Death toll from Ecuador quake exceeds 570

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Campaigning for Iran’s run-off parliamentary elections have started. The voting will be held on April 29. 136 candidates are competing for the 68 remaining seats of the 290-seat parliament. 55 constituencies were left undecided in the first round as candidates failed to obtain the required minimum 25 percent of the votes cast.
   
• Iranians across the nation are celebrating the birthday anniversary of Imam Ali, the first Shia Imam, which marks Father’s Day in the country. People buy flowers and presents for their fathers to respect them. Family members get together and enjoy their time along with their fathers.
   
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to continue military operations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. He cited security concerns as the main reason behind Israeli army’s operations in the region. Late on Tuesday, Israeli forces attacked a Palestinian town in the West Bank and arrested over 20 people.
   
• India’s eastern state of West Bengal is going to the third phase of polls in key legislative elections with mainstream political parties in the fray. The voting will decide the fate of 418 candidates, 65 of them facing serious cases of murder and rape. Nearly 14 million voters are eligible to vote.
   
• Russia says militant groups have violated the ceasefire in Syria with sporadic shelling and firings. Moscow has reported six counts of violation by the so-called Free Syrian Army and other armed groups in the provinces of Latakia and Homs. A US-Russia-brokered truce deal came into effect in Syria in February.
   
• NATO-Russia Council talks fail to make progress in reducing regional tensions. Russia says all participants believe military security has decreased in the region. Moscow also slammed NATO for forming a campaign to discredit Russia’s military activities. Russia and NATO are locked in a dispute over the crisis in Ukraine.
   
• The envoy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Martin Sajdik has expressed concern over the increase of violations of a truce deal between warring sides in eastern Ukraine. Sajdik urged both pro-Russian and Ukrainian troops to stop shelling, given the increased number of injuries among both military and civilian populations.
   
• The death toll from a magnitude-7.8 quake that struck Ecuador’s Pacific coast has risen to over 570. Officials expect the figure to rise as hundreds have been reported missing. Another quake also hit the Latin American country on Wednesday. Rescue teams are still searching among the rubble to find survivors.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk