- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
Top Indigenous leader arrested in Ecuador after protests
Ecuadoran police Tuesday announced the arrest of a top Indigenous leader, Leonidas Iza, who has spearheaded a nationwide protest movement against high fuel prices.
The police force tweeted that Iza had been arrested in Pastocalle, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Quito, on suspicion of unspecified "offenses."
Pastocalle has been a flash point of protests called by the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) against rising fuel prices and living costs, which saw protesters block roads across the country on Monday.
Iza, who heads Conaie, is in custody awaiting a hearing, the police added.
Conaie confirmed Iza's arrest, condemning it as "arbitrary and illegal" and calling for a "radicalization" of the demonstrations in response.
In 2019, Conaie-led protests resulted in 11 deaths and forced then-president Lenin Moreno to abandon plans to eliminate fuel subsidies. The group is also credited with helping topple three presidents between 1997 and 2005.
Oil-producer Ecuador has been hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty, strains exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
President Guillermo Lasso warned late Sunday that the government would not allow roads or Ecuador's oil installations to be taken over by protesters.
But Iza insisted the demonstrations would continue for as long as was necessary.
On Monday, a nationwide demonstration saw roads blocked with burning tires and barricades of sand, rocks and tree branches in at least 10 of Ecuador's 24 provinces, authorities said, with access to the capital Quito partly cut off.
Fuel prices have risen sharply since 2020, almost doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon (about 3.78 liters) and rising from $1.75 to $2.55 for gasoline.
Lasso froze prices at this level last October after a round of protests led by Conaie that saw dozens arrested and several people, including police, injured in clashes.
But the freeze failed to assuage simmering anger in a country that exports crude oil but imports much of the fuel it consumes.
Conaie wants the fuel price lowered to $1.50 per gallon for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline.
The protesters are also demanding the government address price controls on agricultural products that hurt farmers and mining concessions granted in Indigenous territories.
Indigenous peoples make up over a million of Ecuador's 17.7 million inhabitants.
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN