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Five news stations receive letter bombs in Ecuador, one explodes in journalist’s face

Minister says the bombs were sent as a clear message to silence journalists in violence-ridden Ecuador

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Police officials searching for bombs in a new station in Ecuador

Ecuadorean authorities have reported that a series of letter bombs were mailed to five different TV and radio new stations in Ecaudor. The explosive devices were delivered to journalists on Monday, March 20.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata informed that one of these letters exploded in Guayaquil’s Ecuavisa private TV station. The bomb burst in the middle of the newsroom in presenter Lenin Artieda’s face. He was injured but not severely. Lenin informed the police that the device was structured like a USB drive, and it exploded as he plugged it into his computer.

Zapata added that all the devices were similar and sent from the town of Quimsaloma, on the Los Rios coast. The Ecuadorean attorney-general’s department has begun their investigation on the letters as an act of terrorism. Journalists have said that the bombs were sent to intimidate the free press and silence the media.

 Zapata also said that the government condemns such attacks and freedom of expression is a right that must be respected. The other four explosives sent through post never exploded as they failed or were never opened.

Police officer Xavier Chango informed the USB drive sent to Artieda seemed to be loaded with a military-type explosive RDX.

Ecuador lies between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers, and has become a hub for global drug trade in the recent years. The increased violence is a result of competition and clashes between drug criminal gangs for territory and charge.

In 2022, the RTS TV station came under gunfire attack and in 2020, a bomb exploded at Teleamazonas. President Guillermo Lasso had declared war on the gangs controlling drug trade from prisons, and has led to the death of more than 400 inmates since 2021. Ecuador’s murder rate has jumped from 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 25 per 100,000 in 2022.

Two local gangs, the Lobos and Los Tiguerones, working with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation cartel, have been responsible for these deadly prison riots. The Jalisco cartel is considered one of the five most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and its leader, Nemesio Oseguera, aka El Mencho, is among the most wanted by both Mexican and U.S. authorities.

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Bizarre: Man travels across 203 countries in 3,512 days without taking a single flight

Thor travelled via a total of 351 buses, 158 trains, 43 tuk-tuks, 37 container ships, 33 boats, 9 trucks, 3 sailboats, 2 cruise ships, 1 police car, 1 yacht, and a horse-drawn carriage.  He made particular to spend a minimum of 24 hours in each nation during his incredible journey.

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Thor Pedersen

Danish citizen Thor Pedersen has travelled to every country in the world. He got there by all means of travel possible — by foot, by car, by bus, by train, by boat, and a container ship. It took the 44-year-old man 10 years to finish this challenging task. Pedersen began his trip in October 2013, reports said.

He claimed to have travelled through every nation in the world without using a plane in 3,512 days, according to reports. Even though there are 195 countries on the United Nation’s official list, Pedersen claims to have visited 203 countries since he included disputed territories.

Pedersen travelled on a total 351 buses, 158 trains, 43 tuk-tuks (autos), 37 container ships, 33 boats, 9 trucks, 3 sailboats, 2 cruise ships, a police car, a yacht, and a horse-drawn carriage.  He made it particular to spend a minimum 24 hours in each country during his journey.

He also travelled to India in the latter half of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. After a remarkable 3,512-day journey, he arrived in the Maldives, his 203rd and last nation, via container ship. Pedersen is now among the 150 people in the world with the most travels thanks to this incredible accomplishment.

On his incredible journey, he said, it was challenging for him to plan for everything that would come his way because this had never been done before. He said he was proud that he never gave up throughout all of this. He was pleased that he was able to bring out the strength which was required.

Pedersen faced enormous challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left him stranded in Hong Kong for two years. He thought of giving up the project because of the virus’s unknown characteristics and the growing danger. However, he received support from Le, his long-time girlfriend, during the break in his preparations. Interestingly, the pair chose to get married, and Le visited him 26 times during that period.

Thor Pedersen financed his trip with personal savings, business sponsorships, and crowdfunding with a daily expenditure of just $20 (around Rs 1500). Many people followed his incredible journey on social media along the way, joining him there.

He has been working nonstop to record his adventures, and he intends to make a feature-length documentary that highlights his journey. Pedersen will soon release a book, to enable his admirers to find out more about his adventures.

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White House hails India’s democracy, calls it vibrant ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s US tour later this month

A National Security Council official at the White House, John Kirby, while addressing a press conference said the strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion with PM Modi during his visit to the state.

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White House hails India's democracy, calls it vibrant ahead of Prime Minister Modi's US tour later this month

The White House on Monday said India is a vibrant democracy and anybody can witness that on visiting New Delhi dismissing concerns about the health of democracy in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later this month.

A National Security Council official at the White House, John Kirby, while addressing a press conference said the strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion with PM Modi during his visit to the state.

Kirby said the US hopes to have a deeper partnership with India which would strengthen their relations. He further added that India is a strong partner with the US on many levels.

Kirby said there would be additional Defence cooperation between the two nations. He also stated that the economic activities between the two countries were at an all-time high and India, as a Pacific Quad member, is a key partner to the Indo-Pacific security.

He further added America’s relationship with India is multi-dimensional that took place at many levels. Kirby said US President Joe Biden is awaiting Prime Minister Modi’s visit to discuss all the issues and deepen the bond of friendship and partnership between US-India.

Kirby’s comments help in establishing the commitment of the Biden administration to work with the Modi–led government, which has reportedly come under criticism from some political quarters in the US and its media for the alleged depletion of India’s democratic institutions.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his recent visit to the US, made remarks on press freedom, institutions, and democracy in India.

While the official visit is on June 22, PM Modi will lead the International Yoga Day celebrations on July 21 at the United Nations in New York. He is likely to meet political and business leaders during his visit. The leaders are expected to discuss China’s actions in Asia and beyond, which are feared to be against their shared interests.        

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Indiana Ophthalmics: Gujarat based company supplies poor quality eye drops in Sri Lanka

On Thursday, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Phermexcil), India’s Centre agency looking after the promotion of pharmaceutical exports from India has sent a notice to the Gujarat company asking an explanation and an internal investigation report on the quality of the Methylprednisolone eye drops.

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Indianna Opthalmics - Gujarat based company supplies poor quality eye drops in Sri Lanka

A Gujarat based top pharmaceutical manufacturing firm Indiana Ophthalmics has been accused of supplying poor quality eye drops to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government has complained to the Indian government stating that the eye drops supplied by the company has has caused eye infection to 30 people.

On Thursday, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Phermexcil), India’s Centre agency looking after the promotion of pharmaceutical exports from India has sent a notice to the Gujarat company asking an explanation and an internal investigation report on the quality of the Methylprednisolone eye drops.

Phermexcil Director General Udaya Bhaskar in a letter to Indiana Ophthalmics has stated that the alleged supply of the contaminated eye-drops by the company has dented the reputation of the Indian pharma industry and will have to face trust issues by the international agencies on the export of pharmaceuticals from the country.

A probe has also been started by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on Thursday, to investigate into the questions of quality concerns being raised on the eye drops being manufactured by Indiana Ophthalmics. The drops were recalled by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health in April this year saying the patients had reported complications after using them.

The Sri Lankan government claimed to have found bacteria Burkholderia cepacia in the eye drop. The Lankan government has asked the Indian government to compensate the affected patients and has demanded to investigate into the matter. Reports claimed, the firm has been told to stop production of eye drops immediately.

As per reports, the state drug officials had tested the drops and are waiting for results. Reports also said, these drugs require sterility testing hence, the test results will take another 15 days. Once the test results are out, they will be sent to the Sri Lankan government immediately.

A similar case was reported in February 2023, when questions were raised against Tamil Nadu based Global Pharma Healthcare, a firm whose product was allegedly linked with contamination causing blindness and one death in the US.

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