An assassination plot against President Daniel Noboa has caused Ecuador to declare “maximum alert.”
The Ministry of Government stated in a statement titled “The revenge of the bad losers” that “all security protocols have been activated” as a result of the threat coming from “criminal organizations, in collusion with political groups defeated at the polls.”
Noboa was elected again earlier this month and pledged to fight back against ferocious cartel violence in Ecuador. Luisa Gonzalez, his opponent, has vowed to win the election despite his repeated accusations.
A military intelligence report that claimed assassins from Mexico and other nations planned to carry out “terrorist attacks” against Noboa was leaked earlier this week.
In a bid to destabilize the government, the government claims that “bad losers” from the most recent April 13 election hired sicarios (hitmen) from Mexico and other nations.
“The state is on high alert,” he declared. The armed forces, the National Police, and intelligence agencies are all working together, according to the statement.
According to a source with information, it describes “the plotting of an assassination, terrorist attacks, and street riots through violent demonstrations.”
According to the plot, “the life of the President of the Republic, state authorities, and public officials” is at stake.
The statement appears to accuse the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC5), which is led by Gonzalez and has connections to former president Rafael Correa, of planning the attack, despite not giving names.
Additionally, reports in Ecuadorian media suggested that foreign leaders, including Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, may have supported the initiative.
Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that noboa’s administration would not resume diplomatic relations with Ecuador as long as Noboa was in office despite a diplomatic resumption that began last year.
Gonzalez was backed by the Mexican leader in a public way.
The plot for the assassination comes in the wake of the 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, which has become a pattern in Ecuador.
The nation has also been plagued by rampant violence by criminal gangs operating in neighboring Peru and Colombia, two of the biggest cocaine producers in the world.
At least 12 people were killed on Friday in a shooting incident in the coastal province of Manabi when gunmen dressed as military officers opened fire on a cockfight.
In line with Noboa’s ongoing fight against organized crime, the country declared an “internal armed conflict” to combat drug gangs in January of last year.
Along with a promise to boost the nation’s sluggish economy, which was viewed as crucial in his re-election victory earlier this month.
The two largest economies of the world are currently engaged in a trade war. A heated debate of narratives and messages exists between the two nations in addition to the tariff dispute.
Contributors: Andy Mok, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization The American Conservative’s managing editor, Jude Russo Strategy Risks CEO, Isaac Stone Fish Director of China Program at Stimson Center, Yun Sun
on our radar
Sudan’s civil war broke out on April 15 and lasted for two years. Sudanese media have been wiped out. Nearly 450 journalists have fled the country since the start of the war, according to Reporters Without Borders. More is coming from Meenakshi Ravi.
How Canadian voters were swooned by Trump’s “51st state” speech.
Canadians are encircling their flags as a result of Donald Trump’s public musings about how Canada should become the nation’s 51st state. Ryan Kohls, a contributor to The Listening Post, discusses the Trump effect and how it has impacted Canadian politics and nationalism in unprecedented ways.
On Saturday, April 19, 2018, this is how things are going.
Fighting
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched eight missiles and 87 drones into Ukraine overnight, causing damage in five different regions. 33 Russian drones were shot down by air defense units, and 36 were redirected by electronic warfare. The south, northeast, and east have all been damaged, with five distinct regions.
One person was killed in Kharkiv by a Russian missile attack, and another was killed in Sumy by a drone attack, along with dozens more injured by at least five children. According to Ihor Terekhov, the attack damaged 15 residential structures, a business, and an educational facility.
A Russian drone struck Zaporizhzhia at night, killing the city. Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the region, reported the incident on Telegram, claiming that an emergency service was called in and a fire had erupted.
Russia asserted that it had targeted Ukrainian drone factories and that any increase in German military might result from German long-range missile launches, calling for direct military action.
diplomacy and politics
Unnamed European officials cited by the US have a suggestion to end the conflict in Ukraine that includes lifting sanctions against Russia, according to Bloomberg. According to the report, the US strategy “would effectively freeze” the conflict because it would leave Ukrainian territory under Russian control.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a briefing to NATO’s Mark Rutte about the plan, but Rubio cautioned that Washington would “move on” if a ceasefire deal didn’t materialize within the next few days.
In response, President Donald Trump later said that if Moscow or Kyiv continue to prevent the war from ending, the US would “take a pass” on mediating peace.
In a deal that the UAE has brokenred, Russia and Ukraine will exchange 246 prisoners on Saturday. The 13th exchange, which Abu Dhabi mediated, will add to the growing list since 2022, bringing the total number of captives swapped to 3,233.
Daria Kozyreva, a 19-year-old activist, was given a two-year and eight-month prison sentence by a Russian court for allegedly “discrediting” the army by quoting Ukrainian poetry from 19th-century and antiwar graffiti. The verdict was viewed as a “chilling” attack on peaceful dissent, and Amnesty International demanded Kozyreva’s immediate release.
The US dollar’s value has fallen in the wake of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.
The dollar, which typically increases in value during times of financial turbulence, has continued on a downward trend, even though the US stock markets have mostly recovered since then.
Due to Trump’s extreme international trade policies, which have slowed the recovery of the US economy later this year, causing a decline in demand for the country’s currency.
Trump’s tariff blitz also makes it increasingly likely that the dollar’s hold on power may be waning or even losing.
According to Deutsche Bank analysts in a recent note to clients, “the world is facing a dollar confidence crisis as the repercussions of ‘Liberation Day’ continue to resonate.”
The US has been the “safe haven” for investment for close to a century. A peg to the dollar is still used by many nations, indicating that their currency prices are correlated.
Investors are now starting to worry about the dollar’s long-term security, which could have a significant impact.
On March 4, 2025, a board in Mexico City, Mexico, displays the exchange rates of the Mexican peso and the US dollar.
How is the dollar doing?
The Trump administration announced tough import tariffs on April 2 that would stifle confidence in the world’s largest economy and cause a sell-off of US financial assets on April 2.
In the three days following “Liberation Day,” more than $5 trillion was wiped from the benchmark S&, P 500 index of shares.
US Treasury bills, which have long been viewed as the archetypical safe investment, also experienced selloffs, which significantly lower their prices and cause significantly higher debt costs for the US government.
Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs on April 9 in response to a rout in the financial markets. However, investors are hesitant to own dollar-linked assets.
The dollar has fallen by 3% in April in comparison to a range of other currencies, breaking a nearly 10% decline since the start of 2025, to reach its lowest level in three years.
According to Karsten Junius, chief economist at Bank J Safra Sarasin, “investors have been selling US assets, and the value of the dollar has decreased.”
Since there hasn’t been a loss of faith in US economic policymaking, he continued, “but the dollar hasn’t increased as much]as US equity prices since April 9.”
(Al Jazeera)
What makes the US dollar so significant?
The US dollar has been the world’s largest reserve currency for the past 80 years, with significant amounts of foreign currencies being held by the world’s monetary authorities.
Due to the first and second world wars, the dollar largely became the world’s dominant currency. The US was making money as Europe and Japan sank into a prattle.
The role of the greenback in supporting the global financial system increased in 1971 when Richard Nixon removed the link between gold and the value of the US dollar. Its demand also increased.
Most nations abandoned gold convertibility after the “Nixon shock,” but they did not adopt market-determined exchange rates. Instead, they favored the dollar as the value of their currencies.
The dollar became the norm as the anchor of the dollar due to its dominance in both trade and finance. For instance, many Gulf nations began pegging their currencies to the greenback in the 1980s.
Its influence continued beyond that point. The Atlantic Council estimates that 54 percent of global exports were in dollars in 2023, compared to the US, which only accounts for one-quarter of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
Its standing in the financial industry is even stronger. Nearly 70% of international bonds are quoted in US dollars, while about 60% of all bank deposits are in US dollars.
According to the IMF, 57% of the world’s foreign currency reserves are held in dollars, which are assets held by central banks around the world.
However, confidence in the US economy, its financial markets, and its legal system is largely attributed to the dollar’s reserve status.
Trump is altering that. According to Junius, “he doesn’t care about international standards,” and investors are beginning to realize how exposed they are to US assets are.
According to Apollo Asset Management, foreigners own $ 9 trillion worth of US equities, $ 7 trillion worth of US Treasuries, and $ 5 trillion worth of US corporate bonds. That accounts for roughly 30% of the global GDP.
The dollar’s value could be put under sustained pressure if even some of these investors start lowering their positions.
What effects does having a lower-value dollar have?
Many members of the Trump administration refute the claim that the US dollar’s reserve status raises the price of US exports because it raises the cost of its overvaluation.
Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers chair, Stephen Miran, recently remarked, “high dollar valuations place undue burdens on our firms and workers, making their products and labor uncompetitive on the global stage.”
He continued, “Targets are a response to this unpleasant reality, and one factor is the dollar’s overvaluation has been to the US’s declining competitiveness over the years.
A lower dollar, at first glance, would support domestic manufacturing and help the nation’s trade deficits be less expensive for foreigners.
Jose Antonio Ocampo, former Colombian finance minister, told Al Jazeera, “It will also make imports more expensive, hurting consumers.” “The general consensus is that US inflation will rise.”
“Alsowhere, the price of gold has increased,” Campo said. There seems to be a growing preference for holding gold rather than US Treasuries among central banks.
Ocampo added that he believes that Trump’s tariff announcements have hurt confidence in the dollar and that gains in other safe-haven currencies have helped offset this.
Since the start of the month, the euro has increased more than 5% on the dollar since April 11 and reached a three-year high above $ 1.14.
Could the dollar become the world’s dominant currency?
Ocampo said, “For the time being, I believe the dollar will remain the dominant global currency.”
He added, however, that Trump is undermining world currency dominance by weakening the US’s economic foundations. Ocampo, for his part, mentioned two favorable currencies.
Inflows into the Swiss franc have recently occurred. He claimed that the euro is the only real substitute for the dollar.
One-third of the dollar amount is currently held by the euro, accounting for 20% of international foreign exchange reserves.
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night to advance to the NBA playoffs after Ja Morant recovered from a sprained right ankle to score 22 points and add nine assists.
In a best-of-seven series starting on Sunday on the Thunder’s home court, Memphis will face Oklahoma City in a top-seeded matchup.
Morant was harmed on Tuesday night at Golden State during the Grizzlies’ opening play-in game and was questioned on Friday.
“The doctors gave me everything I needed in the simplest terms,” Morant said, whose availability was unknown until about 30 minutes before tip-off. I desired to stand on the floor. I wanted to win this game.
Desmond Bane had 22 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 for Memphis.
Dallas had 40 points and nine rebounds in Anthony Davis’ favor. Thompson scored 18 points.
Ja Morant, a Memphis Grizzlies guard, drives the basket for the Dallas Mavericks at FedExForum[/Petre Thomas] in the third quarter.
Davis reportedly had a right calf injury in the fourth quarter. He made a brief return, but the game was not finished. After the game, he had an ice bag on his leg and a wrap while sat in the locker room. Davis claimed to make an effort to recover from the injury knowing it would be a win-or-die situation.
“We had a chance,” he said. A difficult loss, Davis said, “of course.”
A 25-point first-half lead fell away in the third quarter as the Mavericks put together a 27-12 run that stretched all the way to Memphis. Midway through the third period, the Mavericks’ deficit reached single digits.
The Grizzlies extended their lead to 96-80 heading into the fourth quarter, but Dallas never faced any threat.
Dallas, which defeated Sacramento on Wednesday night to earn a spot against the Grizzlies, didn’t appear to have the same spark as it did to start the game, never leading against Memphis.
For Memphis, Zach Edey scored 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 13 points.
Memphis fell behind to Oklahoma City in all four of its regular-season games by double digits. In the first round, Jackson claimed the Grizzlies are considering a different scenario.
According to Jackson, “A series is a series.” You must maintain mental discipline. It really doesn’t matter until the game is over, whether you win or lose.
The Mavericks finished the season with a 7-15 record, just like Memphis did. After a trade that brought Davis to Dallas and sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers, they also lost Kyrie Irving, who had left knee surgery.
Some would say we shouldn’t even be there because of the change (Trading Doncic for AD) and injuries, according to Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. Give those locker room men a lot of credit, they said.
Herro leads the Heat past Hawks with 30 points.
Davion Mitchell did not appear to be a contender to win the NBA Play-In Tournament championship game against Miami in the opening half of the first half of the game’s elimination at Atlanta.
In the first half, Mitchell only managed one point and four of his shots. He still only had seven points at the end of the regulation.
Then something clicked for Mitchell. After the Heat and Atlanta were tied at 106 in overtime, Mitchell made three of four three-pointers in the extra period to give Miami the win on Friday night. Miami will face Cleveland, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, in the postseason, with Mitchell finishing with 16 points.
Since the 2020-21 season’s introduction of the play-in format, the Heat became the first No. 10 seed in either conference to reach the postseason. With two road victories, Miami became the first play-in team to advance.
In overtime, Tyler Herro led Miami by 30 points with two 3s.
Herro had anticipated a scoring lead. Surprised, Mitchelll played the leading role. In the fourth quarter, he made a 3-pointer to make a warm-up for the extra period.
Erik Spoelstra, the Miami coach, said of Mitchell, “[t]he struggled like that in the first half and in that kind of fourth quarter and overtime really speaks to his character.”
Dallas Hawks guard Dyson Daniels passes behind Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro at State Farm Arena in the second half [Dale Zanine/Reuters]
Mitchell said Spoelstra and his teammates’ encouragement gave him the confidence to continue shooting, especially in overtime.
Mitchell said, “I felt like I was forcing it in the first half, trying too hard.”
“I just kind of reset my mind,” he said, “and let the game come to me.” I simply believe in the effort I put in. It’s okay if I miss shots, even if I don’t.
In Miami’s first Play-In Tournament victory against Chicago on Wednesday night, Mitchell averaged 7.9 points but added 15. He made each of his two 3-point attempts.
Mitchell returned to his native state to play his big game against the Hawks. Mitchell was born in Hinesville, Georgia, and he began his college education at Auburn before transferring to Baylor. He helped Baylor capture its first NCAA title.
According to state media, Tunisian opposition figures have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
40 people were sentenced on Saturday, including a former justice minister and diplomats, along with the country’s most senior opposition politicians. Critics claim that the accusations are false and that they represent the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied.
According to an unnamed judicial official, the sentences ranged from 13 to 66 years in length, according to the TAP state news agency.
According to Jawhara FM, an anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office official claimed that the defendants had engaged in “foreign powers” to undermine Saied’s rule and had been found guilty of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group.”
The trial’s specific details are still ambiguous, with the trial’s exact number and the disputed charges that stand in their way.
On Saturday, it was unclear whether all of the estimated 40 defendants in the case, which has been ongoing for about two years, had been found guilty and sentenced to prison.
The French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy, who is accused of acting as a liaison between defendants and foreign parties, was among the 20 defendants who have fled Tunisia and were sentenced in absentia.
President Saied has used violence against political opponents and dissidents by using arbitrary detention and arbitrary prosecutions against them, according to Bassam Khawaja, deputy director of Human Rights Watch for the Middle East and North Africa, to attack Al Jazeera earlier this month.
After the judge finished reading the accusations and deliberating without the defense or the prosecution, the defense lawyers decried the trial on Friday evening.
“I have never been in a situation like this in my entire life.” Lawyer Ahmed Souab claimed that the rulings are final, and what is happening is scandalous and shameful. “It’s a farce.
Authorities have charged the defendants with trying to destabilize the nation and overthrow Saeed, including former head of intelligence Kamel Guizani and media figures.
Since being detained in 2023, several of the defendants have been in custody, including Jawhar Ben Mubarak, Ghazi Chaouachi, and Issam Chebbi. The National Salvation Front coalition, which includes Chebbi, is in operation.
On Friday, Chebbi stated that “the authorities want to criminalize the opposition.”
Said refutes claims that he is a dictator. He claimed that any judge who would convict the accused politicians would be an accomplice in 2023 and that they were “traitors and terrorists.”
Saied consolidated his position in 2021 by sacking the then-prime minister and resolving the parliament.
He was accused of staging a “coup” by the opposition leaders involved in the case.
They claim that the charges brought against them were made to stifle the opposition and establish a one-man, repressive regime.
Some of Tunisia’s most renowned opposition figures are already imprisoned.
Ennahdha’s head, Rached Ghannouchi, was detained in April 2023 and given a year in prison for incitement-related charges.
