International

Trump, Clinton, Sanders: Who’s the most authentic New Yorker?

by Brigitte DUSSEAU NEW York, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common: they are all New Yorkers and have been proudly professing their links to America’s largest city ahead of the state’s key primary election on Tuesday. They have tried to portray themselves as authentic locals and defended the “New York values” that Republican candidate Ted Cruz of Texas has derided throughout the campaign. But the […]

Colombia sends search and rescue workers and aid for quake

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos bid farewell on Sunday (April 17) to 65 search and rescue experts heading to Ecuador where Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake left at least 246 dead and has caused aftershocks so strong that one caused the evacuation of a hospital in neighbouring Colombia. The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, causing panic as […]

Uruguay storms kill seven, displace 3,600

COLONIA Suiza, Uruguay (AFP) — Storms and floods in Uruguay have killed seven people and driven 3,600 from their homes in recent days, authorities said Sunday. Four people were killed when a storm struck the western city of Dolores on Friday and three others were later found to have died when trying to cross flooded rivers in the region, according to a government toll. President Tabare Vazquez declared Sunday a day of national mourning. “We are […]

Victims of Ecuador’s earthquake beg vice-president for help

PORTOVIEJO, MANABI, Ecuador (Reuters) – As the death toll from Ecuador’s biggest earthquake in decades soared to at least 246 on Sunday (April 17), desperate victims begged Vice President Jorge Glass to help find their missing relatives as rescuers using tractors and bare hands hunted desperately for survivors in shattered coastal towns. The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, causing […]

Ecuador digs for survivors of quake that killed 246

by Santiago Piedra Silva with Florence Panoussian in Guayaquil Rescuers in Ecuador burrowed through deep rubble Sunday in an increasingly desperate attempt to find survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 246 people and allowed scores of inmates to escape prison. About 2,500 people were injured when the strong 7.8-magnitude quake hit Saturday evening, Vice President Jorge Glas said, a sharp rise over the previous official figure of 1,557 hurt when buildings came crashing […]

UPDATE: Ecuador quake toll rises to 233 dead: president

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — At least 233 people have been killed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador’s Pacific coast, President Rafael Correa said Sunday. “The official figure of the number killed has risen to 233,” Correa said on his Twitter account. Officials had previously put the toll of Saturday’s quake at 77 dead and nearly 600 injured. The quake, which struck at 2358 GMT Saturday about 170 kilometers northwest of Quito, lasted about a […]

Powerful Ecuador quake kills at least 77

by Paola Lopez QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — At least 77 people were killed when a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, destroying buildings and a bridge and sending terrified residents scrambling from their homes, authorities in the Latin American country said Sunday. Vice President Jorge Glas said the death toll will likely rise further in what he called the “worst seismic movement we have faced in decades.” The quake, which struck at 2358 GMT Saturday about 170 […]

UPDATE: Big Ecuador quake kills at least 41

by Paola Lopez QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — At least 41 people were killed when a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, destroying buildings and sending terrified residents dashing from their homes, authorities said late Saturday. “Oh, my God, it was the biggest and strongest earthquake I have felt in my whole life. It lasted a long time, and I was feeling dizzy,” said Maria Torres, 60, in the capital Quito, where people fled their homes during Saturday […]

Ecuadorean Vice President reports deaths, damage following earthquake; at least 28 killed

(REUTERS) — At least 28 people died in Ecuador when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the country’s northwest Pacific coast late on Saturday (April 16), causing “considerable damage” near the epicenter as well as in the largest city of Guayaquil. The Andean nation’s government recommended residents leave coastal areas over concern for rising tides following the quake. Alarmed residents streamed into the streets of the capital Quito, hundreds of kilometers (miles) away, and other towns […]

Rescuers race against landslides to reach Japan quake victims; death toll reaches 41

by Harumi Ozawa Mashiki, Japan (AFP) – Rescuers were racing against the weather and the threat of more landslides Sunday to reach people still trapped by two big earthquakes that hit southern Japan. At last 41 people are known to have died in the double disaster, with at least six still missing — feared buried in shattered houses or under torrents of mud. Heavy rain was lashing the area around Kumamoto, where officials have warned quake-loosened hillsides could […]

Updated: Powerful 7.8 earthquake rocks Ecuador: USGS

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported, with the tremor strongly felt in the capital Quito as a tsumani warning was also issued for local coasts. “Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. With a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), the quake struck at 2358 GMT […]