Ecuador

Turkey's president on April 24 sent a letter to the head of the Armenian Patriarchate, assuring equal treatment regardless of belief and identity in the country.

In a letter to Patriarch Sahak Mashalian, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commemorated Ottoman Armenians who died during World War I, conveying his condolences to their descendants.

By order of Minister of Health, Kiril Ananiev, the entry into and transit through the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria of heavy goods vehicles travelling to the Republic of Turkey and arriving from the following countries is temporarily suspended as of March 25:

Turkish Airlines will ground all international flights except five routes from March 27 to April 17, the national flag carrier announced on March 22.

"As of March 27, we will suspend all our international flights except Hong Kong, Moscow, Addis Ababa, New York, and Washington, until April 17," the company's CEO Bilal Ekşi said on Twitter.

Eight South American countries that are part of the regional PROSUR bloc are coordinating their response to the new coronavirus, said Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, quoted by the DPA.

Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru and Guyana have agreed to "unify measures for the entry of people into each country," Moreno wrote on Twitter.

Leaders in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas rolled out bans on big gatherings and stricter travel restrictions as cases of the new coronavirus spread around the world.

North Macedonia's Interior Minister, Nake Culev, on Thursday, said police seized a kilo of cocaine on Wednesday as part of an international drug-busting operation that had involved "several countries", while not naming them.

The previous eruption of Reventador caused problems.

The volcano erupted spectacularly in Ecuador. Lava flows run down the slopes of Mount Reventador.

More than two tonnes of diesel fuel were poured into the waters off the Galapagos Islands yesterday after a cargo vessel overturned while being loaded with containers early Sunday, local officials said on Twitter, CNN reported.

The incident happened near the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Puigdemont is on a wanted warrant in Spain for holding a referendum on Catalonia's independence two years ago.
The protests against that referendum came not only from Madrid but also from Brussels.

The United Nations has warned violence in Bolivia could "spin out of control" following recent skirmishes between security forces and coca farmers loyal to ousted President Evo Morales that have left nine dead.