Ecuador

The Persecution of Julian Assange

Paul Craig Roberts

“We need a political intervention to make this situation end. He (Assange) is the only political prisoner in Western Europe.” Juan Braco

Update: according to Telesur, Lenin Moreno has won the Ecuadorian presidential election Sunday. With 94 percent of the vote counted, Lenin defeated former banker Guillermo Lasso, candidate for the right-wing alliance with 51.15 percent to 48.85 percent, according to results issued by the country’s National Electoral Council on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. The CNE said it was a transparent and successful election process. A victory for Moreno means that Assange will be safe from expulsion from Ecuador's London embassy  for the immediate future.

It appears President Correa's "intention to safeguard [Assange's] life and physical integrity until he reaches a safe place," is under threat as The Miami Herald reports that Guillermo Lasso, the front-runner in Ecuador’s presidential election, says he intends to evict Assange from that country’s London embassy if he wins the April 2 runoff against ruling party candidate Lenín Moreno.

An earthquake with a 6.7 magnitude struck western Ecuador early on Wednesday. According to the US Geographical Survey, the quake’s epicentre was 36 miles south of the city of Esmeraldas, at a depth of 6.2 miles. Prelim M6.7 earthquake near the coast of Ecuador May-18 07:57 UTC, updates https://t.co/Z97W3OdNun — USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) May 18, 2016 There have been no reports of significant damage, though electricity was cut in some coastal areas.

Residents in California have reported that sidewalks are opening and lifting up from the ground, as the force that caused the recent earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan has now begun affecting California. Experts have warned that pressure from the Pacific Tectonic plate threatens to crush the west coast of America.  According to photographs submitted by a resident in Palm Springs, California is about to suffer a very large earthquake in the next few days.