Marauding Europeans are nothing new to the Galapagos Islands, which long ago were the haunt of English pirates preying on Spanish galleons laden with Inca gold. But Ecuador, which owns the archipelago, may soon have to take action against menacing outsiders, realising foreigners with cameras are every bit as dangerous as those with cutlasses.
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/ 25 January 2007
Ecuador’s first female defence minister was killed on Wednesday after only nine days in office in a mid-air collision of two helicopters, government and military officials said. The accident in the Andean nation further rocks the leftist government of President Rafael Correa, who has clashed with Congress over his executive powers.
The eruption of Tungurahua in Ecuador has left 20 000 people living in the shadow of the volcano in urgent need of assistance, Red Cross officials said on Saturday. Ecuadorean President Alfredo Palacio has appealed to the international community for donations of money and material aid.
Blanca Hernandez sobbed as she recalled how the uncle she was mourning had been buried by lava while trying to save a television during the eruption of Ecuador’s ”throat of fire” volcano. At least five people were killed, 13 more were injured and entire villages were buried under ash and lava.
About sixty people were missing and 13 others injured after southern Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano erupted violently early on Thursday, unleashing its highest level of activity since 1999, a local official said. ”There are approximately 60 people missing in the highest-risk area and six others wounded in Penipe,” Penipe mayor Juan Salazar told Ecuavisa television.
Ousted Ecuadorean president Lucio Gutierrez flew into exile in Brazil on Sunday, four days after being toppled in a popular revolt. The former army colonel left his refuge at the Brazilian embassy in Quito just before dawn. Protests against his rule continued up until the moment of his departure.
Former Ecuadorean president Lucio Gutierrez was waiting on Thursday for permission to leave for political asylum in Brazil, after Congress sacked him for violently crushing a demonstration and swore in Vice-President Alfredo Palacio to replace him as head of state.