Government officials in Ecuador have blamed a deadly explosion in the port city of Guayaquil on organised crime. At least five people were killed and 26 more injured in the blast on Sunday. Ecuador’s interior minister said it was a “declaration of war” by criminal gangs against the government. The Andean country, which is used as a cocaine smuggling route from neighbouring Peru and Colombia, has seen a sharp rise in murders and gang-related crime recently. A state of emergency has been declared in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city and an important trade hub. It is the fourth emergency to be declared in Ecuador since October because of gang violence.

Eight houses and two cars were destroyed in the early morning blast, according to the National Risk and Emergency Management Service. Pictures from the scene show the front of houses ripped off and cars smeared in blood with their windows blown in. At a news conference late on Sunday, officials said the attack was directed at two men who go under the aliases of Cucaracha and Junior and are linked to Los Tiguerones, one of the leading crime gangs in Ecuador.(BBC)…[+]

The results of Kenya’s much-awaited presidential election will be known shortly, the electoral body has announced. Preparations for the declaration are underway at the national tallying centre in the country’s capital, Nairobi. Deputy President William Ruto has a narrow lead over ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the latest count. Kenyans have been waiting anxiously for six days for the results. Supporters of both of the main candidates, dressed in party colours and in celebratory mood, have gathered at various centres across the country to wait for the announcement. Mr Ruto and two other presidential candidates have arrived at the culture centre at Bomas where the event is being held. It is however unclear if Mr Odinga, who was also invited by the the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), would attend the event.(BBC)…[+]

Attempts to rescue 10 men from a flooded mine in Mexico have been delayed after the water levels in three shafts rose suddenly on Sunday. The miners became trapped on 3 August when a wall in a tunnel collapsed and water from an adjacent chamber gushed into the three shafts. Officials say the water has to drop to a depth of 1.5m (5ft) to allow rescuers to enter the shafts safely. But on Sunday, it suddenly rose again to more than 20m. The governor of Coahuila state, where the coal mine is located, said the water was probably flowing into the shafts from a nearby disused mine. Governor Miguel Riquelme said engineers were trying to find the source of the leak so they can block it. More than 200 million litres have been pumped from the shafts so far, but the rescue work has been hampered by a number of setbacks. Last week, a special underwater drone carrying a camera was lowered into one of the shafts. Relatives of the miners had hoped the drone would provide them with long-awaited news on their loved ones, from whom there has been no sign of life since the accident 12 days ago.(BBC)…[+]