US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping up a two-day trip to Latin America. It comes as the countries in the region watch the Trump administration step up military activity in the area, to combat drug trafficking and illegal migration.

Quito

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded a visit to Ecuador, where discussions focused on addressing the country's escalating crime and violence, largely attributed to its role as a major transit point for cocaine. Ecuador's President Daniel Novoa has expressed willingness to host U.S. troops for joint operations aimed at combating organized crime and narco-terrorism.

Rubio announced the U.S. designation of two Ecuadorian criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations and indicated that Washington is seriously considering Ecuador's invitation to return a U.S. military base, which was closed in 2009. The U.S. also signaled potential trade benefits for Ecuador, highlighting the close alliance between the two countries.

U.S. mulls military base in Ecuador

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended his latest Latin American trip in Ecuador, once a peaceful country that today is struggling to deal with unprecedented crime and violence. And unlike in Mexico, Rubio's previous stop, Ecuador says it will gladly station U.S. troops in its country for joint training and operations to fight organized crime. We're ready to support. And this what is, frankly, it's a war. It's a war on killers. It's a war on terrorists. These are not narco traffickers. These are narco terrorists who terrorize the countries they operate in. Ecuador doesn't produce drugs, but today it's one of, if not the, main transit point for cocaine earmarked for the U.S. Pacific Coast, Asia and Europe. It's smuggled in everything from bananas, one of Ecuador's main exports, to homemade submarines. The drugs come from neighboring Peru and Colombia, the world's two largest producers of the narcotic. The criminal organizations that run the business have been infiltrating Ecuador's institutions, as well as terrorizing ordinary citizens. Ecuador's conservative president, Daniel Novoa, is eager to bring back a U.S. military base to his country. We used to be here. In 2009, we were asked to leave by Correa, who didn't like us very much and I guess wanted to help out the narco traffickers. And so we left. But if they invite us to return, we will consider it very seriously, because it's a request of an ally in a very strategic part of the world. Rubio announced that the U.S. is designating two Ecuadorian criminal organizations, the Los Lobos and the Chorneros, as foreign terrorist organizations. President Novoa, who was born in the U.S., is one of Washington's closest allies in the region. The only thing they don't agree on is a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We historically recognize two territories, two countries. They have diplomatic missions in our territory. This is historically true in Ecuador. Nonetheless, the U.S. sees Ecuador as a friend. Rubio suggested it will soon be rewarded with a trade agreement, at a time when countries in the region that already have one, like Canada and Mexico, are being hit with unprecedented tariffs. Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera.

A powerful aftershock struck eastern Afghanistan late on Thursday night. More than 2,200 people have already died the quake. Rescue crews are still searching remote villages, but rescue efforts are hampered by rough terrain and aftershocks. The World Food Programme says food stocks are running low and could be exhausted within weeks.

Kabul

Afghanistan quake death toll passes 2200 as food supplies run low

What happens in Ukraine once the war with Russia is over? France tells President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that 26 nations are now ready to offer security guarantees, including the possible deployment of foreign troops as part of a post-war peace arrangement.

Paris

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine's European allies agree security guarantees

CEOs from some of the nation's biggest tech companies sat down for a dinner with President Trump on Thursday. Among those present were Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Washington

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"With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani," the fashion house said in a statement on Thursday.

Milan

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A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration unlawfully terminated about $2.2 billion in grants awarded to Harvard University and can no longer cut off research funding to the prestigious Ivy League school.

Cambridge

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered a statement after meeting leaders on the sidelines of the military event in Beijing. He spoke about Russian security interests, and the Ukraine war.

Moscow

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Hope is fading of finding survivors in the rubble of homes devastated by a powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend that killed more than 1,400 people, as emergency services struggle to reach remote villages.

Kunar

Hope fades for finding survivors after Afghan quake kills over 1400

Portuguese authorities say at least 15 people died after a streetcar derailed and crashed in the capital of Lisbon. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Imtiaz Tyab has the latest.

Lisbon

Iconic streetcar in Portugal's Lisbon derails, 15 killed

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, along with Republican Reps. Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, held a news conference on Wednesday with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's sexual abuse. CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns has more details.

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Israel's central intelligence agency, Shin Bet, said that it thwarted an assassination plot by Hamas against the country's right-wing minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Reuters reports.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

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In California on Tuesday, a jury took less than an hour to clear Cardi B of assault allegations made in a $24 million civil lawsuit. A security guard claimed the rap star attacked her in 2018.

Los Angeles

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the U.S. military struck a boat apparently carrying drugs from Venezuela. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata has the latest details.

Trump says U.S. struck drug-carrying boat from Venezuela

China's Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, along with other world leaders, for a huge military parade showing off new technology.

Beijing

Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un attend China's massive military parade

A Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives committee said it released more than 33,000 pages of files on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as party leadership looked to end a push by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers to force a vote on the matter.

U.S. House committee releases thousands of Epstein files

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou last week called for parliament to hold an earlier-than-expected vote of confidence in him. Next week’s ballot could lead to the collapse of his centrist government and prompt a period of further instability in the European Union’s second biggest economy.

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Tens of thousands of reservists began to report for duty on Tuesday for a new Israeli offensive to seize Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to accelerate despite warnings from senior ranks.

Middle East Conflict

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The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released over 33,000 pages of documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Belgium joins the ranks of Australia, France, Canada and the UK, all who have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA next week in a bid to ramp up pressure on the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza.

Brussels

Belgium to recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly

A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 1,400 people, according to the Afghan Red Crescent Society. Thousands more were  injured.

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The death toll from Afghanistan's worst earthquake in years jumped to over 1,100 with thousands more injured, as difficult terrain hindered rescue efforts in isolated villages of the country's mountainous eastern region.

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Tianjin

Russia, China, India tout renewed co-operation

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was disrupted by jamming that authorities suspect was the result of Russian interference in Bulgaria.

Breakdown