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Editor's note: This is the second on a series of articles on craft beer micro and nanobreweries of Cuenca. To read the first one about the Hop Factory, click here. By Stephen Vargha It was not that long ago that Cuenca was a desert for lovers of craft beer. That has...
John Keeble I was reading the story of Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski during the morning after the Trump "coup attempt" had been put down and I realised: “Yes, the Western world's future is not going to be easy, but there is the light of hope again.” At that moment, as...
By Ben Guarino People with no symptoms transmit more than half of all cases of the novel coronavirus, according to a new model developed by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their findings reinforce the importance of following the agency’s...
Ecuador’s overall crime rate dropped 31 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, despite increases in Guayaquil and Quito. In its annual report on crime, the National Police noted that curfews and other restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were largely...
The European Union can no longer legally recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate head of state after he lost his position as head of parliament, the bloc’s 27 governments said on Wednesday. Guaido is still seen by the United...
By Holly Ellyatt Viruses mutate all the time and it’s come as no surprise to experts the coronavirus that emerged in China at the end of 2019 has undergone several significant mutations as the virus replicates and spreads. But a new strain of the virus that has...
The World Bank predicts that Ecuador's economy will grow by 3.5 percent in 2021. The expected growth follows a 9.5 percent GDP plunge in 2020. The Bank says it expects all South American economies to grow in 2021 but calls the long-term outlook “guarded" due to the...
By Tamara Hardingham-Gill Backpacking trips have been something of a rite of passage for young people for almost 70 years. Whether you're setting off around the world, or exploring a particular region, country, or city, taking off with a few belongings and moving from...
By Vincent Ricci For nearly 21 months, Ola Bini has been waiting for his day in court. The Swedish software developer and digital privacy activist was arrested in April 2019 in Ecuador on allegations he accessed the computer system of a public institute without...
Following Saturday’s Constitutional Court decision ending the state of emergency, the Cuenca Emergency Operations Committee issued a statement Monday clarifying the health restrictions that remain in force. The COE said it is in discussions with the national...
By Joshua Zitser In a bid to avoid Covid-19 restrictions back home, a considerable number of Americans have traveled to Mexico for a vacation or -- in some instances -- to settle down there. "A lot of people are either coming down here and visiting to test it out or...
By Cathy McKay Some expats choose to stay in one place. Other want the freedom to travel around the world. But no decision is necessarily irreversible. Having lived in Cuenca for over a year now, I have had the opportunity to meet and befriend many expats. They have...
By Ben Quinn Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage and of hacking government computers, a British judge has decided. Lawyers for U.S. authorities plan to appeal against the ruling, which was delivered at the central criminal court...
Uncertainty about the timing of Ecuador’s mass vaccination program continues to grow while some health professionals claim the government lacks a cohesive plan to vaccinate the population. Early expectations that mass vaccination would begin by March or April are...
President Lenín Moreno said Sunday that he is "greatly disappointed" that the Constitutional Court ended the national state of emergency he declared on December 20. The court ruled on Saturday that the declaration was unconstitutional and violated the civil rights of...
A friend of mine got a tattoo the other day. The last few months have been wearying and she needed a talisman to give her strength, an indelible guide leading her out of the cruel cyclone that has caused so many to lose their way and become disoriented. She was...
By Liam Higgins When he was asked last week about the highlight of his first year in office, Mayor Pedro Palacios didn’t hesitate: “Obviously, it was the launch of the tram,” he said in a television interview. “2020 was a very difficult year because of the pandemic...
By Doha Madani A large percentage of front-line workers in hospitals and nursing homes have refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine, a hurdle for public health officials as the U.S. struggles to roll out inoculations around the country. About 50 percent of front-line...
By Zeynep Tufekci A new variant of the coronavirus is spreading across the globe. It was first identified in the United Kingdom, where it is rapidly spreading, and has been found in multiple countries. Viruses mutate all the time, often with no impact, but this one...
By Sylvan Hardy It was Cuenca’s quietest New Year’s Eve in memory. Although the skies briefly ignited with fireworks at midnight, mostly launched from private courtyards and driveways, and a few renegade dummies burned on sidewalks, city streets were mostly deserted...
