NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Ecuador unrest: Thousands of protesters streamed into downtown Quito on Wednesday, the seventh day of violent unrest that has brought the country to a virtual standstill, has led to the arrest of hundreds and has threatened the government’s stability. President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador arrived in Quito, the capital, on Wednesday afternoon to meet with leaders of the protest movement, which was ignited by the government’s decision last week to eliminate a popular fuel subsidy program. Protesters also staged antigovernment rallies in cities nationwide, often barricading roads. The demonstrations have been so fierce that Moreno this week moved the seat of government from Quito to the coastal city of Guayaquil, more than 150 miles away, the first time in over 100 years that it had been moved from the capital. More than 700 people have been arrested nationwide over the past week of protests.
2 Candidate freed: Tunisian presidential candidate and media mogul Nabil Karoui left a prison Wednesday where he has been jailed since August, welcomed by a crowd of joyous supporters just four days before the presidential runoff election. Karoui, under investigation for money laundering and tax fraud, had been pressing along with his party to be set free so he can campaign on an equal footing with his rival. He says the allegations amount to a politically motivated smear campaign. Karoui, owner of the private Nessma TV station, is facing independent law Professor Kais Saied in Tunisia’s presidential runoff election on Sunday. Saied had said he wouldn’t campaign as long as his rival was in jail. Karoui’s release came shortly before Tunisia’s electoral body announced that his secular Heart of Tunisia party won 38 seats in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, finishing second to the Islamist party Ennahda’s 52 seats.
3 Extortion schemes: Business and church leaders say they are being hit by a wave of extortion demands by criminal gangs in Mexico’s northcentral state of Guanajuato, which was recently considered a Mexican success story for attracting hightech manufacturing investment, including five auto assembly plants. But after the federal government’s crackdown on pipeline fuel thefts early this year, gangs began targeting local businesses and priests in the city of Celaya for shakedowns.
4 Ukraine prosecutor: Ukraine has appointed a man who exposed underthetable payments to Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort as a senior prosecutor. Analysts say the appointment Tuesday of Viktor Trepak as deputy national prosecutor this week is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s attempt to play both sides of the American political divide. Trump pressed Zelensky in a July phone call to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The call helped prompt a congressional impeachment inquiry of Trump.
5 Measles deaths: More than 4,000 people have died in Congo this year in the world’s largest measles outbreak, the U.N. children’s agency said Wednesday. The Central African nation is also battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed about half that number since August 2018. Since January, more than 200,000 cases of measles have been reported across Congo, UNICEF said. More than 140,000 involve children under 5, who also make up nearly 90% of deaths.
Chronicle News Services