News on ties between Ecuador and Iran:
“Iran and Ecuador enjoy deep, brotherly relations,” President Ahmadinejad said, adding that no one could sever bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Report on loan from China to Ecuador:
Ecuador received a tranche of $800 million from a $1 billion loan provided by the China Development Bank Corp., the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
The author of this piece takes issue with Ecuador’s efforts to collect money in exchange for not drilling in part of the country:
For US$3.6-billion, Ecuador’s socialists are prepared to make the effort of, well, doing nothing.
Almost 40 years ago, satirical magazine National Lampoon had a famous cover featuring somebody holding a pistol to the head of a cute canine. The caption was: “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog.”
The “21st-century socialist” government of Ecuador has come up with a non-joke variant: “Pay us US$3.6-billion or we’ll drill for oil in the Amazon.”
Companies in Ecuador being required to sell of media or bank stock shares if they own both:
The deadline for companies that own media and banks shares in Ecuador to sell off one or the other ends Oct. 20, Telecommunications Minister Jaime Guerrero said Tuesday.
News on Petroecuador, Ecuador’s state-run oil company:
PetroEcuador, the state-owned oil company, will complete repairs at its Esmeraldas refinery by Oct. 8, about a week longer than previously forecast, a refinery official said.
News about the UN:
Cuba, Nicaragua and Ecuador will take the floor on the fourth day of sessions of the UN’s General Assembly.
News on UNASUR:
Ecuador’s Chancellor Ricardo Patino asked Paraguayan authorities to ratify the UNASUR incorporation treaty
This article discusses the possible subpoena of plaintiffs’ attorney Steven Donziger in the Chevron Ecuador lawsuit, as well as his behavior captured on film that has been called into question:
Lawyers for attorney Steven Donziger argued that Chevron cannot subpoena their client in the multibillion-dollar environmental contamination lawsuit against the oil giant, because he is Chevron’s “adverse counsel in a heated and ongoing litigation.” After hearing nearly three hours of arguments Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told Donziger’s team, “You’d be well advised to start getting the material together.”
