Category World News

Explosions have rocked different parts of Ecuador, with officials accusing a local criminal gang and Colombian ex-FARC dissidents of targeting two bridges in retaliation for a major military operation against illegal miners.

It is the latest wave of violence to have engulfed the South American nation in recent years. The government of President Daniel Noboa has been struggling to beat back criminal groups, who have shifted their drug smuggling from more militarised countries like Colombia to historically peaceful Ecuador.

Explosives were placed on bridges “to block traffic”, Transport Minister Roberto Luque wrote on X on Wednesday, describing the acts as “terrorism”. No casualties have been reported, though roads leading to the affected areas remain closed.

Interior Minister John Reimberg accused Ecuadorian gang Los Lobos, which is designated as a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States, and former rebels of the now-defunct movement Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, with ties to the gang, of being behind the blasts.

Reimberg said the attacks came after security operations destroyed “illegal mining operations” in northern Ecuador and detained ex-FARC members.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, and no arrests have been made.

The US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs condemned the attacks in a post on X, calling them “brazen terrorist attacks against the Ecuadorian people”.

“We remain committed to the fight to eradicate organized crime and stand ready to support Ecuador in holding those responsible to account,” it wrote in a statement.

The Associated Press news agency obtained a police report that confirmed the bridge structure in the city of Naranjal, about 290km (180 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito, sustained damage “from the suspected detonation”.

Marcela Aguinaga, prefect of the Guayas province, where Naranjal is located, condemned the “criminal act” on X.

The other explosion occurred on a bridge connecting the provinces of Azuay and El Oro in southern Ecuador. The emergency services reported on X that the route was closed due to a “possible collapse” of the structure. Images released by local media showed rubble, twisted metal from the bridge, and shattered windscreens on at least two buses.

The bridge explosions occurred just hours after a car bomb went off outside a shopping mall in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, killing one person and injuring many. A second vehicle containing explosives was found nearby but was deactivated.

The Attorney General’s Office said it had launched an investigation into the blasts, while the government offered a reward for any information leading to the identification and capture of those responsible.

Noboa, speaking at a public event in Guayaquil on Wednesday, said criminal groups were attempting to destabilise the government and that the country cannot “back down before people who want to terrorise Ecuadorian families”.

In March, a vehicle exploded outside Ecuador’s largest and most dangerous prison on the outskirts of Guayaquil, killing a prison guard.

Here is how things stand on Thursday, October 16, 2025:

Fighting

Weapons and military

• Kyiv will need up to $20bn in military aid next year from NATO countries, Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said. The aid will help Ukraine build 10 billion drones in 2026, according to the Reuters news agency.
• Russia’s Federal Security Service chief said that Moscow has no doubt about NATO’s security services’ involvement in incidents with alleged Russian drones over EU territory, RIA cited him as saying. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a “drone wall” after about 20 Russian drones allegedly entered the airspace of EU and NATO member Poland last month.

Politics and diplomacy

Energy and economy

• EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told the AFP news agency that the bloc will urge G7 partners to consider tapping immobilised Russian assets in aiding Ukraine, as finance ministers of the group meet in Washington this week.
• Repairs are set to begin “soon” to restore the power supply to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to Rafael Grossi, head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog IAEA. The site has been under the control of Russia since shortly after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it has been cut off from the Ukraine grid since September 23.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have implemented a ceasefire following the deadliest border clashes in years that killed dozens of people and led to evacuations on both sides.

The 48-hour truce began Wednesday at 6:00pm Islamabad time (13:00 GMT), with each country claiming the other requested the pause in hostilities.

Pakistan confirmed the ceasefire duration, stating: “During this period, both sides will sincerely strive to find a positive solution to this complex but resolvable issue through constructive dialogue.”

In Kabul, the Taliban government directed its forces to respect the truce “unless it is violated” by Pakistan, according to a spokesman’s statement on X.

This temporary cessation follows a week of escalating violence. The Taliban had initiated offensives along the southern Pakistani border, prompting Islamabad to threaten decisive retaliation.

Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan of sheltering Pakistani Taliban (TTP) fighters, claims that Kabul rejects.

As tensions peaked, two explosions in Kabul on Wednesday evening sent black smoke rising above the city. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid attributed these to an oil tanker and generator explosion without linking them to the border conflict.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan’s military reported that Afghan Taliban fighters assaulted two major border posts in the southwest and northwest. It claimed both attacks were successfully repelled, with approximately 20 Taliban fighters killed near Spin Boldak in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

“Unfortunately, the attack was orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for the civil population,” the Pakistani military stated. It reported about 30 additional casualties from overnight clashes along Pakistan’s northwestern border.

The Taliban countered that 15 civilians died and dozens were wounded near Spin Boldak, with “two to three” of its fighters also killed. Spokesman Mujahid claimed 100 civilians were wounded and that Pakistani soldiers had been killed and weapons captured – assertions Pakistan’s military dismissed as “outrageous and blatant lies”.

While Pakistan did not detail its recent casualties, it had previously confirmed 23 soldiers killed in the confrontations last week.

The Taliban government claimed it launched its offensive in “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul”. Islamabad pledged a robust response on Sunday, after which numerous casualties were reported on both sides.

Australian four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has retired from competitive swimming at the age of 25, ending a stellar career that featured one of the sport’s great rivalries with American Katie Ledecky.

Titmus confirmed her decision on Thursday, bowing out as one of Australia’s most decorated athletes with eight Olympic medals and four world titles.

The decision came as a shock to her nation, and the swimming world in general, as she had long planned a return to the pool to chase more Olympic glory at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

“A tough one, a really tough one, but one that I’m really happy with,” she said of her decision in a video on social media.

“I love swimming, I’ve always loved swimming. It’s been my passion since I was a little girl.

“But I guess I’ve taken this time away from the pool and realised some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me.”

Race of the century

Titmus won her third individual Olympic gold medal in a 400m freestyle final dubbed “the race of the century” at the Paris Games when she beat Ledecky and Canada’s Summer McIntosh to defend her title.

After Paris, she resolved to take a year off from competing and training to recharge, electing to skip the world championships in Singapore and instead cover the meet as a TV commentator.

But the return to the pool never materialised.

Titmus had undergone surgery to remove benign tumours from her ovaries eight months before Paris, and she said the health issue had reminded her about having a life outside swimming.

“Delving more into those health challenges, I’ve had to think about what’s most important to me,” said Titmus, who retires as the 200m freestyle world record holder.

“Beyond swimming, I’ve always had goals in my personal life.

“More than anything, I’m excited for what’s next.”

The face of Australian swimming at the last two Olympics, Titmus’s retirement robs the national team of an inspirational leader who did much to restore the country to superpower status in the sport after a lean decade.

An incredible career

Born in Tasmania, Titmus moved to Queensland in her early teens to be trained by elite coach Dean Boxall.

Earning the nickname Terminator after sweeping the 400m and 800m freestyle titles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, she then announced herself to the swimming world by beating Ledecky in the 400m freestyle at the 2019 World Championships.

Two years later, her swim to reel in Ledecky and snatch her 400m freestyle crown at the Tokyo Games became instant swimming folklore, along with Boxall’s manic celebrations in the stands.

The successful defence of her title in Paris made her the first Australian woman to go back-to-back in an individual swimming event since Dawn Fraser in the 1960s.

Titmus also bagged two silvers and a relay gold at Paris, including her runner-up finish behind Ledecky in a thrilling 800m freestyle final.

She always said Ledecky, the “GOAT” of women’s swimming, made her a better rival, but as intense as the rivalry was, there was only mutual admiration, hugs and kind words outside the pool.

The American great was among those congratulating Titmus on her career after the retirement announcement.

Dozens of news outlets have lost access to the Pentagon after they refused to sign a new set of guidelines that sharply restrict their ability to report on the United States military.

The Pentagon had set a deadline of Wednesday afternoon in the US for reporters to agree to a new 21-page set of rules in order to obtain press credentials and access to the Pentagon’s premises.

More than 30 outlets declined to cooperate, including The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Politico, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, CNN, and more.

Conservative news outlets like Fox News and Newsmax – both favoured by US President Donald Trump – also declined to sign the rules.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents more than 100 news outlets, said in a statement Tuesday that the Department of Defense had started confiscating media badges “from virtually every news organisation in America”.

“It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalising national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution,” the press group said.

Media outlets have announced they will continue to report on the Pentagon, albeit without direct access to the building and news briefings.

The Pentagon’s new rules restrict the ability of reporters to move around the building, engage with staff, and “solicit information” from sources, according to a Pentagon memo posted online by The New York Times.

They also try to restrict the media’s ability to publish classified and even some kinds of unclassified information, although this right is protected by a 1971 Supreme Court ruling.

The case, New York Times v United States, protected the rights of The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers at the height of the Vietnam War.

Previous guidelines from the Pentagon fit on a single page. They primarily concerned protocols for entering the Pentagon premises and storing personal property, according to another document shared by The New York Times.

The changes to Pentagon reporting rules were first introduced by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, in September.

They were met with immediate criticism because they appeared to make journalists legally liable for reporting on the Pentagon.

A revised version of the rules toned down some of the language, but media outlets say they still violate their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

The Pentagon played down media concerns in a statement on Monday.

YouTube says it has resolved problems with its website and app after hundreds of thousands of users worldwide self-reported issues with its streaming services.

“This issue has been fixed – you should now be able to play videos on YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube TV!” YouTube wrote on X on Thursday morning in Asia.

YouTube did not disclose why users reported problems streaming videos for about 60 minutes on Thursday morning, or the global extent of the problem.

Disruptions began just before 7am in East Asia (23:00 GMT, Wednesday) for YouTube, YouTube Music and YouTube TV, according to Downdetector, a website that aggregates website disruptions in real time.

Users from Asia to Europe and North America soon reported problems streaming, accessing the website, and using the apps of YouTube and its affiliates, though error reports were most heavily concentrated in the US, according to Downdetector’s user-generated error map.

Major disruptions were also reported in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom, although the extent of the problem is unknown because Downdetector data is based on user-submitted reports and social media.

The number of error reports peaked at 393,038 reports in the US at 7:57am (23:57 GMT) before falling off sharply, according to Downdetector data.