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."
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Terror attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir leaves multiple dead and wounded, reports say
New Delhi — Multiple tourists were killed and others injured Tuesday when suspected militants opened fire on civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to reports on Indian and international media. Many outlets, including the French news agency AFP, cited unnamed security officials who put the death toll as high as 24, but there was no immediate confirmation on casualties from authorities.
Hadera, Israel — Israeli police on Tuesday were scouring the waters off the country's Mediterranean coast for a swimmer who they fear may have been attacked by a shark, in an area that for decades has seen close encounters between marine predators and beachgoers who sometimes seek them out. A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming close to the area for years, attracting onlookers who approach the sharks and drawing pleas from conservation groups for authorities to separate people from the wild animals.
Pope Francis' funeral has been scheduled for 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT) on Saturday at St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican announced Tuesday, following a meeting of the College of Cardinals at the Catholic Church's city-state headquarters in the heart of Rome. The casket carrying the pope, who died Monday morning after suffering a stroke and heart failure at the age of 88, will be brought in a procession Wednesday morning, accompanied by cardinals, to St. Peter's from his residence at Casa Santa Marta, where he died.
Pope Francis' death on Monday, the day after Easter Sunday, started off a series of traditions that in a few weeks will culminate in a vote for the next pope.
Pope Francis used his last will and testament to detail his wishes for where he would like to be interred following his death. Feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching and with lively hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my testamentary will only with regard to the place of my burial. I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Pope Francis, the groundbreaking leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died Monday at the age of 88.
German police in a spa town north of Frankfurt were expanding a manhunt for one or more suspects still on the loose after two Turkish men were fatally shot a day earlier, reports said Sunday.
The Israeli military on Sunday released its findings of the probe into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Gaza, saying there were "several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident." A deputy commander will be fired, the Israeli forces said.
A lion killed a 14-year-old girl outside Kenya's capital Nairobi while an elephant killed a 54-year-old man in the central part of the country, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said this weekend.
Pope Francis made a brief appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square as he continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary "Easter truce" in the three-year conflict in Ukraine that will last until midnight Sunday.
A soldier from Virginia who died on D-Day has been accounted for 81 years after he was killed, officials said in a news release.