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After the announcement last July that the Ecuador would end its LP gas subsidy, the government has emphasized the advantages of electricity over gas. It will be more efficient, save lives and cause less harm to the environment, the government has said. President...
Latin American cities may be diverse but they hold one similarity: the speed and scale of urbanization they are facing. Distinct from developed countries, where urbanization has historically occurred gradually, major cities in this region have experienced explosive...
Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano has spewed a 6-mile column of ash after a powerful, five-minute explosion that shot pyroclastic material onto its northern and northwestern flanks. Ecuador's geophysics institute said Friday's blast occurred at 6:10 p.m. local time and was...
Cuenca leads the country in the use of reusable shopping bags at grocery and department stores and markets. According to National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) 64 percent of households used reusable cloth and plastic bags at least once in 2013, most of...
On April 1, Chinese defense officials converged at La Paz, Bolivia, for a grand ceremony to deliver the ground station for a Chinese-launched communications satellite. Chinese officials represented the state-owned Great Wall Industry Corp. of China, and the system was...
Four Chinese technicians died Monday night in an explosion while building a hydroelectric plant 40 miles east of Cuenca. The victims were explosives experts working on the Chinese-financed Sopladora plant, a project manager at the plant site said. "These people were...
The Cuenca Transit Authortiy is performing the final inspection of taxi meters that will be sold to taxi companies and independent taxi drivers. All city taxis will be required to have meters later this month. Three companies have contracts with the city to supply the...
On the morning of August 8, 2013, Charles and Kathleen Barrett were preparing to leave Colorado for the return trip to Cuenca following the recent wedding of their daughter. Charles was leaving from the Denver airport while Kathleen was flying out of Grand Junction,...
The idea to get into the bagel business came to Rich Westcott very early one morning, after he had been reading about food. “Because I used to works nights, I developed strange sleeping habits and one morning about 3 or 4, I realized that what Cuenca needed is a good...
In announcing a new international tourism campaign, Ecuador Tourism Minister Vinicio Alvarado said that tourism grew at an 18% rate in the first quarter of 2014 following 12% growth in 2013. Tourism generated more than $1.5 billion for the economy. "We are just...
The long wait for capital market reform in Ecuador could be coming to an end, creating the potential for new investment flows to the country even as it sorts out the remaining holdouts from its last default. The reform has been on the agenda since 2008, almost as long...
La Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE) in Azogues, 18 miles north of Cuenca, opens today for classes. The new university is one of four national specialty universities that the Ministry of Education hopes will transform Ecuador’s educational system. UNAE is...
A new system of closed circuit video surveillance is reducing the crime rate at the University of Cuenca. Paulo Berrezueta, Coordinator of General Services at the university says that 117 cameras are positioned across the campus and word has apparently gotten out to...
This year did not start well for some of Latin America’s most talked about infrastructure projects. The Panamanian government was embroiled in a contract dispute over the $5bn canal expansion, pushing back the completion date; Brazil earned a stiff reprimand...
Rafael Correa is furious about the hack of his Twitter account and promises a thorough investigation. He claims that the right-wing political group Anonymous was behind the three-hour take-over of his account. “The attack was carried out by extreme right elements of...
The Ecuadorian lawyer representing small farmers in the Chevron oil pollution case says he has received death threats. "People are constantly following us in Ecuador," said lawyer Juan Pablo Saenz, who told the Guardian newspaper he has received two anonymous death...
By Frances Robles Two fugitive brothers from Ecuador, whose relatives have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to American political campaigns, have been investigated by the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether any of the millions the men were...
In a new crime survey Ecuador ranks as one of the safest countries in Latin America. The 2014 Latin American Security Index ranks Ecuador only behind Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile and Panama for serious crimes. The most dangerous countries in Latin America, according to...
The Reventador volcano entered a new eruptive phase on Tuesday, Ecuador's Institute of Geophysics (IGP) reported. Begining at 3 p.m. local time, small earthquakes were recorded and steady ash emissions were observed. Tuesday night, incandescent blocks could be seen...
Two Cuenca expat couples have been denied a return trip to Ecuador due to alleged tax violations in the U.S. In both cases, IRS attorneys were granted a writ of Ne Exeat Republica by the courts, an order that requires those served to turn over their passports and to...
