Ecuador halts oil exports

GUAYAQUIL, March 12 (AFP): - Ecuador's state oil company said Friday it has suspended crude oil exports due to risks posed by a Pacific-wide tsunami unleashed by a massive earthquake in Japan. "Petroecuador has suspended its oil exports and fuel imports for reasons of force majeure, and communicated its decision to companies with which it does business," Petroecuador president Marco Calvopina said in a statement. "The measure was taken to protect ships and maritime terminals," he said. President Rafael Correa earlier Friday declared a state of emergency in response to a tsunami that was forecast to strike the Pacific coast of the Americas from the United States to the southern tip of South America. But in a nationally televised press conference, the Ecuadoran president later appealed for calm, saying the impact was not expected to be as great as initially feared.