Independent Online News
Guayaquil eerily quiet as armed forces patrol in wake of stunning wave of arson, bombings and prison riots that killed as many as 15
Tom Phillips in Guayaquil
Ecuador’s largest city has been transformed into a virtual ghost town by a stunning wave of criminal violence that prompted the South American country’s recently elected president to declare his country was in “a state of war”.… Read the rest
Human Rights Watch’s annual report highlights politicians’ double standards and ‘transactional diplomacy’ amid escalating crises
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Human rights across the world are in a parlous state as leaders shun their obligations to uphold international law, according to the annual report of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Huge manhunt under way after Adolfo Macías of Los Choneros disappears from cell and guards taken hostage amid prison riots
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency after one of the country’s most dangerous criminals vanished from his cell and prison guards were overpowered and taken hostage amid riots at prisons across the country.
Eight people were in induced comas after the Hardmission event at Flemington on Satuday
The suspected MDMA overdoses at a Melbourne music festival that left eight young people in medically induced comas over the weekend has sparked renewed calls for nationwide pill-testing programs.
Animals have been popping up on golf courses and surfing contests in Dunedin as they reestablish a foothold on the South Island
Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington
A growing population of sea lions in the New Zealand city of Dunedin is provoking “overlapping chaos” as their breeding season coincides with residents enjoying peak summer weather.… Read the rest