Soldiers patrol streets in Ecuador as government and cartels declare war on each other
CBSN
Hundreds of soldiers patrolled near-deserted streets in Ecuador's capital Wednesday after the government and drug mafias declared war on each other, leaving residents gripped with fear.
The small South American country has been plunged into crisis after years of growing control by transnational cartels who use its ports to ship cocaine to the U.S. and Europe.
President Daniel Noboa, 36, gave orders on Tuesday to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. Less than two months after taking office, he declared the country in a state of "internal armed conflict."
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Mount Etna, the rambunctious volcano on the Italian island of Sicily, grumbled back to life on Monday, spewing hot ash and lava in a pyroclastic flow, the nation's volcano monitoring body said. There was no immediate report of any risk to the local population, which is accustomed to Etna's frequent eruptions, or to air travel.
Warsaw, Poland — Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland's weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.
Ukraine launched a "large-scale" drone attack deep into Russian territory that security officials claim destroyed 40 military bombers as it gears up for another round of talks in Istanbul to explore prospects of a ceasefire.
Authorities in Paris have launched an investigation after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint.