International

Ecuador declares state of emergency in three provinces amid Indigenous protests

AFP

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in three provinces late Friday in response to sometimes violent protests by Indigenous people demanding cuts in fuel prices.

“I am committed to defending our capital and our country,” Lasso said on television. One of the three provinces includes the capital Quito.

The decree enables the president to call out the armed forces to maintain order, suspend civil rights and declare curfews.

Indigenous people, who make up over a million of Ecuador’s 17.7 million inhabitants, launched an open-ended anti-government protest Monday that has since been joined by students, workers and other supporters.

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They have blocked roads across the country including highways leading into Quito.

Clashes with security forces during the protests have left at least 43 people injured and 37 have been arrested.

To ease grassroots anger, Lasso also announced in his address late Friday a small increase in a monthly subsidy paid to Ecuador’s poorest, as well as a program to ease the debt of those who have loans from state-run banks.

Oil producer Ecuador has been hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lasso, a rightwing ex-banker who took office a year ago, had met Thursday with Indigenous leaders to assuage discontent but the discussions apparently yielded nothing.

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The powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which called for the protests, has said it would maintain the blockades until the government meets a list of 10 demands.

Fuel prices in Ecuador have risen sharply since 2020, almost doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon (3.8 liters) and rising from $1.75 to $2.55 for petrol.

Conaie — which has been credited with helping topple three Ecuadoran presidents between 1997 and 2005 — wants the price reduced to $1.50 for diesel and $2.10 for petrol, a demand the government has so far rejected.

Its other demands include food price controls and renegotiating the personal bank loans of some four million families.

Producers of flowers, one of Ecuador’s main exports, complained Friday that due to the roadblocks, their wares were rotting.

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International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.