International
3 dead, 3 missing after avalanche on Ecuador volcano: officials
AFP
An avalanche Sunday on a snow-capped Ecuadoran volcano, the highest peak in the country, killed at least three climbers and left three others missing, officials reported.
The avalanche struck a group of 16 mountaineers while at an altitude of 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) on the dormant Chimborazo volcano, according to responders.
“There are three missing mountaineers, three dead, three injured and seven rescued, out of a total of 16 people,” Quito firefighters, who provided emergency support, said in a statement.
A previous report from the country’s ECU911 security service had said four climbers had died and one was injured.
Authorities did not identify the climbers or their nationalities, but the Quito newspaper El Comercio reported that all were Ecuadoran.
The avalanche was spurred by “weather conditions” and was not caused by any volcanic activity, according to the firefighters.
Rescuers as well as police and military personnel specialized in high-elevation operations set up a command center at Chimborazo to coordinate search-and-rescue operations.
The volcano, which rises more than 6,200 meters high, is covered in snow and glaciers year-round and is located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Quito.
Chimborazo attracts both Ecuadoran and foreign climbers. The towns of Riobamba and Ambato lie at its base.
Ecuador’s Environment Ministry temporarily closed the surrounding Chimborazo nature reserve, which is popular with tourists. Despite the volcano’s constant snow, it is not frequented by skiers.
The volcano has seen a number of deadly accidents in recent decades.
In 2003, the remnants of an Ecuadoran plane that crashed in 1976 with 59 people on board were found by climbers about 700 meters from the summit.
The plane had collided into a stone wall on Chimborazo, and had been covered by an avalanche.
In 2015 the remains of three climbers, believed to have disappeared 20 to 30 years ago, were discovered at about 5,500 meters.
And in 1994 an avalanche left 10 people dead, including one Swiss and six French nationals.
Chimborazo last erupted sometime between the beginning of the 5th and end of the 7th century, according to the Geophysical Institute of Quito, which said the interval between eruptions is approximately 1,000 years.
The volcano’s ice-capped summit, steep slope and its location near populated areas including towns, make it a high-risk area, according to the institute.
Chimborazo’s summit is the farthest point from the center of the Earth, at 6.38 million meters.
International
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Thirteen members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) have been reported “missing” following an explosion at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the eastern part of the island, the military institution announced.
“As a result of the explosions at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the Melones community… in the province of Holguín, 730 km east of Havana,” two officers, two non-commissioned officers, and nine soldiers are reported as “missing,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces released by Cuban state television.
The statement specified that “investigations are still ongoing at the site,” which led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 residents from areas near the warehouse of a military unit where “aged ammunition was being classified.”
Neither the official press nor Cuban state television have provided images of the explosions at the military unit, but independent media outlets published photos online showing a massive column of smoke and police officers deployed in the streets of the Melones community.
International
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to justify implementing a package of universal tariffs on both allied and adversary countries, according to CNN.
The proclamation of these measures would grant the incoming U.S. president the freedom to create a new tariff program using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
This move would give the president the authority to manage imports during a national emergency.
According to the report, Trump has a penchant for this law as it provides broad jurisdiction on how tariffs are implemented without strict requirements to prove they are necessary for national security reasons.
International
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Enrique Márquez, a minority opposition candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 elections, was “arbitrarily detained,” denounced a political coalition he is part of and his wife, who described the action as “kidnapping.”
Since Tuesday night, there has been a wave of reports of detentions, with at least a dozen arrests just over 48 hours before President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration for a third six-year term, following a controversial reelection.
“We inform that yesterday, 07.01.25, Enrique Márquez was arbitrarily detained,” stated the Popular Democratic Front (FDP).
“He was kidnapped by paramilitary groups who, using force as their law, aim to silence and intimidate those of us who want a better country and have a different vision,” said his wife, Sonia Lugo de Márquez, on the leader’s X account.
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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