecuador and that the number would continue to rise.

    Bamgbose assured the envoy that the Federal Government would work with Ecuador on how to implement the non-visa agreement.

    He said that the two countries agreed on how they could strengthen ties as both nations were witnessing increases in trade.

    According to him, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product is stabilising and growing.

    Bamgbose said that in the next two to three years, the growth of the Nigerian economy would surpass that of most countries in Latin America.

  • Nigeria, Ecuador to sign visa free deal

    The Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Deopoldo Rovayo, said on Wednesday his country and Nigeria have agreed to sign a visa free agreement to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

    Rovavo disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olukunle Bamgbose.

    He said the purpose of his visit was to strengthen bilateral ties between his country and Nigeria, especially in the communication sector.

    The envoy also said both countries have initiated an agreement to enable their nationals visit each other’s country without having to apply for visa.

    He said this was necessary because the number of Nigerians in Ecuador has been increasing in recent time.

    The envoy said about 1000 Nigerians are living in Ecuador, adding that the number would continue to rise.

    Bamgbose assured the envoy that the Federal Government would work with Ecuador on the non-visa agreement.

     

  • Messi: I hope football repays its debt to me

    Messi: I hope football repays its debt to me

    Lionel Messi has revealed that he still bears the sad memory of losing the 2014 World Cup but hopes Russia 2018 brings good tidings for him.

    The Barcelona forward led a team of Argentine players that had lost three cup finals – 2014 World Cup lost to Germany and back to back Copa America final lost to Chile.

    The five-time Ballon D’or winner was instrumental for his country who almost missed the chance of qualifying for Russia 2018 – scoring three goals against Ecuador.

    After Argentina 3-0 win of Ecuador, head coach, Jorge Sampaoli said that “football owes Messi a World cup.

    When Messi was asked to comment on his coach assertion that football owes him a World Cup in an exclusive interview with fifa.com, the Argentine captain laughingly agreed with his coach.

    ”Yes, I did hear it, and he said it to me too. I hope football does end up paying me! (laughs).”

    Meanwhile, Messi has said that his side 4-2 loss to the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a friendly match last month would count for nothing when the two sides lock horns once again in Russia next year.

    Speaking on Argentina’s Group D opponents in Russia 2018,  Messi added:  “Nigeria one day they score four goals, the next one, they leave plenty spaces for you to do anything.

    (Iceland) “Might seem easy, but they are tough and well organised on defence.

    (Croatia) “They give you more room to play, but have great players.”

     

     

  • Earthquake along Ecuador’s coast kills two, halts refinery

    A 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador’s Pacific coast early on Monday, killing at least two people, injuring 15 others and halting production at the Esmeraldas oil refinery, officials said.

    The country’s geological institute recorded the quake off the coast of Atacames in Esmeraldas province, northwest of Quito, the capital.

    The quake was followed by 15 lesser-magnitude aftershocks. President Rafael Correa was meeting with local officials in the area, which earlier this year was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude quake that killed about 670 people, displaced thousands and caused millions of dollars in damage.

    “We regret that a 75-year-old woman suffered a heart attack because of the quake,” National Risk Management Secretary Susana Duenas told local

    radio.

    There were no immediate details on the second person killed.

    The Esmeraldas refinery, which has a 110,000-barrel-per-day capacity, was halted as a precaution, Pedro Merizalde, head of state oil

    company Petroecuador, told media.

    Merizalde said refinery infrastructure would be checked over and that the stoppage would last about two days.

    Authorities said three hotels in the area, a popular tourist destination, were destroyed, and other buildings sustained substantial damage.

    (Rueters/NAN)

  • Ecuador quake leaves 272 dead

    Ecuador quake leaves 272 dead

    Nothing less than  272 were left dead in Ecuador’s biggest earthquake  which occur in the early hours on Sunday.

    Ecuador Vice President, Jorge Glas had earlier confirmed that  246 had died and more than 2,500 people were injured but the death victim had risen to 272 as at Sunday evening.

    Ecuador-earthquake rescuers
    Ecuador rescue team; source- express.com

    The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, causing panic as far away as the highland capital Quito and collapsing buildings and roads in a swath of western towns.

     

    According to the President, Rafael Correa, who was on away trip to Italy, “the immediate priority is to rescue people in the rubble.

     

    ”Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that’s what hurts the most,” he said.

     

    A state of emergency has been declared in six provinces while Authorities reiterated that  there had been 163 aftershocks, mainly in the Pedernales area.

    Government officials have confirmed that about 13,500 security force personnel were mobilized to keep order around Ecuador, and $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency.

     

    According to reports, The earthquake comes after two huge earthquakes struck Japan, sparking tsunami fears and killing 32 and injuring hundreds and left thousands homeless.

     

     

  • Ecuador seeks Nigeria’s support to halt crude price slide

    Ecuador seeks Nigeria’s support to halt crude price slide

    • Proposes cut in production quota

    Ecuador, a major oil producing country has called for the cooperation of Nigeria as part of the efforts to halt the free fall of price of crude oil at the international market.

    Already, Ecuador has proposed a cut in  Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries  (OPEC) daily production quota which currently stand at 30 million barrel per day.

    Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Leopoldo Rovayo Verdesoto who spoke exclusively to our reporter in an interview in Abuja called for a cut in the current OPEC daily quota; stressing that the market was already flooded with the product.

    Verdesoto who happens to be the first ambassador of the South American country to Nigeria presented his Letters of Credence to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in December, 2015.

    The envoy also called for the support of Nigeria in the push for the resuscitation of the OPEC monitoring committee.

    This he said will go a very long way towards halting the free fall of price of the product.

    He argued that Nigeria and Ecuador could play the lead role in  addressing the current situation in the international oil market.

    “Nigeria and Ecuador could make a sign to the market and work towards reducing production on a daily basis,” he said.

    The envoy noted that a proposal to that effect was already been prepared by his country’s minister of petroleum.

    He however said though this is not the only issue affecting the price of crude oil in international market, which includes drop in demands for the product.

    He said, “ what I would like to do is to improve the relationship between both countries in the field of petroleum and as you have known We are both members of OPEC, and there is a lot of work to do because there are lots of interest and even  in OPEC there are different points of views, but it seems that we have to make signs to the market that we could work together to put production in a less daily basis.”

  • Ecuador to host UN Conference

    The United Nations General Assembly has praised the Government of Ecuador for accepting to host the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador on July 17, 2016.

    A statement from Habitat III Secretariat said the objective of Habitat III, which is the third conference in line with the bi-decennial cycle (1976, 1996 and 2016), “would be to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging urban challenges for the establishment of the ‘New Urban Agenda”.

    According to the statement, since 2009, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities. “Today, urban areas are a living combination of history, civilisation, diversity and culture. Urbanisation has been a force that has changed almost everything: ways of thinking and acting, ways of using space, lifestyles, social and economic relations, and consumption and production patterns. Cities, as economic and productive innovation spaces, provide opportunities for improving access to resources and services, as well as options in the social, legal, economic, cultural and environmental fields. Urbanisation has ushered in economic growth, development and prosperity for many,” the statement said.

    It added: “However, cities are also spaces where multidimensional poverty, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to disasters and the impact of climate change are present. Today, more than two thirds of the global population lives in cities with greater levels of inequality than 20 years ago.”

    The statement, quoting Habitat III Secretary-General, Dr. Joan Clos, said: “The conference is a unique opportunity for rethinking the urban agenda in which governments can respond by promoting a new model of urban development able to integrate all facets of sustainable development to promote equity, welfare and shared prosperity.”

    As a sequel to the conference, the second session of the preparatory committee would hold in Nairobi, Kenya, from April 14 to 16, 2015; and the third session would be in Indonesia in July 2016.

  • Ecuador president re-elected

    Ecuador president re-elected

    Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has been re-elected for a third term with more than 50 per cent of the vote.

    BBC says his main challenger has admitted defeat.

    Addressing his supporters in the capital, Quito, Mr. Correa called for “another four years of revolution.”

    First elected in 2007, the socialist leader is widely credited with bringing political stability to a nation that suffered decades of protests and coups.

    But critics accuse Mr. Correa of being a dictator in the making.

    The 49-year-old United States-trained economist has been accused of implementing policies that have served to strengthen his hold on power and erode the influence of political opponents and private media.

    But his so-called “citizens’ revolution” has made him popular with many ordinary Ecuadoreans and has won him friends among other Latin American left-wing leaders.

    Partial results give Mr. Correa 56.7 per cent, ahead of 23.3 per cent for his nearest rival, former banker Guillermo Lasso.

    The third-placed challenger was poised to take 6.6 per cent, with four others trailing below 5 per cent.

    To avoid a run-off, the president needs to win 50 per cent of the total vote or 40 per cent plus a 10-point margin over the second-placed candidate.

    Speaking on TV after 40 per cent of the votes had been counted, the head of the National Electoral Council said the final result would not be significantly larger or smaller.