Same-sex marriage approved by Ecuador’s highest court

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso has imposed a state of emergency and called for a concerted fight against the rising violence of drug cartels. But observers suspect other reasons behind the measure.

Drug trafficking gangs went on a killing spree in the same Ecuadorean prison where 119 people died in September. Ecuador plans to release some prisoners at the overcrowded facility.

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso deployed police and the military to "take control of all the country's prisons" after scores of inmates were killed in gang clashes.

Some 30 countries around the world have already legalised gay marriage, but just a handful of them are in Latin America. They include Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and now Chile can be added to that list. People there celebrated this week as the Chilean Congress voted to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption. The decision now needs to be signed by the president, who backs the law.

Nearly five acres of Ecuador's Cayambe-Coca National Park have been polluted after an oil pipeline burst. The government has vowed legal consequences for the company involved in the disaster.

The oil spill in the Amazon is spreading. On Friday, a landslide in Ecuador damaged a pipeline. Large quantities of oil have leaked out and threaten to poison the water supply of the local population.

FIFA open investigation into allegations that Ecuador used an ineligible player in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Ecuador's president has declared a state of emergency in three provinces, including capital Quito, in response to protests by Indigenous people over fuel prices.

Ecuador's president has accused Indigenous protesters of attempting a coup. Clashes between protesters and security forces have left six people dead, and six of the country's 24 provinces are under a state of emergency.

Protests led by Indigenous groups have continued for nearly two weeks, as parliament begins a no-confidence vote against President Guillermo Lasso. The state of emergency imposed in some parts has been repealed.

After weeks of disruptive demonstrations, Ecuador's president Guillermo Lasso announced a price cut for gasoline and diesel. However, the reduction is far less than what protesters have demanded.

Since the introduction of "marriage for all" in Germany, some 65,000 marriages have taken place between people of the same sex. The figures showed a rush to tie the knot once it became possible late in 2017.