Ecuador has declared a state of emergency after a gunman shot and killed presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio as he was leaving a political rally in Quito on Wednesday.
Incumbent president, Guillermo Lasso, declared three days of national mourning and a state of emergency that involves extra military personnel deployed throughout the country.
He said: “Given the loss of a democrat and a fighter, the elections are not suspended, on the contrary, they have to be held, and democracy has to be strengthened.”
Video shared on social media of the shooting shows the politician walking out of the event surrounded by guards, escorting him through a crowd of people gathered outside, chanting and applauding.
Mr Villavicencio is then seen being ushered into the backseat of a waiting, white truck – moments before the gunfire rings out and the rear passenger door shuts.
More than a dozen gunshots can be heard – as well as shouts and screams as people run and duck for cover, inside and outside the venue.
A criminal group called Los Lobos – or “The Wolves” – has since claimed responsibility for the killing. It is the second largest criminal group in Ecuador, with more than 8,000 members across the country.
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In a video released by the group, a member said: “We want to make it clear to the entire Ecuadorian nation that every time corrupt politicians don’t keep their promise that we agree to when they receive our money, which is millions of dollars to finance their campaign, they will be removed.
“Our organisation, Los Lobos, assumes responsibility for what happened this evening – and it will happen again when corrupt people don’t keep their word.”
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Meanwhile, six people have been arrested in the wake of the incident.
The killing comes amid an alarming wave of violence in the country not seen for decades, with drug trafficking and violent killings on the rise.
Mr Lasso suggested an organised crime gang was behind the killing.
Mr Villavicencio was one of eight candidates in the 20 August presidential vote, though not the frontrunner.
“I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Mr Lasso said in a statement.
“Organised crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law.”
Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said a suspect in the assassination died of wounds after being arrested by authorities.
Patricio Zuquilanda, Mr Villavicencio’s campaign adviser, said the candidate had received death threats before the shooting, which he had reported to authorities and resulted in one detention.
He called on international authorities to take action against the violence, attributing it to drug trafficking.
“The Ecuadorian people are crying and Ecuador is mortally wounded,” he said.
“Politics cannot lead to the death of any member of society.”
Police confirmed that several others were injured, including officers, describing the incident as a terrorist act and promising to get to the bottom of the killing.
Image: Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio speaking at the rally
Mr Villavicencio, 59, was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement.
The politician was one of the most critical voices against corruption, especially during the government of former president Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017.
He filed many judicial complaints against high ranking members of the Correa government.
Mr Villavicencio was married and is survived by five children.
Donald Trump has described crucial trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as “amazing” – and says he will visit Beijing in April.
The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met in South Korea as they tried to defuse growing tensions – with both countries imposing aggressive tariffs on exports since the president’s second term began.
Aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump confirmed tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US will be reduced, which could prove much-needed relief to consumers.
It was also agreed that Beijing will work “hard” to stop fentanyl flowing into the US.
Semiconductor chips were another issue raised during their 100-minute meeting, but the president admitted certain issues weren’t discussed.
“On a scale of one to 10, the meeting with Xi was 12,” he told reporters en route back to the US.
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‘Their handshake was almost a bit awkward’
Xi a ‘tough negotiator’, says Trump
The talks conclude a whirlwind visit across Asia – with Mr Trump saying he was “too busy” to see Kim Jong Un.
However, the president said he would be willing to fly back to see the North Korean leader, with a view to discussing denuclearisation.
Mr Trump had predicted negotiations with his Chinese counterpart would last for three or four hours – but their meeting ended in less than two.
The pair shook hands before the summit, with the US president quipping: “He’s a tough negotiator – and that’s not good!”
It marks the first face-to-face meeting between both men since 2019 – back in Mr Trump’s first term.
Image: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Pic: AP
There were signs that Beijing had extended an olive branch to Washington ahead of the talks, with confirmation China will start buying US soybeans again.
American farmers have been feeling the pinch since China stopped making purchases earlier this year – not least because the country was their biggest overseas market.
Chinese stocks reached a 10-year high early on Thursday as investors digested their meeting, with the yuan rallying to a one-year high against the US dollar.
Analysis: A fascinating power play
Sky News Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith – who is in Busan where the talks took place – said it was fascinating to see the power play between both world leaders.
She said: “Trump moved quickly to dominate the space – leaning in, doing all the talking, even responding very briefly to a few thrown questions.
“That didn’t draw so much as an eyebrow raise from his counterpart, who was totally inscrutable. Xi does not like or respond well to unscripted moments, Trump lives for them.”
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Will Trump really run for a third term?
On Truth Social, Mr Trump had described the summit as a gathering of the “G2” – a nod to America and China’s status as the world’s two biggest economies.
While en route to see President Xi, he also revealed that the US “Department of War” has now been ordered to start testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 1992.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Sudanese city of Al Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a two-day window after the paramilitary group captured the regional capital, analysts believe.
Sky News is not able to independently verify the claim by Yale Humanitarian Labs, as the city remains under a telecommunications blackout.
Stains and shapes resembling blood and corpses can be seen from space in satellite images analysed by the research lab.
Image: Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Image: Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale Humanitarian Labs, said: “In the past 48 hours since we’ve had [satellite] imagery over Al Fashir, we see a proliferation of objects that weren’t there before RSF took control of Al Fashir – they are approximately 1.3m to 2m long which is critical because in satellite imagery at very high resolution, that’s the average length of a human body lying vertical.”
Mini Minawi, the governor of North Darfur, said on X that 460 civilians have been killed in the last functioning hospital in the city.
The Sudan Doctors Network has also shared that the RSF “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside Al Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present in the wards”.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.
Satellite images support the claims of a massacre at Al Saudi Hospital, according to Mr Raymond, who said YHL’s report detailed “a large pile of them [objects believed to be bodies] against a wall at one building at Saudi hospital. And we believe that’s consistent with reports that patients and staff were executed en masse”.
In a video message released on Wednesday, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged “violations in Al Fashir” and claimed “an investigation committee should start to hold any soldier or officer accountable”.
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Army soldiers ‘fled key Sudan city’ before capture
Image: The Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fashir. Pic: Airbus DS /2025 via AP
The commander is known for committing atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s as a Janjaweed militia leader, and the RSF has been accused of carrying out genocide in Darfur 20 years on.
Sources have told Sky News the RSF is holding doctors, journalists and politicians captive, demanding ransoms from some families to release their loved ones.
One video shows a man from Al Fashir with an armed man kneeling on the ground, telling his family to pay 15,000. The currency was not made clear.
In some cases, ransoms have been paid, but then more messages come demanding that more money be transferred to secure release.
Muammer Ibrahim, a journalist based in the city, is currently being held by the RSF, who initially shared videos of him crouched on the ground, surrounded by fighters, announcing his hometown had been captured under duress.
He is being held incommunicado as his family scrambles to negotiate his release. Muammer courageously covered the siege of Al Fashir for months, enduring starvation and shelling.
The Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah said the abduction of Muammar Ibrahim “is a grave and alarming reminder that journalists in Al Fashir are being targeted simply for telling the truth”.
Sharing aerial footage of battered homes, he wrote: “The damage is great, but we are going to devote all our energy to mount a strong recovery.”
The storm made landfall in Cuba in the early hours of Wednesday morning before leaving mid-afternoon, heading towards the Bahamas.
Image: Hurricane Melissa has ravaged through the Caribbean. Pic: Reuters
‘Whole communities are underwater’
Alexander Pendry, British Red Cross global response manager, said: “News is already coming through that whole communities are underwater and that the damage left by the strong winds has been devastating.
“The Jamaica Red Cross has been proactively supporting communities by preparing essential supplies and managing shelters. Their priority now is to reach people with aid as soon as possible.
“Across the Caribbean, Red Cross teams have been mobilising as Melissa continues its trajectory across Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti.”
He added: “Tragically, experience tells us that the impact on communities and individuals will be shattering and long lasting.