Ecuador / AFP Rescuers in Ecuador raced to dig out people trapped under the rubble of homes and businesses on Sunday, following a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 233. Vice President Jorge Glas called it the “worst seismic movement we have faced in decades.” President Rafael Correa said on Twitter that the death toll Sunday had risen ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday that the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights would “forever” remain in his country’s hands as his cabinet held its first meeting in the territory. “The Golan Heights will remain in the hands of Israel forever,” Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting, in comments broadcast on public radio. “Israel will ...

  Myanmar / AFP Myanmar President HtinKyaw pardoned 83 political prisoners on the country’s traditional New Year on Sunday, a spokesman from his office said, as the fledgling civilian-led administration seeks to cast off the shackles of nearly half a century of military rule. The new government, steered by veteran democracy activist Aung San SuuKyi, has spent its first weeks in ...