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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed former Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Moreno as Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility. In his new post, Moreno will help promote the rights of people with disabilities, who number more than one...
Cuenca mayor Paul Granda has unveiled plans for a $20 million make-over of Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium. Although he said some design and engineering issues remain to be resolved, work should begin by mid-2014. The project includes a new look for the stadium as...
A 13-kilometer bicycle tour is one of Cuenca’s newest tourist attractions, according to the city’s tourism foundation. The tour begins beside the Tomebamba River, on Paseo Tres de Noviembre in the El Vado area of the historic district, and concludes in Parque Paraiso....
Six members of the failed financial cooperative Coopera began a hunger strike Tuesday night in the Parque Carlderon glorieta. The group is demanding government action to reimburse more than 600 coop members affected by the coop’s closure. Coopera members and...
By Anna Marie de la Fuente Ecuador is experiencing a mini movie production boom, churning out four to five pics a year compared with one every two years before 2007, and one every four years before 1999. Local hits such as Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” (2011) and the...
According to a consultant, Cuenca's cathedral requires $800,000 in repairs to stop leaks in the church’s roof. Water stains are clearly visible on the cathedral ceiling and, according to Fernando Salamea, lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of...
The Cantonal Council has decided to leave property tax assessments unchanged from last year although it plans to step up efforts to put more rural properties on the tax roles. Many rural properties are not registered, the council says. Council member Carlos Orellana...
Cuenca’s Municipal Tourism Foundation is exploring ways to increase the city’s tourist appeal beyond the historic district. Among the attractions the foundation says it will promote are the Cañar and Incan ruins in Todo Santos and Cojitambo as well as the artisanal...
Cuenca’s decision to crack down on unlicensed street and bus vendors is meeting resistance. Last Wednesday, about 70 vendors protested in Parque Calderon, claiming that their livelihood is being threatened. On Thursday, another protest was held on the Plaza Otorongo...
By Ezra Fieser The US Agency for International Development says it plans to leave Ecuador amid an impasse with the government, just six months after the agency was kicked out of Bolivia, in what analysts say is another sign of the waning US influence in the region. In...
One name stands out on the guest list of thousands of youth at a conference in Ecuador this week: Elian Gonzalez. Fourteen years after he made headlines as the subject of a bitter international custody battle, Gonzalez spoke to CNN on Tuesday. It's his first trip...
Beginning January 2014, the age limit for voluntary membership in Ecuador’s Social Security heatlh care system will be eliminated. Currently, the program will not cover those over the age of 60. The policy change opens the door to foreign retirees who are legal...
Cuenca’s Municipal Transit Authority, DMT, said it continues to study the pedestrian crossing problem on Av. Las Americas but cautions that it must complete its studies before adding new features. Residents of the Jacaranda Park neighborhood, near the entrance to the...
A hotel building boom is underway in Cuenca and current hotel and hostal owners are questioning the need for more rooms. Two mid-rise hotels are currently under construction in El Ejido, between the football stadium and Av. Solano, and a larger one, in the design...
By Simeon Tegel For a region famous for “machismo,” Latin America is about to take an unlikely step: elect a record number of women presidents. In Chile, moderate socialist former President Michelle Bachelet — whose admirers include Hillary Clinton — is widely...
Ecuador’s stock market has posted a 24% gain through the first three quarters of 2013 and financial experts say the gain will top 30% by the end of the year. The small Guayaquil- and Quito-based exchange says that the cash value of trades for its 47 public companies...
Cuenca is counting its birds, so far identifying 80 species living in the city and suburbs. The city’s Environmental Management Commission has enlisted the University of Azuay and professional ornithologists to conduct the survey. The project began in March and...
Ecuador's Superintendency of Telecommunications (Supertel) has ordered Movistar Ecuador to submit a plan to improve service quality in Cuenca and several other locations. The regulator said that monitoring has detected the existence of problems with Movistar's rate of...
The investment group Pronobis will begin construction in January on a $17 million, 160,000-meter, 140-room hotel adjacent to the new Quito airport. To be called the Wyndham Grand Hotel Condor, the hotel will include conference space, classrooms, offices and small...
Cuenca traffic police are warning drivers to stay out of specially designated bus lanes in El Centro. Bus lanes are located on Calles Juan Jaramillo, President Córdova, Sangurima and Muñoz Vega, and plans are in the works to add them to other streets, including Gil...
