GUILLERMO LASSO

The White House says Jill Biden will visit Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica this week as the United States finalizes plans for a hemisphere-wide summit to be held in Los Angeles in June.

A “significant number of inmates” have escaped, the interior minister said at a news conference.

Ecuadorian legislators have approved a measure setting regulations for terminating pregnancies resulting from rape

Ecuadorian legislators approved a measure Thursday setting regulations for terminating pregnancies resulting from rape, following a Constitutional Court ruling that decriminalized such abortions. Previously, Ecuador allowed abortions only when a woman's life was endangered by pregnancy. The Constitutional Court ruled last April that abortions in rape cases must be decriminalized, but left it to the legislature to implement regulations.

The U.S., Britain and a handful of others aren’t sending dignitaries to the Beijing Winter Games as part of a diplomatic boycott, but the Chinese capital is still attracting an array of world leaders for Friday’s opening ceremony.

President Biden issued a stark warning to Vladimir Putin over the Russian threat of an invasion in Ukraine. Also, daily COVID-19 deaths have reached their highest numbers in nearly a year. All that and all that matters in today’s Eye Opener.

Ecuador will expand protection around the Galapagos Island, safeguarding a critical migration route for sharks, fish and other marine life.

With hopes of eradicating AIDS badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, we look at the fight against the deadly condition since its emergence 40 years ago, as the planet marks World AIDS Day on Wednesday.

Ecuador Prison EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of a prisoner lies next to police on the roof of the Litoral penitentiary the morning after riots broke out inside the jail in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. The killing erupted before dawn at the prison in the coastal city of Guayaquil in what officials said was the latest outbreak of fighting among prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. The bloodshed came less than two months after fighting among gangs killed 119 people at the prison, which houses more than 8,000 inmates. The bloody fighting inside Litoral prison that killed 119 inmates in late September was described by authorities as the South American country’s worst ever prison massacre. Arosemena said authorities in Ecuador will deal with the prison overcrowding by granting pardons, relocating inmates and transferring some foreign inmates back to their homelands.

(AP Photo/Jose Sanchez) (Jose Sanchez)QUITO, Ecuador — (AP) — A prolonged gun battle between rival gangs inside Ecuador’s largest prison early Saturday left at least 58 inmates dead in the latest violence to hit the Litoral Penitentiary, which recently saw the country’s worst prison bloodbath. The fighting lasted for almost eight hours in the lockup in the coastal city of Guayaquil and authorities attributed the fighting to prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. In late September, a battle among gang members in Litoral prison killed at least 118 people in what authorities described as the South American country’s worst prison massacre. Outside the Litoral prison on Saturday, relatives of inmates gathered for news of their loved ones. According to prison services’ data, the Litoral prison was designed to hold only 5,000 people.

A prolonged gunbattle between rival gangs inside Ecuador’s largest prison has killed at least 68 inmates and wounded 25, and authorities say it took most of the day to regain control.

Videos circulating on social media purporting to be from inside the prison showed bodies, some burned, lying on the ground. The prison violence comes amid a national state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso in October that empowers security forces to fight drug trafficking and other crimes. Ecuador’s penitentiaries are seeing a wave of brutal violence authorities attribute to prison gangs linked to international drug cartels fighting for control. In late September, a battle among gang members in Litoral prison killed at least 118 people and injured 79 in what authorities described as the South American country’s worst prison massacre. Outside the Litoral prison on Saturday, relatives of inmates gathered for news of their loved ones.

Climate COP26 Summit Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso delivers his message during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Experts says oceans are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the Galapagos Islands are considered one of the world’s biodiversity jewels. They have been bonded by years of Zoom calls and collaboration in the fight against climate change. Christian pastors have joined forces with Native American tribes to protect their hurricane-prone coastal lands as climate change contributes to rising sea levels. Biden is attending a U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, for a second and final day Tuesday.

The British government plans to make the U.K. “the world’s first net-zero aligned financial center” as companies and investors seek to profit from the drive to build a low-carbon economy.

Ecuador-Sprinter Killed FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2019. file photo, Alex Quiñónez, of Ecuador, gestures after a men's 200 meter heat at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Olympic sprinter Alex Quiñónez was fatally shot in the port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador on Friday night, Oct. 22, 2021, police said. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (Petr David Josek)GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — (AP) — Ecuadorian sprinter Alex Quiñónez was fatally shot in the port city of Guayaquil, police said early Saturday. Quiñónez's death was also confirmed by the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee Olympic Committee in a statement on Saturday. Andrea Sotomayor, the secretary general of the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee, expressed her sorrow and outrage on Twitter, decrying “so much evil."

Police say Ecuadorian sprinter Alex Quiñónez was fatally shot in the port city of Guayaquil.

The amount of wealth being hidden in the Mount Rushmore State — safe from taxes, creditors and even child support — has quadrupled in a decade.

A huge leak of financial documents puts the spotlight on the hidden assets of the rich and powerful.

Hundreds of world leaders, past and present, and business moguls slammed for dodging tax laws: "This is where our missing hospitals are," says one charity.

Calls are growing for an end to the financial secrecy and shell companies that have allowed many of the world’s richest and most powerful people to hide their wealth from tax collectors.

Hundreds of world leaders, past and present, and business moguls slammed for dodging tax laws: "This is where our missing hospitals are," says one charity.

Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century.

At least 116 people were killed and 80 were injured Tuesday in an Ecuadorian prison riot that stood witness to five beheadings, said officials in the South American country.

Officials said the battle among gang members in a coastal lockup, which included at least 5 beheadings, was the country's worst prison bloodbath ever.

Ecuador's president has declared a state of emergency in the prison system, blaming the violence on rival gangs. The prison near Guayaquil holds nearly 10,000 inmates.

Ecuador Prison Violence Women hug while waiting for some information about their relatives who are inmates at Litoral Penitentiary, after a prison riot, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The authorities report at least 100 dead and 52 injured in the riot on Tuesday at the prison. Ecuador's president said that care points had been set up for relatives of the inmates with food and psychological support. In July, the president decreed another state of emergency in Ecuador’s prison system following several violent episodes that resulted in more than 100 inmates being killed. In July, 22 more prisoners lost their lives in the Litoral penitentiary, while in September a penitentiary center was attacked by drones leaving no fatalities.

Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency in the prison system following a battle among gang members in a coastal lockup that killed at least 118 people and injured 79.

APTOPIX Ecuador Prison Violence A relative of an inmate awaits news outside the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The authorities report at least 100 dead and 52 injured in a riot on Tuesday in the prison. President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency in Ecuador's prison system, allowing the government to deploy the police and soldiers to penitentiaries among other powers. He added that a $24 million program to address the country's prisons will be accelerated, starting with investments in infrastructure and technology in the Litoral prison. In July, 22 more prisoners lost their lives in the Litoral penitentiary, while in September a penitentiary center was attacked by drones leaving no fatalities.

A battle between gangs in a prison in Ecuador killed at least 116 people and injured 80 in what authorities are calling the worst penitentiary massacre in the country’s history.

It was the third in a series of deadly prison riots in the past year prompted by feuds between rival drug gangs.

The U.N. General Assembly is unfolding this week under a thundercloud of deep pessimism.

Emma Raducanu first met Leylah Fernandez at a tournament for players 12 and under.

A leftist political novice who has promised to be a champion of his country’s poor has been sworn in as Peru’s new president.

Ecuador Prison Violence People wait outside Litoral Penitentiary for news of their incarcerated family members after deadly fights inside the jail in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Rival gangs of inmates fought in two prisons in Ecuador, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens, authorities said Thursday. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) (Dolores Ochoa)QUITO, Ecuador — (AP) — Ecuador's president declared a state of emergency Thursday in the country's prisons following fighting between rival gangs that killed 22 inmates and injured dozens. Riots and deadly clashes in prisons in Ecuador are relatively frequent. In February, fighting in Ecuadorian prisons killed about 80 prisoners.

Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency in the country’s prisons following fighting between rival gangs that killed 22 inmates and injured dozens.

Hopes for a sustained democratic rebirth in the seven Andean nations have waned, again.

Ecuador Presidential Inauguration Ecuador's new President Guillermo Lasso wears the presidential sash after his inauguration ceremony outside the National Assembly in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) (Dolores Ochoa)QUITO, Ecuador — (AP) — Former banker Guillermo Lasso was sworn in as president of Ecuador on Monday, saying he will escalate efforts to vaccinate people to protect them from COVID-19 and work to revive an economy hit hard by the pandemic. “It will not be a government that only promises,″ said 65-year-old Lasso, who was elected in April in his third run for the presidency, replacing President Lenín Moreno. In the runoff election, Lasso defeated Andrés Arauz, a protégé of former President Rafael Correa who governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017. His inauguration was attended by dignitaries including Spanish King Felipe VI, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise.

Former banker Guillermo Lasso was sworn in as president of Ecuador, saying he will escalate efforts to vaccinate people to protect them from COVID-19 and work to revive an economy hit hard by the pandemic.

The new president faces a divided Congress and plenty of economic challenges amid the Covid pandemic.

Ecuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters rebuffed a left-leaning movement that yielded an economic boom and then a recession since taking hold of the presidency last decade.

Voters in Ecuador appear to have turned to a conservative businessman in their presidential runoff election, rebuffing a leftist movement that has held the presidency for over a decade while ushering in an economic boom and then a yearslong recession.

Voters go to the polls in Ecuador and Peru on Sunday in contentious elections shaped by fallout from the pandemic.

A surging pandemic that has brought new lockdown measures has pushed the upcoming elections to the background for many weary voters in the neighboring South American nations of Ecuador and Peru.

It remains undecided which of the two has the votes to advance to the run-off race in April to face frontrunner Andres Arauz. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)QUITO – Final results from a Feb. 7 presidential election in Ecuador confirmed that former banker Guillermo Lasso came second behind leading candidate Andrés Arauz, meaning the two will contest a runoff vote in April, election officials said Sunday. Pérez alleged fraud after the results that indicated he had fallen just short of defeating Lasso and making it to the runoff. The council “may declare fraudulent electoral results, but the true results are in the hearts of Ecuadorians who supported a new political project that reflects the dreams of a dignified and honest Ecuador,” Pérez tweeted. Indigenous communities led protests in October 2019 that forced Ecuador’s government to back down on a move to end fuel subsidies.

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)QUITO – A young leftist backed by a convicted-but-popular former president led the field of 16 candidates in early returns from Ecuador’s presidential election Sunday, which was held under strict sanitary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Arauz got 31.5% of the votes, while Pérez had 20.04% and Lasso had 19.97%, according to the Electoral Council of Ecuador. To win outright, a candidate needed 50% of the vote, or to have at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the closest opponent. Pérez's challenge to grab second place surprised some observers as he had trailed behind Arauz and Lasso in pre-election polls. That conviction barred him from running as Arauz's vice presidential candidate.

Supporters of presidential candidate Yaku Perez, representing the Indigenous party Pachakutik, take part in a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Voters in Ecuador are heading to the polls to pick a new president amid a deepening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)QUITO – Evidence of the crisis in Ecuador is everywhere: shuttered restaurants, soaring oxygen tank prices and countless “for sale” and “for rent” signs hanging from buildings. Jaramillo said the top two challenges for Ecuador’s next president go hand in hand: A proper vaccination campaign of the majority of the population will be necessary to start the country’s economic recovery. The pandemic paralyzed 70% of businesses last year and left 600,000 unemployed, bringing the country’s unemployment rate to almost 68%.