International

18 Ecuadoran police ‘missing’ after attack on station

AFP

Eighteen police officers are “missing” following an attack by Indigenous protesters on a police station in Ecuador’s eastern Amazon region, the interior minister said on Wednesday.

Another six officers were “seriously injured” and three more detained by the protesters, said Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo.

A protester also died in the attack in the Amazonian city of Puyo, a five-hour drive south of Quito, the government said on Tuesday night, bringing the death toll in 10 days of Indigenous-led anti-government protests to two.

“The mob began setting fires with police still inside patrol cars, began looting, burning public-private facilities such as the Guayaquil Bank, Red Cross, until they ended up torching the police facilities in the center of the city,” said Carrillo.

20260212_constancia_pagos_mh_728x90

On Wednesday, the government refused a key demand by Indigenous protesters to lift the state of emergency in six of Ecuador’s 24 provinces.

Some 10,000 Indigenous people have mobilized in the capital over the last 10 days to demand a reduction in fuel prices.

But there have been violent clashes between protesters and security forces, leaving 90 civilians and 100 police officers injured, with authorities arresting more than 80 people.

On Monday one protester died after falling into a ravine outside of Quito.

Police described the incident as an accident, but the public prosecutor’s office has opened a murder investigation.

20260212_constancia_pagos_mh_728x90

The protester who died on Tuesday in the attack on the police station was killed “handling an explosive device,” police said.

A lawyer for the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations told AFP he was “hit in the face, apparently with a tear gas bomb.”

Quito was relatively calm on Wednesday morning.

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.

20260212_constancia_pagos_mh_728x90

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.

20260212_constancia_pagos_mh_728x90

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.

20260212_constancia_pagos_mh_728x90

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.