FTS 10:30 23-03: Ecuador: campaigning beings for 2nd round of pres. elections

teleSUR English

23/03/2025 FTS 10.30  *Israeli opposition leader calls for strike *Pope Francis discharged from hospital

Transcript

00:00On Sunday, Ecuadoran presidential candidates began the electoral campaign for the second

00:14round of elections.

00:19Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a strike if the Prime Minister's government

00:23does not comply with the order to suspend the dismissal of Israel's security chief

00:28Ronen Barr.

00:33And Pope Francis has been discharged from the Gemelli Hospital after spending over a

00:38month hospitalized due to a respiratory infection.

00:47Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.

00:51We begin with the news.

01:05National Electoral Council of Ecuador modified the calendar of the second round of elections

01:10and moved forward the official start of the campaign to Sunday, March 23, the same day

01:16of the debate between the candidates.

01:18The current president of Ecuador and candidate for National Democratic Action, ADN, Daniel

01:24Novoa, and the candidate of the Citizens' Revolution Movement, Luisa González, faced

01:29again on Sunday in a debate for the ballotage to be held next April 13.

01:34In 2023, during the first debate, González came as a favourite after being in first place

01:40in the first round, with 33.61% of the votes against Novoa as 23.47%, although it was he

01:49who ended up winning the election in the second round.

01:53On Sunday's debate, education, health and social security, crime and security, economy

01:59and employment, as well as governance, will be the issues to be discussed in the mandatory

02:04meeting.

02:12In this context, let's recall the trajectory of the two presidential candidates running

02:16in the second round of Ecuadorian elections, among them current president Daniel Novoa,

02:21who is opting to be re-elected.

02:22Precisely, Novoa, the son of billionaire Álvaro Novoa Pontón and candidate for the National

02:29Democratic Action Party, obtained 44.17% of the votes in this first round of elections.

02:36During his term in office, he has used presidential decrees to militarise the streets and facilitate

02:43the security of businessmen in the ports.

02:46His administration has been marked by a multidimensional crisis in the political sphere, but also bringing

02:52about economic recession, high levels of insecurity and energy deficit.

02:58His previous electoral campaign was characterised by the violation of constitutional statutes

03:03and the lack of compliance with electoral regulations.

03:07Furthermore, in a desperate measure, Novoa militarised the northern and southern borders

03:12in the middle of his past electoral run under the pretext of fighting armed groups.

03:24For her part, Luisa González, a 47-year-old lawyer and former assemblywoman, is seeking

03:29the presidency of Ecuador in the April 13th round of elections, backed by tight results

03:35during the first round and strong popular support.

03:38González has two master degrees, one in senior management from the Instituto de Altos Estudios

03:43Nacionales and another in international economics from the Complutense University of Madrid.

03:50With 44% of the votes obtained in the first round of presidential elections, González

03:55proposes a government focused on five axes, justice for good living, security and order,

04:02economic well-being with equal opportunities, the fight against corruption and ecological

04:07justice and energy transition for a clean and sustainable future.

04:12Representing progressive, social and leftist forces, Luisa González has expressed her

04:17commitment to the real needs of the people, vowing to ensure access to health, education

04:23and giving out credits to encourage youth entrepreneurship.

04:34In other news, the government of El Salvador started to receive alleged members of a Venezuelan

04:39criminal organisation expelled from the United States.

04:43Last Sunday, the government of El Salvador received the first deportees from the United

04:48States, 238 members of the Trenderagua gang and 23 members of the Salvadoran gang Mara

04:56Salvatrucha.

04:58These deportations respond to the anti-immigrant policy implemented by the President of the

05:03United States, Donald Trump.

05:05In the next few days, the list of deportees that El Salvador is receiving could multiply

05:10as the White House announced that on Tuesday it will revoke the residency permits of half

05:17a million migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela.

05:28Meanwhile in the United States, media revealed statements by intelligence agencies proving

05:33that criminal gang Trenderagua did not operate under Venezuelan government, contradicting

05:38the claims of President Donald Trump's administration.

05:42Reports detail that the agencies agreed that the gang had no relationship with the Venezuelan

05:47government, noting that there was evidence that Venezuelan forces had fought the criminal

05:53organisation.

05:55Agencies such as the CIA and the NSA shared the thesis, concluding that President Donald

06:01Trump ignored the reports of his intelligence agencies and invoked the Foreign Enemies Act

06:07by declaring that the defunct criminal organisation had invaded the United States.

06:17In Panama, workers announced new mobilizations against neoliberal measures.

06:23Social and trade union leaders announced a program of struggle in rejection of Law 462

06:29that reforms the Social Security Fund.

06:31During a press conference, they announced that these Sunday organizations will resume

06:36their mobilizations and will congregate on the so-called Cinta Costera, an action that

06:41will be complemented with an interaction with social networks.

06:45On Saturday 30th March, a national meeting of leaders will be held to discuss future

06:53fighting actions.

06:54Law 462 increases the retirement age by three years, provides for the privatization of the

07:01Social Security Fund and allows its funds to be turned over to the banks and pension

07:07management companies.

07:14And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on Tik Tok

07:18at Telesur English, where you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.

07:22We'll be right back, so stay with us.

07:31Welcome back.

07:58In Israel, opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Saturday for a strike at all levels if

08:03the Prime Minister's government does not comply with the Supreme Court's order to

08:07suspend the dismissal of Israel's security chief Ronen Barr.

08:11During the demonstration held in Tel Aviv, the leader of the Yerush Atid formation stated

08:17that if Netanyahu's executive does not obey the Supreme, it will become a criminal government.

08:23Lapid also added that the economy, parliament, courts and local authorities must join the

08:28strike, adding that they must not be complicit in the destruction of democracy.

08:33Through the protests, the Israelis demanded the Netanyahu regime to stop the attacks on

08:38Gaza and reach a comprehensive agreement for the release of the hostages.

08:50If the government of October 7 decides not to obey the court's decision, it will become

08:56an outlaw government on that very day, at that very moment.

09:01Lapid also assured that all sectors with the exception of the security system should stop

09:06work and demonstrate.

09:14If that happens, at that point, the whole country should stop.

09:19There is one system that cannot stop, and that is the security system.

09:24We oppose all forms of refusal to serve, but beyond that, everything must stop, the economy

09:30must stop, the Knesset must stop, the courts must stop and the local authorities must stop.

09:37It's not just the universities, the schools must also be shut down.

09:42In this context, hundreds of protesters were repressed by the Israeli police on their way

09:47to the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

09:50According to local media, some of the protesters managed to get close to Netanyahu's residence,

09:56where clashes with police forces took place.

09:59The protest was held after the Supreme Court issued an order to halt the dismissal of the

10:04head of Israel's internal spy agency, Ronen Bar.

10:08Since the outbreak of the Palestine-Israeli conflict, Netanyahu has fired or forced the

10:13resignation of senior officials.

10:25In Palestine, at least 30 people were killed and dozens wounded during overnight Israeli

10:30army attacks on the Gaza Strip and as part of the Zionist genocidal campaign.

10:34The total blockade imposed on the enclave has lasted 22 days, aggravating the humanitarian

10:40situation.

10:41Wafaa News Agency reported that three citizens were killed and others were wounded when occupation

10:47forces shelled a vehicle east of Kanjunis.

10:51On the same day, an Israeli airstrike on displaced persons killed two citizens in the Tal al-Sultan

10:57neighbourhood west of Wafaa.

11:00Since Tuesday morning, the Israeli occupation has resumed its genocidal aggressions in the

11:04Gaza Strip, which as of Thursday night had caused approximately 600 martyrs and more

11:10than 1,000 wounded, most of whom are children, women and the elderly.

11:21The Palestinian movement Hamas confirms the death of one of its members during the new

11:25wave of Israeli attacks in Kanjunis.

11:28The Palestinian Islamic Resistance movement Hamas, in a statement issued on Sunday, confirmed

11:34that a member of the movement's political bureau and legislative council, Salah al-Bardawil,

11:39has been killed in the al-Mawassi area west of Kanjunis.

11:43Al-Bardawil was one of the founders of the Islamic Party of National Salvation in 1996

11:51and a representative in the National Assembly and the Central Assembly of the Palestinian

11:55Liberation Organization.

11:57Israel bombed several areas in the early hours of Sunday morning and 18 people were killed

12:02in these attacks on houses and tents of Palestinian refugees.

12:10At least seven people killed and 40 others were wounded in Israeli attacks on dozens

12:16of villages in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

12:19According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the deadliest attack took place in the city

12:23of Tulin, where five people were killed, including a girl, while 11 were injured, including two

12:29children.

12:30Israel carried out this series of attacks on the product of rocket fire from Lebanese

12:36territory.

12:37However, the Hezbollah movement denied any involvement and experts called it a false

12:42flag attack.

12:43The ceasefire truce, which came into effect on last November 27, has been violated almost

12:50daily by the Israeli regime, despite constant appeals by the Lebanese authorities to respect

12:56the agreement.

12:57France, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed their concern over renewed Israeli attacks

13:07on Gaza and called for an immediate return to the truce.

13:11The three countries urge Israel to fully respect international law and allow immediate humanitarian

13:17access to the Gaza Strip.

13:19In a joint statement, they stressed that the resumption of Israeli attacks is a dramatic

13:24setback for the people of Gaza, the hostages, their families and the entire region.

13:29On the other hand, on the statement it was emphasized that the civilian population has

13:34the right to have place, peace and security, stressing that the conflict cannot be resolved

13:40by military means, as this will only lead to the death of more Palestinian civilians

13:45and Israeli hostages.

13:54The Russian defense ministry announced that the army had shot down some 59 Ukrainian drones

14:07in the southwest of the country.

14:10The ministry reportedly had shot down 29 unmanned aerial vehicles in Rostov region, 20 in Astakhan,

14:183 in Volgograd and other regions.

14:21The entity further denounced that the attacks on civilians in Astakhan region left damage

14:26to residential infrastructure, while Ukrainian forces hit to death a woman on their strikes

14:32on Rostov.

14:34The province's border in Ukraine had denounced the continuous impacts of projectiles and

14:39drone incursions, which forced the population to seek shelter elsewhere.

14:49And we have a second show-break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our Facebook

14:53page at Telesur English, there you'll be able to watch our top stories, special live coverage

14:58and much more.

14:59Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's most

15:04recent events.

15:26Welcome back to From the South.

15:28Pope Francis has been discharged from the Gemelli Hospital after spending over a month

15:33hospitalized due to a respiratory infection.

15:36The Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church was hospitalized on February 14th due to a

15:41polymicrobial infection of his respiratory tract, with tests indicating a complex clinical

15:48picture for one of the oldest popes in the Church's history.

15:52On Saturday, his medical team announced the Pope would be discharged from hospital on

15:56Sunday and would need two months of rest at the Vatican.

16:00Upon leaving, the 88-year-old greeted his well-wishers from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital.

16:07Many worshippers and people around the world united in prayers for the Pontiff's health

16:12to improve.

16:28The 28th edition of the Malaga Film Festival ended in Spain, where the film Deaf was the

16:33winner with four Bisnaga Award.

16:36Deaf, which won Best Film, Best Actress, Best Actor and Audience Award, tells the story

16:42of Angela, a deaf woman who is having a baby with Hector, her hearing partner.

16:47The arrival of the child alters the couple's relationship and leads Angela to face the

16:53task of raising her daughter in a world that is not made for her.

16:57Also, three other films won the main awards of the festival, Los Tortugas, The Fury and

17:03Molt Luni, which closes this quadrant taken to start with.

17:08It is important to highlight that three of these four films were directed by women.

17:13On the other hand, the Golden Bisnaga for Best Ibero-American Film was awarded to Thief

17:18of Dogs by Vinco Salinas.

17:28On Saturday, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwai and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held

17:34the 6th China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue in Tokyo.

17:38During the meeting, the representative of the Asian giant said that since the normalisation

17:43of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, bilateral trade has remained at a high

17:49level of US$300 billion for 15 consecutive years.

17:54Wang also stated that both nations should maintain the tradition of promoting political

17:59relations through economic cooperation, dialogue and exchanges in all sectors as new engines

18:06of growth.

18:12China reaffirmed its economic policy aimed at boosting domestic consumption at the sessions

18:17of the China Development Forum 2025.

18:20The director of the Central Rural Leadership Group office, Han Wenshu, granted that he

18:25will ramp up labour productivity in order to raise the incomes of urban and rural residents.

18:31The head explained that the next step would be to focus on key areas to stimulate national

18:37demand.

18:38In addition, the strategy of such efforts would boost breakthroughs with a new view

18:44to increasing life quality of the elderly and stimulating economies in the health and

18:49sport areas.

19:08The Ecuadorian government registered a new league of oil derivatives in the Amazon province

19:13of Naples.

19:15The Ministry of Energy and Mines detailed that the personnel of the Ecuadorian Electric

19:20Corporation and Petroecuador have been working on placing a floating barrier in the Coca

19:26River.

19:27The spill jeopardises the infrastructure of the country's main hydroelectric plant,

19:32which is operational and generates 1,100 megawatts to the national power grid.

19:38In this context, on social media, citizens have questioned the government for justifying

19:43these events by saying they were intentionally triggered.

19:53On Sunday March 23rd is the World Meteorological Day, the date on which the World Meteorological

19:59Organisation was created in 1950 in Geneva, Switzerland.

20:04The objective of this commemoration is to make the world population aware of the importance

20:09of caring for the climate and to warn about the effects of climate pollution.

20:15Meteorology studies the atmospheric changes that occur at all times using parameters such

20:20as air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind and precipitation.

20:27The objective of meteorology is to predict the weather in 24 or 48 hours and, to a lesser

20:33extent, to reduce a medium-term weather forecast.

20:43And like this, we have come to the end of this inBrief, but you can find this and many

20:47other stories on our website at www.telesurenglish.net and join us on social media.

20:51We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.

20:56For Telesur English, I am Alejandra Garcia.

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