ECUADOR
Impeachment trial to go on
Lawmakers have voted to continue an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso over embezzlement accusations, potentially moving the labyrinthine process toward its final stage. Lasso has denied accusations that he turned a blind eye to alleged embezzlement related to a contract at state-owned oil transportation company Flopec. Under the resolution, which won the approval of 88 of the 116 legislators present, Lasso and his opposition rivals would each testify to the assembly’s plenary and then he would face a final vote which could result in his removal from office.
PANAMA
Darien crossings soar
The number of people arriving in the treacherous Darien Gap linking Panama with Colombia soared last month and early this month, government data show. According to figures from the Ministry of Public Security seen by Reuters on Tuesday, 40,297 migrants reached the country through the jungle connecting it with Colombia last month, up more than six times from the same time last year. Numbers have kept rising, with 16,246 crossings during the first nine days of this month, already surpassing the total of that month last year, reinforcing fears among authorities of a rise in migrant flows to the US as its COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 are lifted. The US, Panama and Colombia on April 11 announced a two-month campaign to tackle undocumented migration through the lawless jungle region. Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said the border would be “chaotic for a while” after Title 42 is lifted at midnight today. He spent more than an hour speaking to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about border security. Lopez Obrador said on Twitter they had discussed their commitment to work together on migration, as well as drugs and arms trafficking. Title 42, in place since 2020, allows US authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico without the chance of seeking US asylum.
UNITED STATES
De Niro welcomes child
Robert De Niro has welcomed another child. The 79-year-old is now the father of seven. A representative for De Niro confirmed the birth to reporters on Tuesday, but said no other details were expected. At a film premiere, De Niro told reporters about becoming a father again: “It’s always good and mysterious and you don’t know what the hell is going to happen.” The Oscar winner is also a parent to Drena, 51, and Raphael, 46, from his first marriage; and twins, Julian and Aaron, 27; Elliot, 24; and Helen Grace, 11, from his second marriage.
BRAZIL
Telegram decries new bill
Messaging app Telegram on Tuesday said that “democracy is under attack in Brazil,” the latest salvo by tech companies opposed to a bill seeking to stem disinformation online. “Brazil is about to pass a law that will end free speech,” the company said in a message sent to users on Bill 2630, which has passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the lower house of Congress. It said the bill “gives the government censorship powers without prior judicial oversight,” calling it “one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation ever considered in Brazil.” Telegram’s statement came a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government accused Google of “deceitful and abusive propaganda” against the bill.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
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