23/03/2025
FTS 16.30
*Canadian PM calls for snap election.
*New Israeli attack on Gaza refugee camp.
teleSUR
These and many more stories now!
FTS 16.30
*Canadian PM calls for snap election.
*New Israeli attack on Gaza refugee camp.
teleSUR
These and many more stories now!
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NewsTranscript
00:00On Sunday, Ecuadorian presidential candidates began the electoral campaign for the run of
00:16elections.
00:24In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney called for a snap election for April 28th.
00:34And in Palestine, a new Israeli attack caused an explosion in a Gaza refugee camp.
00:42Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Dersu Studios in Caracas,
00:47Venezuela.
00:48We begin with the news, stay with us.
00:54The National Electoral Council of Ecuador modified the calendar of the run of elections
01:10and moved forward the official start of the campaign to Sunday, March 23rd, the same day
01:15of the debate between candidates.
01:16The current president of Ecuador and candidate for national democratic action, Daniel Novoa,
01:21and the candidate of the Citizens' Revolution Movement, Luisa González, faced again on
01:25Sunday's debate for the ballotage to be held next April 13th.
01:29In 2023, during the first debate, González came as a favorite after being in first position
01:34in the first round with 33.61% of the votes against Novoa's 23.47%, although it was
01:40he who ended up winning the election in the second round.
01:43On Sunday's debate, education, health and social security, crime and security, economy
01:48and employment, as well as governance, will be the issues to be discussed on the mandatory
01:52meeting.
01:55And with just a few weeks to go ahead of the run of elections in Ecuador, candidates Luisa
02:04González of Citizens' Revolution Movement and Daniel Novoa, president and candidate
02:08of national democratic action, are set to hold a presidential debate this Sunday night.
02:15More than 11 million people took part in the first round of elections in Ecuador, but
02:19since none of the candidates reached the majority of the votes, a run of election will be required,
02:24in accordance with the electoral laws of the country, which establishes that for a candidate
02:28to be the winner in the first round, he or she must obtain 50% of the votes plus one,
02:33or at least 40% with a 10-point advantage over the second place.
02:39After a technical tie in the first round, the run of ballot will be between Daniel Novoa,
02:44the current president, supported by the National Democratic Action Party, who obtained 44.17%
02:50of the votes in the first round, and Luisa González of the Citizens' Revolution Party,
02:55who obtained 44%, a difference of less than 70,000 votes according to official data by
03:01the National Electoral Council of the country.
03:04The mandatory presidential debate of the second round will take place on Sunday, March 23,
03:09and will be broadcasted on national radio and television.
03:12Unlike the first debate, this time a segment of closed questions will be incorporated in
03:17the methodology.
03:18The official political campaign starts on March 23, and will run until April 10th.
03:30González's campaign focuses on the call to revive Ecuador, re-establish key institutions
03:35such as the Ministry of Justice and Security, combat organized crime, and promote an equitable
03:40economic model.
03:41Novoa, for his part, proposes security and economic development and the fight against
03:46corruption in Ecuador.
03:47However, his campaign has been marked by several controversies, from breaches of the law, benefits
03:53for family members at the expense of the public treasury, or the recent alliance with Eric
03:57Prince, U.S. mercenary, founder of the private military company Blackwater, to allegedly
04:02confront organized crime.
04:07This process is taking place in an environment marked by electoral violence.
04:11From January 2024 to February 2025, a total of 56 aggressions have been declared, including
04:1825 murders, according to the most recent preliminary report on political violence in the 2025 elections
04:24presented by the Citizen Observatory on this issue.
04:32In this context, let's recall the trajectory of the two presidential candidates running
04:35the second round of the Ecuadorian elections, among them current President Daniel Novoa,
04:39who is opting to be re-elected.
04:40Precisely, Novoa, the son of billionaire Álvaro Novoa Pontón and candidate for the National
04:45Democratic Action, obtained 44.17% of votes in the first round of elections.
04:51During his term in office, he has used presidential decrees to militarize the streets and facilitate
04:56the security of entrepreneurs in the ports.
04:58His administration has been marked by a multidimensional crisis in the political sphere, but also bringing
05:03about economic recession, high levels of insecurity and energy deficit.
05:07His previous electoral campaign was characterized by the violation of constitutional statutes
05:12and the lack of compliance with electoral regulations.
05:14Furthermore, in a desperate measure, Novoa militarized the northern and southern borders
05:19in the middle of his past electoral run on the pretext of fighting armed groups.
05:30Luisa González, a 47-year-old lawyer and former assemblywoman, is seeking the presidency
05:34of Ecuador in the April 13 run-off elections, backed by tight results during the first round
05:39and strong popular support.
05:41González has two master's degrees, one in Senior Management from the Instituto de Alto
05:45Estudios Nacionales and another in International Economics from the Complutense University
05:50of Madrid.
05:51With 44% of votes obtained in the first round of presidential elections, González proposes
05:55a government focused on five axes, justice for good living, security and order, economic
06:01well-being with equal opportunities, the fight against corruption, and ecological justice
06:05and energy transition for a clean and sustainable future.
06:09Representing progressive, social and leftist forces, Luisa González has expressed her
06:13commitment to the real needs of the people, vowing to ensure access to health, education
06:18and giving out credits to encourage youth entrepreneurship.
06:30Moving on to other news, in Colombia, over 60,000 people have been displaced by the escalation
06:34of violence in the Catatumbo region.
06:37The government of North Santander assured that 772 people from Catatumbo had to be rescued
06:41in humanitarian flights due to the difficult access to the zones where the confrontations
06:45have taken place.
06:47Colombia also warned that more than 16,000 people are confined to their homes in the
06:50areas where the conflict is taking place.
06:53The clashes between armed groups, which began on January 16, 2025, have killed over 90 people,
06:59among them civilians, minors, peace signatories and social leaders.
07:11And the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, presided Sunday the commemoration of the 146th anniversary
07:17of the heroic defense of Calama.
07:18In this context, the Bolivian head of state, who indicated his nation's inalienable right
07:23to return to the Pacific coast with sovereignty as part of the tributes, and paid Bolivians
07:28have laid wreaths of flowers on the Eduardo Avaroa's monument in Sopocachi area in La
07:34Paz capital.
07:36Eduardo Avaroa was the leader in the historical defense against the Chilean invasion on the
07:41war of the Pacific in the beginnings of the 1880s.
07:44Afterwards, President Arce raised the three-colored flag and lit the Voltaire flame.
07:50In addition, a civic military parade is underway and a presidential keynote address is expected
07:55later on Sunday.
08:14And the Ecuadoran government registered a new leak of oil derivatives in the Amazon
08:18province of Napo.
08:19The Ministry of Energy and Mines detailed that the personnel of the Ecuadorian Electric
08:23Corporation and Petro-Ecuador have been working on placing a flooding barrier in the Coca
08:28River.
08:29The spill jeopardizes the infrastructure of the country's main hydroelectric plant,
08:33which is operational and generates 1,100 megawatts to the national power grid.
08:38In this context, on social media, citizens have questioned the government for justifying
08:42these events by arguing that they were intentionally triggered.
08:53Now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on TikTok at TeleZiglish
08:58where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
09:01We'll be right back, stay with us.
09:12Welcome back.
09:21In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a snap election for April 28th, a process
09:26which is set to focus on the country's current intense relations with the United States.
09:30Carney announced the decision adding he had requested the Governor General to dissolve
09:34Parliament as his procedure to call the early polls.
09:37Precisely, Parliament had been due to return on Monday after being prorogued for two months,
09:42following former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation announcement in early January.
09:46Carney's call comes amid a tense political setting in the North American country, where
09:50the Liberal Party experienced an unprecedented swing in opinion polls ahead of Conservatives.
09:55A pro-election is widely expected to focus on the strained relationship with the U.S.
09:59amid threats to Canada's economic and political future.
10:04I've just requested that the Governor General dissolve Parliament and call an election for April 28th.
10:16And Pope Francis has been discharged from the Gemelli Hospital after spending over a
10:20month hospitalized due to a respiratory infection.
10:24The Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church was hospitalized on February 14th due to a
10:28polymicrobial infection of his respiratory tract, with tests indicating a complex lingual
10:33picture for one of the oldest popes in the Church's history.
10:37On Saturday, his medical team announced the Pope would be discharged from hospital on
10:41Sunday and would need two months of rest at the Vatican.
10:44Upon leaving, the 88-year-old greeted his well-wishers from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital.
10:50Many worshippers and people around the world united in prayers for the Pontiff's health
10:54to improve.
10:59I was so, so happy.
11:02It's been a long wait.
11:04We've been praying.
11:05When I heard, right from the point I heard that he was sick, we started praying.
11:09I came here the very first day when he was hospitalized.
11:12I dedicated my prayer, and I was so happy when I heard that he would come up to give
11:16us a blessing.
11:17So I'm so happy.
11:18I'm so excited.
11:19Actually, he always has a sense of, like, a sense of youth, but also a sense of joy
11:23and a sense of spirit.
11:25So I think he's truly not only a good leader in terms of faith, but also in terms of character
11:30and morals, right?
11:31Always a sense of, like, joy.
11:32You can see the smile on my face.
11:34I'm very excited to see him smile and whatnot.
11:47On Sunday, the Russian Army liberated the locality of Srebrno in the Donetsk region.
11:52The Russian Defense Ministry reported that in the last 24 hours, there was fighting in
11:56the settlement and in other places on the front line.
11:59The authorities report that at least 1,160 Ukrainian troops were killed during the day.
12:05They also confirmed the destruction of armored vehicles, automobiles, artillery, including
12:09a French-made Cesar Howitzer.
12:13Also, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Army had shot down some 59 Ukrainian
12:26drones in the southwest of the country.
12:28The Ministry reportedly had shot down 29 unmanned aerial vehicles in Rostov region, 20 in Astrakhan,
12:343 in Volgograd, and other regions.
12:37The entity further denounced that the attacks on civilians in Astrakhan region left damage
12:41to residential infrastructure, while Ukrainian forces hit to death a woman under strikes
12:46on Rostov.
12:47The province's border in Ukraine denounced the continuous impacts of projectiles and
12:51drone incursions, which forced the population to seek shelter elsewhere.
13:02And the Kremlin confirmed that the two-hour phone call between the Russian President Vladimir
13:06Putin and his counterpart Donald Trump was constructive.
13:10Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that both leaders agreed on a ceasefire between
13:14Ukraine and Russia in terms of energy infrastructure.
13:17The diplomat referred that the phone call paved the way for new talks between Washington
13:21and Moscow.
13:22Likewise, the spokesperson advanced that Presidents Putin and Trump may meet soon.
13:27Moving on, China reaffirmed its economic policy aimed at boosting domestic consumption
13:42on the sessions of the China Development Forum 2025.
13:45The director of the Central Rural Leadership Group office, Han Wenxiu, granted that he
13:51would ramp up labor productivity in order to raise incomes of urban and rural residents.
13:56He explained that the next step would be to focus on key areas to stimulate national
14:00demand.
14:01In addition, the strategy of such office would bolster breakthrough with a view to increasing
14:05life quality of the elderly and stimulating economies in the health and sports areas.
14:19And South Africa received the former ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, following
14:24his expulsion after being declared persona non grata by the Trump administration.
14:28According to the U.S. government, the South African politician is inciting racism and
14:32hatred against the United States and its president, Donald Trump, during a webinar in which Rasool
14:37explained in an academic manner the scope of the coercive measures imposed by Washington
14:41against social programs that contribute to equity, migration and diversity.
14:45Rasool also warned against the reduction of the white population in the North American
14:49country while reiterating his condemnation of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.
15:01We now have our second short break coming up.
15:03Before we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Telestro English, there you'll be
15:06able to watch our top stories, special live coverage and much more.
15:10Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's
15:14most recent events.
15:15Found your break?
15:19Welcome back.
15:45In Palestine, an Israeli attack caused an explosion in a Gaza refugee camp.
15:49As part of the resumption of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian citizens, Israeli forces
15:53carried out incursions and attacks against refugee camps in the Gaza Strip.
15:57This Sunday, Israel ordered the evacuation of a refugee camp in the city of Gaza moments
16:01before a new aggression.
16:03Palestinians faced a new wave of displacement, living in tents after having returned to their
16:07homes in northern Gaza Strip during the ceasefire.
16:16Suddenly, they told us to evacuate the camp.
16:19My husband is blind and started running barefoot, and my children were running.
16:23We were all confused, did not know where to go.
16:26We went out into the street and they asked that no one stay here.
16:29Where do people go?
16:30We had settled down and gathered some things and settled in the camp.
16:33There is no place for a person to settle.
16:35Look what is happening to the people.
16:37By God, it is a sin that all this is happening.
16:41The Palestinian Center for Human Rights accused Israel of using the lack of water as a weapon
16:46to make the Gaza Strip inhospitable.
16:49The organization warned that the humanitarian disaster in the region threatens the lives
16:52of over 2 million people as they do not have access to basic supplies, such as clean water
16:57and safe water.
16:59In this sense, the PCHR informed that the water and wastewater treatment infrastructures
17:04have been severely affected due to the Israeli bombings.
17:07The entity further stressed that Tel Aviv's decision to cut off the electricity supply
17:11to a desalination plant in Gaza aggravated the humanitarian crisis.
17:15Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced that these actions were
17:19part of the ethnic cleansing campaign to wipe Palestinians off the map.
17:23Meanwhile, in Syria, forces of the de facto government annihilated 72 civilians in the
17:38latest 24 hours.
17:40Human rights organizations denounced that the General Security Forces claimed 58 lives
17:45in Tartus and Latakia, while 14 others have been reportedly killed in Aleppo, Damascus,
17:50Homs, among other provinces.
17:52Those movements further condemned that over 4,000 civilians had been murdered indiscriminately
17:57after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government.
18:08And the Yemeni army launched an attack against the main airport of Israel in solidarity with
18:12the Palestinian people and after receiving strikes by U.S. weaponry against its civilian
18:16and military infrastructure.
18:19After the strike to the Ben Gurion International Airport, conducted using a hypersonic ballistic
18:23missile, the Yemeni Houthis assured they would continue attacking Tel Aviv until the end
18:27of the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip.
18:30In this context, the Yemenis also confirmed an action with drones and missiles against
18:34the U.S. aircraft carrier and several warships of the enemy army in the Red Sea.
18:40Tensions in the region have further escalated amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire
18:44and U.S. support for the occupation and displacement of the Palestinian territories.
19:07And dozens of people mobilized in Israel in rejection of the mishandling of the hostage
19:11crisis by Netanyahu's government.
19:14Demonstrators gathered outside of the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem to express
19:18their disagreement with the measures implemented by the cabinet.
19:21Demonstrators affirmed that they have lost confidence in the country's cabinet and
19:25demanded that the hostages in Gaza should be returned to their families as soon as possible.
19:29On the other hand, citizens rejected the order issued by the Israeli prime minister to dismiss
19:34the head of the country's internal security service, Ronen Bar, after accusing him of
19:39being responsible for the events of October 7, 2023, which served as an excuse to start
19:44the war against Gaza.
19:52And we have come to the end of this newsbrief.
19:54You can find this and many other stories on our website at telestudioenglish.net.
19:57You can also join us on our social media, Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
20:02For Telestudio English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos.
20:08See you next time.