- 7 hours ago
01/06/2026
FTS 8.30
*Peru: presidential candidates Fujimori and Sanchez hold electoral debates
*Lebanon: Israel kills 12 on Sunday, death toll rises to 3,412
FTS 8.30
*Peru: presidential candidates Fujimori and Sanchez hold electoral debates
*Lebanon: Israel kills 12 on Sunday, death toll rises to 3,412
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NewsTranscript
00:11In Colombia, alliance for life candidate Iván Zepeda and far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella have advanced to the
00:18presidential run-off.
00:26Ahead of the second round of Peru's general elections set to take place on June 7, presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori
00:34and Roberto Sánchez held a debate to present their plans for the country.
00:45In Lebanon, the expanded Israeli offensive killed at least 12 people on Sunday, rising the death toll to 3,412.
01:06Hello and welcome to From the South. I am Lorena Fong from the Telesur Studios in Caracas, Venezuela.
01:12We begin with the news. Stay with us.
01:25In Colombia, alliance for life candidate Iván Zepeda and far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella have advanced to the
01:32presidential run-off.
01:33With all voting tables counted, Abelardo de la Espriella of the far-right defenders of the homeland movement secured 43
01:41.7% of the vote, followed by Iván Zepeda of the alliance for life with 40.9%.
01:48The two candidates will face off in a run-off election on June 21.
01:53Voting proceeded normally across the country with strong participation from Colombia voters both at home and abroad.
02:01The far-right is seeking a return to power, while the progressive movement aims to consolidate the changes initiated by
02:08Gustavo Petro.
02:18We look now at Alliance for Life candidate Iván Zepeda, a man whose life and career are deeply moving into
02:25the fabric of Colombia's history.
02:28Born in exile, Zepeda became a survivor of political violence after his dad, Senator Manuel Zepeda, was assassinated in 1994.
02:36Choosing justice over revenge, he led a landmark human rights victory against the state at the Inter-American Court.
02:45As a philosopher and congressman since 2010, Zepeda has been a key architect of peace, facilitating the historic 2016 FARC
02:54Accords and leading current talks with the ELN.
02:57Now, his candidacy represents the transition of a once-persecuted left into a governing force, striving total peace for Colombia.
03:06Some of his key presidential goals include acceleration of the agrarian reform throughout the democratization of land ownership,
03:14guarantee social rights, ensuring universal free public education,
03:19strengthen preventive health care, combat gender inequality and also fighting corruption.
03:35Now, let's take a look at the profile of the Colombian candidate and founder of the Defenders of the Homeland
03:42Movement, Abelardo de la Espriella.
03:44A lawyer de la Espriella presidential campaign in Colombia was marked by serious controversies.
03:50Questions about his professional ethics and his fiber rhetoric are at the center of the political debate.
03:56His past as a defense attorney for controversial figures like David Murcia Guzmán and his alleged role in the Álvaro
04:03Uribe case fueled the criticism.
04:05Press organizations alleged a pattern of judicial harassment by the candidate.
04:10The Foundation for Press Freedom notes that he fueled more than 100 complaints against journalists, most of which were dismissed.
04:18De la Espriella political platform calls for a radical crackdown on armed groups.
04:23He has proposed bombing their camps and presuming the use of glyphosate for aerial spraying across the country.
04:31He presents himself as a candidate outside of traditional politics, but his critics say he's part of the system and
04:38questions his promise of an anti-corruption crusade after he defended several individuals accused of that crime.
04:45In this way, De la Espriella's background and proposals define a controversial profile his campaign precedes amidst defense of radical
04:54order and constant criticism of his past.
05:07During a speech after the preliminary results were made public, the Colombian far-right presidential candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella,
05:15outlined what his main economic priorities and strategic allies at the international level would be.
05:23A Colombia that promotes entrepreneurship and free enterprise, which, under the administration of El Tigre, already counts the United States
05:34as its main ally and Ecuador as a sister nation,
05:41but which recognizes that the rest of the continent, as well as Europe and Asia, are just as important.
05:50In this regard, addressing the results, former presidential candidate Claudia López urged Colombians to vote in the upcoming runoff,
05:58warning that candidate De la Espriella poses a significant threat to democracy in the nation.
06:05So I call on the citizens who did not vote today, who make up 45% of the electorate, citizens
06:11who are eligible to vote but did not go to the polls.
06:14We call on them to reflect and take action. Each person will defend democracy, but at the polls, not at
06:20home.
06:21We must go out and vote. Abelardo de la Espriella is a danger to Colombia. He's a defender of the
06:26mafia.
06:26He's an unscrupulous man. He represents an exclusionary agenda.
06:32In this context, Colombian presidential candidate Iván Zepeda alleged irregularities in the election process, stating that 10 million votes were
06:41miscounted.
06:46Today, we received 10 million miscounted voters in Colombia. We are undoubtedly the leading political force.
07:00Before addressing any other issues, let's clarify two matters that are currently causing confusion.
07:13The President of the Republic had just spoken clearly about one of those situations.
07:23There is a discrepancy we want to verify regarding the border registry, and this is no ordinary discrepancy.
07:32We are talking about 885,000 people or ID cards.
07:38We want this discrepancy to be clarified, and we mean it because we are serious people.
07:48Furthermore, Zepeda condemned the open interference by foreign governments in the presidential election.
07:58Authorities, including foreign governments, are middling our elections, as has happened with President Novoa.
08:10Motivated, or surely orchestrated, and plotted with Mr. De La Espriella,
08:17to whom we will now dedicate a few words, of course.
08:23This is nothing more than the vulgar, open, and shameless interference in our electoral process,
08:32and specifically in the south of the country, where we know we have a significant vote.
08:39So, we are not making up any kind of excuse for not recognizing the results.
08:47We are, democratically, asking that the vote counting committees do their job,
08:54so that we can clearly know exactly how many votes we receive in Nationwide today,
09:00down to the very last one.
09:05For this part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejected the election, extrapolation,
09:10and warrant of serious irregularities in the process.
09:13By his official ex-account, President Petro stated,
09:17the so-called count that was broadcast and not legally binding, its data is not public record.
09:23As President, I do not accept the results of the preliminary count by the Bautista Brothers,
09:28private firms, because while the algorithms of the counted,
09:32and tabulation software should remain unchanged, they were changed three times in the last week,
09:39and 800,000 more voters' identification numbers were added for people who are not in the official census presented.
09:55And now we have a show break coming up. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
10:19Welcome back to From the South.
10:21We continue with more information ahead of the second round of Peru's general election set to take place on June
10:277.
10:27presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sanchez held a debate to present their plans for the country.
10:34The debate took place on Sunday at the Lima Convention Center in San Borja.
10:39The agenda addressed issues related to democracy, public safety, threatening the state, education, health, the economy,
10:47employment, and poverty, and poverty reduction issues in which the candidates for the country's highest office defended the proposals.
10:55In this regard, while far-right Fujimori reaffirmed her commitment to private investment and the restoration of investor confidence,
11:04the Together for Peru candidate reiterated his proposal to raise the minimum wage,
11:09expanding financial support for vulnerable families,
11:12and promoting measures for more equitable distribution of wealth.
11:26And now we go to the United States where a curfew has been imposed in Newark following an escalation of
11:32protests against ICE and the immigration policies of Donald Trump's government.
11:37The government's emergency measure imposed by Mayor Ras Baraka follows intense days of clashes between civilian protesters and police forces
11:46in the vicinity of the Delaney Hall detention center.
11:49The protests began following an indefinite hunger strike by migrants detained within the prison
11:56who claimed to be subjected to cruel treatments and precarious conditions in the prison premises.
12:02After imposing a curfew, municipal authorities warned that those who failed to comply with the special regulations
12:09will be subjected to severe coercive measures by local law enforcement agencies.
12:23And also reports in the United States denounce that more than 6,000 minors remain detained under the Donald Trump
12:30administrations,
12:32where they are subjected to mistreatment.
12:34United States immigration authorities are holding more than 6,300 minors in custody, some as young as two months old.
12:43Most are being held at the Delaney Detention Center in Texas, the only facility in the country that detains immigrant
12:49families.
12:51Democrat Congressman Joaquin Castro has denounced the practice, saying that instead of being treated as asylum seekers, the minors are
12:59being criminalized.
13:00In the United States, Castro also stated that more than 1,400,000 children have experienced the detention of at
13:09least one parent as a result of the immigration enforcement campaign promoted by Donald Trump.
13:15The Delaney facility, which remained closed during the Joe Biden administration, was reopened in 2025.
13:32United States citizens are applying for Canadian citizenship, driven by political tensions and trade tariffs that have deteriorated relations between
13:41the two countries.
13:42During the first quarter of the year, nearly 2,500 United States citizens applied in a single month, surpassing the
13:50total from all other countries combined.
13:53This follows the recent entry into the force of the new Canadian Citizenship Act, which allows millions of people to
14:00claim their citizenship by descent.
14:02Amid growing bilateral tensions exacerbated by the tariff policy imposed by President Donald Trump and threats of the possibility of
14:11annexing Canada as the 51st state.
14:33In Kazakhstan, Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa strained bilateral ties between Havana and Astana during an official visit.
14:42Upon his arrival, Valdés Mesa was received by the President of the Chamber, Gerlán Cozanoff, in a meeting aimed at
14:49expanding their institutional and economic cooperation agreements.
14:53Accompanying the Vice President were the Cuban ambassadors to the Central Asian nation, Alfredo Nieves Portuondo and Deputy Director General
15:01for Bilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alejandro Simán Casmarín.
15:05The high-level meeting conceded with Cuba's participation in the regional forum of the Eurasian Economic Union.
15:13Valdés expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and the high esteem the Kazakh government holds for Cuba and the
15:21figure of Fidel Castro.
15:27We also express our gratitude for the admiration, respect and affection.
15:33John Howard, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, this year marks the centenary of his birth with many activities planned throughout
15:42the year.
15:42And the program of activities also includes the celebration of this event on the international stage.
15:51And in Spain, the streets of Bilbao in the Basque Country were filled with hundreds of people who marched to
15:58reiterate the solidarity with Cuba at the closing ceremony of a fundraising campaign to support the island.
16:04Social organizations and unions gathered for the event under the slogan, Cuba Stop the Genocide, which had a significant impact
16:12on the campaign against the blockade, raising over 284,000 donations from the Caribbean island.
16:23These funds were used by the non-governmental development organization MediCuba Europe to purchase supplies for two large solar energy
16:32facilities,
16:33destined to the Williams Solar Pediatric Hospital in Havana, which treats 140,000 children annually.
16:40The event was enlivened by artists who perform songs to convey a message of solidarity and unity with the largest
16:48of the Antilles.
16:59And we go now to France, where President Emmanuel Macron unveiled the nation's military has seized an oil tanker sailing
17:07from Russia in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
17:10The operation was carried out on the high seas with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom.
17:17The Tiger oil tanker, which flies the flag of Madagascar, made its last sport cold in the northwestern Russian city
17:24of Murmansk in early May.
17:26Let's recall that on March, the French Navy conducted a similar operation involving an oil tanker in the western Mediterranean
17:35Sea,
17:35with Macron alleging that the vessel was part of Russia's so-called Shadow Fleet.
17:41The seizure was denounced as an act of piracy by Russian Foreign Minister Spokeswoman Marias Harova,
17:47who emphasized that Moscow will use all available means to ensure respect for the principle of freedom of navigation.
18:02Finals for a break, but we'll be back with more from the South. Don't go away.
18:34Welcome back to From the South.
18:36The South Israeli attacks in Lebanon left at least 12 people dead and 35 wounded on Sunday,
18:42as the Zionist entity expands its incursion in Lebanon's territory.
18:46According to local media, Israel conducted at least 36 attacks across southern Lebanon on Sunday.
18:53In the Tyre district, a Zionist strike killed four people,
18:56while six strikes against residential area of Deir al-Saharani killed eight people and wounded 19 others.
19:03During the same period, Israel continued its targeted aggressions against healthcare personnel and facilities in violation of humanitarian international law,
19:13injuring at least 13 medical and nursing staff members in an attack near Hiram Hospital in Tyre.
19:19This latest attack comes amid Israel's deepening invasion of southern Lebanon that has crossed the Litani River and approached the
19:28city of Nabatie for the first time in decades.
19:36In this context, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health announced on Sunday that the death toll from Israel's military campaign against
19:44the country has risen to 3,412 people,
19:48with 10,269 others injured since March 2.
19:53The Ministry further stated that 127 healthcare workers are among those killed during the ongoing Israeli aggression, highlighting the growing
20:03toll on Lebanon's medical sector amid continued attacks across the country.
20:08The updated figure comes as Israeli occupation forces suspend military aggression in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement announced in
20:18mid-April.
20:37Iran's ministry spokesman Ismail Baje stated that a ceasefire in Lebanon is inseparable from any final agreement to end the
20:45conflict in the Middle East.
20:47This comes as Israel expanded this invasion of southern Lebanon to an extent not seen in over two decades, despite
20:56the ceasefire agreement in place since mid-April.
20:59Furthermore, negotiations between Iran and the United States to achieve lasting peace in the region have come to an impasse,
21:06as the in-parties don't seem to come to an agreement regarding, among others, the Lebanon issue and an exchange
21:13of aggression has been reported in the past few days.
21:26We will continue to emphasize that the ceasefire in Lebanon is an integral part of any ceasefire and any final
21:35agreement to end the war.
21:40We will take any additional measures we deem necessary to defend Iran's national security.
21:51And the United States Central Command announced on social media they attack Iranian military sites in Gorouk City and Qashem
21:59Island jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.
22:03In a post, an ex-Centcom said it conducted alleged self-defense strike on Iranian radar and command as well
22:10as control sites for drones in Gorouk, Iran and Qashem Island.
22:15This weekend, according to the statement, the delivery strike occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to alleged Iranian aggressions,
22:24including the drowning of US MQ-1 drone.
22:27Its photos said that its forces eliminated Iranian air defenses, a ground control station and two one-way attack drones.
22:35In the sense, Iranian authorities have not made any statements regarding these alish attacks.
22:50Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Armed Forces said it targeted an airbase used by the United States military for an attack
22:58against southern Iran.
23:00According to Iranian media, the IRGC stated that it struck an airbase that was used for an attack on Telkom's
23:08tower on Sirik Island, located in the southern Ormosgan province.
23:14The statement from its Public Relations Office specified that the IRGC's aerospace force fighter targeted the airbase where the aggression
23:22originated and the predicted targets were destroyed.
23:25Furthermore, a warning was issued by the Iranian authority saying that if the aggression is repeated, the response will be
23:33completely different in scale and nature and full responsibility for any such escalation will rest with the United States.
23:52And now in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 20 civilians have been killed following a new attack attributed
23:59to the Allied Democratic Forces amid the Ebola outbreak.
24:04The incident took place in a neighborhood of the outskirts of the Rensori commune, about seven kilometers from the center
24:14of Beni.
24:15This is the first attack attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces against the city of Beni in over three years,
24:21and it has occurred in one of the seven affected hill zones in North Kibu.
24:26Violence by armed groups and the displacement caused by these actions constitute one of the challenges in tackling the outbreak
24:35of the disease declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo since May 15.
24:50And we go to Ethiopia as the country faces armed conflicts and division post-opened early Monday before the country's
24:58general elections where citizens will choose members of parliament who will in turn select the next prime minister.
25:05About 50 million people of a 138 million population are registered to vote for 500 members of the House of
25:13Representatives, who will subsequently vote to select a prime minister.
25:17Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in power since 2018, is expected to stay in his rule as he is running unopposed
25:24in many constituencies.
25:27Meanwhile, the opposition is divided among more than 40 parties and running on low financial resources.
25:33In this sense, democracy is considered weakened as the northern region of Tigray is facing an ongoing conflict between regional
25:41and federal authorities.
25:48And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief for Telesur English. I am Lorena Fong.
25:53Thank you for watching.
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