International
What should you know about the elections in Ecuador?
August 18|
Eight are the candidates of the alliances and political groups that will be facing each other in the upcoming elections in Ecuador scheduled for Sunday, August 20.
In the midst of the most violent electoral campaign in the history of that South American nation, next Sunday will be defined president, vice president, members of the National Assembly and regional and local leaders at national level.
Construye, one of the most mediatic groups after the assassination of its candidate for president, Fernando Villavicencio, ended up formulating its dupla after the atrocious fact by Christian Zurita and Andrea González for vice-president.
Likewise, the conservative side will be represented by the National Democratic Action (ADN) alliance, with Daniel Noboa for president and Veronica Abad, for vice-president.
The group leading the “hard hand” initiative to solve the security problems in Ecuador is headed by the alliance For a country without fear with Jan Topic, for president and Diana Jácome for vice-president.
In this same line of frontal and direct attack against violence and drug trafficking is the Actuemos alliance formed by the binomial of Otto Sonnenholzner and Erika Paredes.
On the other hand, the center-right Movimiento Amigo will be represented by the duo of Bolívar Armijos for head of state and Linda Romero, for vice-president.
Xavier Hervas and Luz Marina Vega are the two members of the center-right Total Renovation Movement (RETO).
Formed by the coalition between Unidad Popular, Partido Socialista Ecuatoriano, and Democracia Sí; the Claro que se puede alliance will be led by Yaku Pérez who came third in the 2021 elections representing Pachakutik and Nory Pinela.
Finally, the duo of Revolución Ciudadana, integrated by Luisa Gonzales and former presidential candidate, this time as vice-presidential candidate, Andres Arauz.
Polls published before August 10 placed this last duo as the favorite with more than 30 percent of the vote intention.
However, the surveys also revealed that the level of indecision is still high and it is not possible to give a clear favorite for these difficult elections.
On the other hand, the new National Assembly will have to position itself at the end of October.
This Thursday began the early elections for the 4,756 citizens enabled to exercise their right to vote, in 39 Social Rehabilitation Centers for which 62 Receiving Boards were enabled in 20 provinces.
For Sunday, the National Electoral Council informed that the timetable for voting within the country is between 7H00 and 17H00 (local time).
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction