International
Ecuador elects youngest-ever president, Daniel Noboa, to fix ‘destroyed’ country
Ecuador elects youngest-ever president, Daniel Noboa, to fix ‘destroyed’ country
Car horns in Quito blared in celebration Sunday as banana empire heir Daniel Noboa, 35, became violence-riddled Ecuador’s youngest president-elect ever.
With 90 per cent of votes counted, the electoral authority announced Noboa as the victor.
Moments earlier, socialist rival Luisa Gonzalez conceded defeat and offered her “profound congratulations” to Noboa, “because this is democracy.”
Addressing supporters in Quito, Gonzales also said she would not be claiming fraud.
Ecuadorans voted for 10 hours Sunday with no reports of violence in a country gripped by a bloody drug war and a rash of political assassinations that cut short the bid of a popular candidate.
Some 100,000 police and soldiers were deployed to keep the vote safe, while Noboa and Gonzalez both cast their votes in bulletproof vests just weeks after a rival was murdered.
Both candidates had vowed to prioritize the escalating violence.
“May we elect the best president because (he or she) will govern a country that is destroyed… to address all these problems such as insecurity,” Indigenous voter Ramiro Duchitanga told AFP in Cuenca in Ecuador’s south.
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“It is a critical election,” added Freddy Escobar, a popular 49-year-old singer, citing crime as his main worry. “I am voting in fear, not knowing what will happen.”
The main concerns of Ecuadorans, according to recent polls, are crime and violence in a country where the murder rate quadrupled in the four years to 2022.
– Drug violence –
Long a peaceful haven between major cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as enemy gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.
The fighting has seen at least 460 inmates massacred in prisons since February 2021 — many beheaded or burned alive in mass riots.
The bloodbath has spilled into the streets, with gangs dangling headless corpses from city bridges and detonating car bombs outside police stations in a show of force.
In August, the violence claimed the life of anti-graft and anti-cartel journalist and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, mowed down in a barrage of submachine-gun fire after a campaign speech.
He had been polling in second place.
A state of emergency was declared after Villavicencio’s assassination, and Noboa and Gonzalez both campaigned, and voted, with heavy security details.
– ‘Change this country’ –
Noboa was elected to only 16 months in office — completing the term of incumbent Guillermo Lasso, who called a snap vote to avoid possible impeachment for alleged embezzlement.
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He can run again for the 2025-29 presidential term, and the one after that.
Both runoff candidates were relative unknowns.
Noboa is the son of one of Ecuador’s richest men, who himself has five failed presidential bids to his name.
Ecuador has a poverty rate of 27 percent, with a quarter of the population unemployed or holding down an informal job.
Opinion polls list unemployment as voters’ second concern.
Noboa has promised “progress for everyone” and vowed to prioritize job creation.
Gonzalez was the handpicked candidate of socialist ex-president Rafael Correa, who governed from 2007 to 2017 and lives in exile in Belgium to avoid serving an eight-year prison term for graft — another major concern in the country.
From eight candidates, Gonzalez took the most votes in the first round in August with 34 per cent, followed by Noboa with 23 percent.
Noboa will not an absolute majority backing his projects in the legislature, and with only 16 months in office, will face an uphill battle to push through any reforms, analysts say.
Voting is compulsory for 13.4 million eligible voters in the country of 16.9 million.
After images on social media showed a person appearing to fill out multiple ballots in favour of Noboa, the head of the National Electoral Commission, Diana Atamaint, promised an “immediate” investigation.
Ecuador elects youngest-ever president, Daniel Noboa, to fix ‘destroyed’ country
AFP
International
American man arrested for beating tourist to death at Ireland hotel
American man arrested for beating tourist to death at Ireland hotel
A 30 year old American man whose name was not given by security officials, has been arrested for beating up a 60 year old tourist to death at the Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Laois, Ireland.
The Irish police force commonly known as ‘Garda Síochána’ announced that the incident occurred in the late hours of Tuesday, November 12.
Ballyfin Demesne hotel, is a popular luxury five-star hotel located in Laois, Ireland and special guests such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, George Clooney e.t.c had made use of the hotel in times past.
The victim was discovered unconscious in the late hours of Tuesday, November 12 and was then rushed to the hospital were he died due to severe beating inflicted on him by the culprit.
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Independent local councilor James Kelly stated that nearby communities were ‘stunned’ upon learning about the incident at the renowned hotel.
He said, “There would be a lot of staff from the area and they’re totally shocked by what has happened here.
“It’s something we didn’t think we’d be waking up to this morning.”
The police also noted that a senior officer has been assigned to lead the investigation and an incident room has been set up at Portlaoise Garda Station, Ireland.
Furthermore, a family liaison officer will be designated to assist the family of the deceased.
International
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday carried out a raid at the home of Shayne Coplan, CEO of cryptocurrency prediction outlet Polymarket.
Authorities seized Mr Coplan’s phone during the raid, according to New York Post which first reported the incident.
Mr Coplan, 26, has been running the famous platform for bets throughout the 2024 presidential election in the United States.
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It wasn’t immediately clear why the search was conducted, but Polymarket promptly said it might be due to its activities during the election. Users on the platform had correctly predicted Donald Trump was going to defeat Kamala Harris. The company paid out a substantial amount to winners following the election.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” a spokesperson for Polymarket said in a statement from its headquarters in New York. “Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections.”
It was unclear whether or not the FBI would be filing charges after the raid.
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
International
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
Two employees of Givaudan sense colour, a factory known for making colourings for beverages, located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States (US) were killed in an explosion that took place at the company’s facility.
The factory reported that the incident which took place on Tuesday, November 12 in the afternoon have also destroyed buildings around the company.
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Louisville Mayor, Craig Greenberg stated that firefighters managed to rescue and evacuate numerous individuals from the site, including some who sustained life-threatening injuries.
He also confirmed that all employees present at the plant during the explosion have been accounted for.
Earlier reports indicated that at least 11 workers were hospitalized.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
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