29, September 2021
24 dead in Ecuador prison gun battle 0
At least 24 prisoners were killed in a battle between inmates equipped with firearms and grenades at a prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, officials said Tuesday.
The national bureau of prisons (SNAI) confirmed the death toll in a statement and updated an earlier toll of wounded to 48 from 42.
The regional police commander, General Fausto Buenano, said that toll included prisoners shot to death and killed by detonating hand grenades.
President Guillermo Lasso re-tweeted an announcement from the prison bureau saying order “has been restored at the Littoral Penitentiary after the Tuesday incidents.”
Ecuador’s prison system has become a battle ground between prisoners linked to Mexican drug gangs — mainly the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port city, is a major hub for shipping South American cocaine to points north, especially the United States.
Last week, police confiscated two pistols, a revolver, some 500 rounds of ammunition, a hand grenade, several knives, two sticks of dynamite and homemade explosives at one of the Guayaquil prisons.
Two weeks ago, Guayaquil’s Prison Number 4 was attacked by drones, part of “a war between international cartels,” prison authorities said. There were no casualties in the attack.
Ecuador’s prison system has about 60 facilities designed for 29,000 inmates, but is burdened by overcrowding and staffing shortages.
The country’s human rights ombudsman said there were 103 killings in prisons in 2020.
Twenty-seven inmates died in prison riots in two jails in July, in an incident that forced the government to declare a state of emergency.
Source: AFP
1, October 2021
EU postpones trade talks with Australia amid submarine row 0
A long-planned round of Australia-EU free trade talks have been postponed, a European official confirmed Friday, after fury over Canberra’s decision to cancel a major French submarine contract.
“The FTA trade round has been postponed for a month until November,” an EU official in Canberra told AFP, throwing the future of the far-reaching pact into doubt.
Australia last month abruptly cancelled a multibillion-dollar contract for 12 French submarines, opting to buy nuclear-powered US-designed vessels instead.
The decision prompted a major diplomatic spat with one of the European Union’s largest members and now appears to have hit ties with the entire bloc.
France has publicly said it can no longer trust Australia’s government, accusing officials of lying and questioning whether the trade agreement can go ahead.
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan, who was scheduled to travel to Europe for the talks, played down the decision in a statement to AFP.
“We understand the French reaction to our submarine decision but ultimately any nation must act in its national interest — which is what Australia has done,” he said.
Tehan indicated he plans to meet EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis next week to discuss what would be the 12th round of negotiations.
“We will continue preparing for the 12th round of negotiations and working towards concluding a free trade agreement that is in the interests of both Australia and the EU.”
The EU is Australia’s third-biggest trading partner.
In 2020, the trade in goods between the two economies was valued at 36 billion euros ($42.4 billion) and at 26 billion euros in services.
The next round of talks was due to cover areas including trade, services, investment and intellectual property rights.
Source: AFP