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Ecuadorean prosecutor killed by gang, two arrested -police
© Reuters. A police barricade tape is seen at a cordoned-off area where Ecuadorean prosecutor Cesar Suarez, who focused on cases involving organized trans-national crime in Guayas province, was killed, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor
By Yury Garcia and Alexandra Valencia
GUAYAQUIL/QUITO (Reuters) -Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Ecuadorean prosecutor Cesar Suarez who was allegedly targeted by a gang, police said on Thursday, as security forces continued interventions in prisons.
Ecuador is reeling from a wave of violence, with President Daniel Noboa declaring 22 gangs as “terrorist” groups and a 60-day state of emergency.
Incidents this month have included an attack by armed gunmen on the TC television station, the hostage-taking of more than 200 prison staff and the kidnapping of police officers.
Suarez, who focused on pursuing organized trans-national crime in Guayas province, was attacked as he drove in northern Guayaquil by gunmen in two cars, the city’s police chief General Victor Herrera told journalists at a press conference.
Suarez was in charge of investigating the television station attack, when journalists and others were briefly held hostage, as well as cases connected to corruption and drug trafficking, Herrera said.
“The hypothesis that the national police have is that these criminals belonged to the terrorist group ChoneKiller, the motivation (for the crime) is still under investigation,” Herrera said.
Police have collected 18 ballistic pieces of evidence and conducted raids in various homes, locating one of the vehicles. The other was found burned in another part of the city, Herrera said.
Suarez had not had permanent police protection since May 2023 and had not requested protection for a hearing on Wednesday because it was virtual, authorities said.
Some 62 staff at the attorney general’s office have national police and other security protections, the office has said.
Police detained 13 people, including two minors, in connection with the television station attack.
Security forces were carrying out an operation at the Guayaquil prison that was the site of an escape by Adolfo Macias, the leader of the Los Choneros gang, earlier this month.
The raid is not connected to Suarez’s killing, Herrera said.
Widespread security force operations have resulted in nearly 2,000 arrests since last week.
Ecuadorean bonds continued to rise on Thursday on views the crisis could become a catalyst for policy action.
Following an initial selloff last week, an index of Ecuadorean sovereign external debt has gained over 6% since Jan. 9 and sits at a more than two-month high. “The latest developments suggest an increased likelihood of stronger fiscal accounts, as policymakers can build popular support in the fight against crime while still engaging in fiscal austerity,” said BancTrust analysts in a Thursday client note. Spreads at over 1,900 basis points remain among the highest in Latin America and prices are at levels indicating concern over a default.
The legislature has backed Noboa’s efforts but several parties have said they will not support a value added tax hike meant to fund security initiatives.
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Palestinians say Israeli strike killed 22 in shelter, army says militants hit
By Dawoud Abu Alkas and Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Palestinians said an Israeli strike killed at least 22 people in a school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza City on Saturday, while the Israeli military said the attack targeted a command centre of militant group Hamas.
The Gaza health ministry said most of those killed were women and children. The Hamas-run government media office said 13 children and six women were among the dead.
The military said it hit a Hamas command centre embedded in the compound that previously served as a school, repeating an accusation that the group uses civilian facilities for military purposes. Hamas denies that.
Reuters footage from the site showed blasted walls, wrecked and burnt furniture, and holes in the ceiling of one room as people tried to salvage what they could of belongings.
“The women and their children were sitting in the playground of the school, the kids were playing, and suddenly two rockets hit them,” said one witness Said Al-Malahi.
Some of the dead were wrapped in blankets and carried away on donkey carts, as ambulances transferred other bodies.
“I couldn’t take it, I did not see a single man that is injured, it was all women and children, let the Arab countries rejoice, let them rejoice and clap for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and the United States of America,” said another eyewitness, Ahmed Azzam, bitter that regional neighbours were not taking a tougher line against Israel.
MEDICS KILLED
In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, the Gaza health ministry said four health workers were killed by an Israeli strike that hit ministry warehouses. Ambulance crews could not reach the dead or treat the wounded, it added.
In a statement, the Israeli military said forces, operating in Rafah since May, have killed dozens of militants in recent weeks and dismantled military infrastructure and tunnel shafts.
Israel’s demand to keep control of the southern border line between Rafah and Egypt has been a major sticking point in international efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.
Hamas says it is focused on an agreement to end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza, while Israel says the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated. Another sticking point has been the specifics of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
This war in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent assault on the enclave has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, and displaced nearly the entire 2.3 million-strong population.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Dawoud Abu Alkas in Gaza, Adam Makary in Cairo and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Andrew Cawthorne)
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Trump to visit North Carolina as scandal swirls around Republican ally
By James Oliphant
(Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will not be joined by his party’s embattled pick for North Carolina governor when he visits the critical electoral state on Saturday, the Trump campaign said.
Trump previously endorsed Mark Robinson, who was the subject of an explosive CNN report this week that he once called himself a Black Nazi and proposed bringing back slavery in comments posted on a pornography website.
Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, denied the allegations and has said he will remain in the governor’s race. His campaign could not be reached for comment.
Some Republicans fear his candidacy in one of the country’s highest-profile down-ballot races this year could damage Trump’s chances in the battleground state, where polls show Trump essentially tied with Democratic rival Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Ahead of Trump’s afternoon rally in Wilmington, North Carolina on Saturday, the Democratic National Committee launched new advertising across the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro tying the former president to Robinson.
The billboard ads show a photo of the two men together, along with direct quotes from Trump previously calling Robinson an “outstanding person” and an “incredible gentleman.”
The Harris campaign also began running a TV ad in the state on Friday featuring Trump’s past praise for Robinson.
In March, Trump called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” after Robinson delivered remarks in Greensboro, and Robinson appeared at a Trump event as recently as last month. Robinson would be the state’s first Black governor if elected.
Robinson has a history of inflammatory rhetoric, at times referring to Muslims as “invaders” and calling gay and transgender people “filth.” He has made comments denying the Holocaust.
Trump has yet to address the latest allegations against Robinson. One Trump adviser, who asked not to be named, said Trump should stay silent and not fan the controversy.
“Ignore it, and let it die,” the adviser said.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Harris’ campaign and its allies have made a significant investment in North Carolina, including two stops by the vice president last week. A Democratic presidential candidate has not won the state since 2008, but voters elected Democrat Roy Cooper as governor in 2016 and 2020.
Robinson had been trailing his opponent, Democrat Josh Stein, even before the CNN report, suggesting that he could be a drag on Trump’s chances in the state if some disaffected Republicans stay home on Election Day or defect to Harris.
Chris Cooper, a professor of political science at Western Carolina University, said in a state that Trump won by just 1.3 percentage points in 2020, the Robinson scandal could damage Republicans’ chances up and down the ballot in November, including Trump’s.
“If some people feel that the Republican brand is stained enough that they’d rather stay home, then that’s going to matter,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t take a big difference to flip the state.”
Thom Tillis, a Republican U.S. senator from North Carolina, responded to the allegations against Robinson by telling voters on X that “we must focus on the races we can win,” citing the presidential contest but omitting the gubernatorial vote.
“If Harris takes NC, she takes the White House,” Tillis wrote. “We can’t let that happen.”
Stock Markets
GM to begin laying off about 1,700 workers at Kansas plant, WARN notice shows
(Reuters) – General Motors (NYSE:) will begin laying off 1,695 workers at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, the company said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice earlier this week.
The first of two rounds of layoffs will begin Nov. 18 and will include the temporary layoff of 686 full-time workers and the termination of 250 temporary employees, Automotive News reported on Saturday citing a company filing to the state of Kansas.
Starting Jan. 12, 759 full-time workers will be temporarily laid off, the report added.
GM did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the details of the latest layoffs.
Earlier in May, GM had said that it would pause production of the Cadillac XT4 after January 2025 in Kansas, resulting in layoffs of production employees until production resumes in late 2025 for both the Bolt EV and XT4 on the same assembly line.
The company had also said in August that it was laying off more than 1,000 salaried employees at its software and service units worldwide.
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