*At least 47 schools destroyed by armed groups so far in 2025 in Haiti
*Pope Francis thanks faithful for prayers
🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
Https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
Https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?Hl=es
Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/telesurenglishofficial
Youtube⏯
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucmutmply35o3csvhya6vrkg
Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hmlcy0a6z7&_r=1
*Pope Francis thanks faithful for prayers
🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
Https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
Https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?Hl=es
Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/telesurenglishofficial
Youtube⏯
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucmutmply35o3csvhya6vrkg
Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hmlcy0a6z7&_r=1
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Cuba accuses the United States Agency for International Development of using taxpayers'
00:14money in subversive programs against the Caribbean island.
00:19The United Nations Children's Fund denounces the destruction of at least 47 schools in
00:27Haiti as part of the offensive of armed groups so far in 2025.
00:32And through an audio broadcast at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City, Pope Francis expressed
00:39his gratitude for the prayers offered for his health.
00:46Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Televisa Studios in Caracas,
00:50Venezuela.
00:51We begin with the news.
01:07Cuba accuses the United States Agency for International Development of using taxpayers'
01:11money in subversive programs against the Caribbean island.
01:14According to Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, the USAID invested more than $120
01:20million to undermine a constitutional order in his country between 2007 and 2013.
01:26Rodriguez also said it was unusual for an official development agency to use money to
01:31support changes in foreign governments and to enrich those who make profits with the
01:36suffering of human beings.
01:38U.S. President Donald Trump has recently said that the USAID should be closed, citing alleged
01:42acts of corruption within that agency.
01:50And in Venezuela, the National Assembly held a debate in rejection of the unilateral coercive
01:54measures imposed by the United States against the country.
01:58The deputies condemned the U.S. government's sanctions as unjust and criminal, emphasizing
02:03that the intention of these actions is to subjugate the Venezuelan people to imperial
02:07impositions.
02:09Parliamentarians highlighted the historic struggle and resistance of the people to Washington's
02:13actions and with a view to the development of the country.
02:16In this sense, legislators rejected the support and promotion of the far right within and
02:21outside the national territory, as well as the constant attacks against the nation.
02:31The United States evolves in its model of intervention in the fundamental fact of seeing
02:35that in Venezuela in 1878 an oil era began and the United States realized that these
02:41Indians, these blacks, we had oil.
02:47The President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez, recalled the words
02:51of Commander Hugo Chavez Frías in the framework of the 12 years of his passing.
03:01Chavez is not me, he said, and he said it on the first day of his first speech when
03:06he registered his candidacy in the Plaza Diego Ibarra in the city of Caracas.
03:11Chavez is no longer me because Chavez is your Venezuelan woman, Chavez is your young Venezuelan
03:17worker, peasant, fisherman, culturist, and by saying that, he was staying with us forever.
03:25U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would post the application of tariffs
03:33on Mexican imports until April 2nd.
03:36Through his social media, Truth Social, Donald Trump affirmed this agreement was reached
03:41after a conversation he had with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum.
03:46Trump assured that he made this decision out of respect for the Mexican leader.
03:50Earlier, Sheinbaum confirmed the decision in statements to the press, where she affirmed
03:55that Mexico would not be required to pay tariffs on its products within the United States-Mexico-Canada
04:01agreement.
04:02This deal will last until April 2nd, when Washington will announce reciprocal tariffs
04:06on all countries.
04:12And for her part, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took to her social media to address
04:16the phone call with the U.S. head of state and expressed many thanks to President Donald
04:21Trump.
04:22We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration
04:27have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties.
04:32We will continue to work together, particularly on migration and security issues, which include
04:37reducing the illegal crossing of fentanyl into the United States, as well as weapons
04:42into Mexico.
04:43As mentioned by President Trump, Mexico will not be required to pay tariffs on all those
04:48products within T-MEC.
04:49This agreement is until April 2nd, when the U.S. will announce reciprocal tariffs for
04:54all countries.
04:58And later, during her routine morning press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
05:04described her talk with Trump as very respectful and highlighted that she had shown the good
05:09results Mexico was delivering in border cooperation.
05:12In February alone, the reduction in the seizures of fentanyl on the United States side of the
05:24border with Mexico decreased by 41.5 percent.
05:29He did not know this chart until we sent it to him.
05:34And besides, I explained it to him, that what we had decided, of sending 10,000 guards to
05:43the border to deal with customs checks, well, it was delivering results.
05:52Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao responded to the U.S. move to impose tariffs on the
05:57country, urging the government to take internal actions to tackle the fentanyl issue and ensuring
06:02coercion and extortion will not work on the Asian country.
06:07I want to emphasize that the U.S. must respect the facts regarding the fentanyl issue and
06:12take proactive actions itself.
06:19Simply shifting blame to China will not solve its own problems.
06:29Using this as a reason to impose tariffs on China is misleading and distorting the truth.
06:38Coercion and extortion will not work on China, and they cannot intimidate China either.
06:44China is firm in its resolve to upholding and safeguarding its own interests.
06:49As for the unilateral tariffs imposed by the U.S. side, we have already taken necessary
06:55response measures in accordance with basic principles governing international law and
06:59the relevant laws and regulations.
07:05If the U.S. side goes further down this wrong path, we will fight to the end.
07:11We have now our first short break coming up.
07:13Remember you can join us on Tiktok at Teleswinglish, where you'll find news in different formats,
07:17news updates, and much more.
07:20Stay with us.
07:41Welcome back.
07:43Migrants deported to Costa Rica denounced physical, psychological, and nutritional mistreatment
07:47by U.S. authorities.
07:49According to the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, the migrants transported
07:53to the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, affirmed they were detained, held, and transferred
07:58in shackles during their transfer without any explanation given.
08:01In addition, they referred for off-treatments from the authorities and accused them of withholding
08:08their identity documents and belongings.
08:10Also complaining of the poor quality of food and accommodations.
08:16The United Nations Children's Fund denounces the destruction of at least 47 schools in
08:24Haiti as part of the offensive of armed groups so far in 2025.
08:28In this regard, a UNICEF representative declared that irregular groups loot educational centers
08:33to obtain money through extortion and violence.
08:36The report from the multilateral organization indicates that one in every seven children
08:40in Haiti does not attend school, and almost a million are at risk of dropping out of education
08:45due to its limited access, combined with the fear of citizens that children will be recruited
08:50by armed groups.
08:56And the Colombian Congress continues the debate on the health care reform on Thursday with
09:0093.4% of its articles approved.
09:03With 101 votes in favor and 21 against, the Colombian legislative body approved Thursday
09:08articles 48, 56, and 57, leaving only four articles to be debated.
09:14On Wednesday, after more than seven hours of debate and with the presence of the Ministers
09:18of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, and of Health Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, the plenary
09:23approved 24 key articles of the reform, including the most controversial ones.
09:33And with three days ahead of primary and internal elections in Honduras, efforts to
09:37guarantee the agility of Sunday's elections are moving forward.
09:41So far, 24,858 electoral ballots with their corresponding biometric devices and 8,258
09:48technological kits have been distributed nationwide for the upcoming elections.
09:53In addition, the National Electoral Council pointed out that around 5,741 voting centers
09:59will be set up, where polling stations will be installed with their corresponding informative
10:03custodians.
10:04In this case, the CNE assured that the logistics implemented in these commissions will also
10:11guarantee the general elections of November 30th.
10:29And in Peru, authorities have declared a state of emergency in several districts due to heavy
10:33rains.
10:34The state of emergency was declared in 90 districts of 18 regions of the country, including
10:39Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, and Cusco.
10:43Following a meeting at the National Emergency Operations Center, a ministerial group was
10:47formed to work 24 hours to address emergencies immediately.
10:51In this sense, the authorities urged the population to follow the precautionary measures ordered
10:56by civil protection teams.
10:59In Ecuador, the depth of the torrential rains impacting the country has risen to 16 as authorities
11:08report at least 77,000 residents affected.
11:11The National Secretary of Risk Management briefed that floods, landslides, and mudslides
11:16led to the fatalities, also leaving 91 people injured.
11:20Furthermore, authorities estimated the weather event caused structural damage in at least
11:2420,400 houses.
11:27They further reported loss in agriculture, namely 1,000 hectares of harvest and about
11:3245,000 dead farm animals.
11:59The Palestinian resistance movement claimed on Thursday that U.S. President Trump's abiding
12:03threats to the Palestinians are upholding Israel's decision on not complying with the
12:07ceasefire deal.
12:09A senior Palestinian authority confirmed having held a meeting with a special envoy of the
12:13White House.
12:14The leader further asserted the talks left a positive impression, although Washington
12:18has just focused on releasing Israeli hostages, namely those with U.S. citizenship.
12:23In this context, White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt confirmed that the Trump administration
12:27engaged in direct talks with Hamas, saying the discussions aligned with U.S. interests.
12:32The encounter facilitated by Qatari intermediaries has been the first ever since 1997 and breaks
12:38the U.S. rule of not engaging in direct talks with those that Washington labeled as terrorist
12:42groups, as is the case of Hamas.
12:52Palestinians in Hanjouni shared their views after U.S. President Donald Trump said that
12:55the people of Gaza would be dead and face hell unless Israeli hostages are freed.
13:00If Hamas submits to Trump's decisions and threats, it signifies our failure.
13:09We must neither comply with him nor fear him.
13:15There is nothing left to weep for.
13:16We have been devastated, our homes reduced to rubble, our sons, fathers and elders lost.
13:21There is nothing left to mourn.
13:23Thousands of Syrians rallied Thursday in various parts of the country to reject the
13:32new government's policies and denounced that the interim rulers only seek to cling to power.
13:38Demonstrators carried out placards demanding the new rulers to leave power due to their
13:42incapacity to guarantee the nation's stability.
13:45Likewise in the northwestern city of Latakia, hundreds of residents denounced the country's
13:50control by armed groups and rejected the attacks and actions launched by groups affiliated
13:54to the new government.
13:56Similar demonstrations have also been reported in the western port city of Tartus and in
14:01homes near the capital.
14:07We have now our second short break coming up, before we invite you to visit our Facebook
14:10page Telesur English, there you will be able to watch our top stories, special live coverage
14:15and much more.
14:17Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's
14:20most recent events.
14:21We'll be right back after the break.
14:24Welcome back.
14:44Through an audio broadcast at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City, Pope Francis expressed
14:48his gratitude for the prayers offered for his health.
14:51The high pontiff was hospitalized on February 14th and his evolution has been closely followed
14:56by the Catholic communities around the world.
14:58The Holy See asked the faithful to continue praying for Francis' speedy recovery while
15:03his health conditions remain stable and with no new respiratory crisis.
15:08The Pope expressed his gratitude through a message full of faith and hope for all his
15:12faithful believers.
15:16I thank you with all my heart for the prayers you make for my health from the square.
15:26I accompany you from here.
15:28May God bless you and may the Virgin take care of you.
15:46After meeting in the United Kingdom, the leaders of the European Union held an emergency meeting
15:51to discuss the situation in Ukraine and their rift with the United States.
15:55The heads of the bloc and the President of Ukraine are meeting again in Brussels to secure
15:59their military defenses and to check that Kiev is properly protected.
16:03Less than 48 hours ago, the United States halted all codes and intelligence exchanges
16:08and afterwards deactivated the guidance systems for the Himmars rocket launchers.
16:13In view of this situation, the Ukrainian head of state has asked Washington for a new opportunity
16:18to talk about peace.
16:20The Rearm Europe plan provides up to 800 billion euros for defense investment.
16:28It gives the member states fiscal space to invest in defense, it gives the member states
16:34possibility to invest in the Ukrainian defense industry or to procure military capabilities
16:41that go right away to Ukraine.
16:44So it is to the benefit of rearming Europe, rearming the European Union, but also arming
16:51Ukraine in its existential fight for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
16:56Of course, the security and defense of Europe is not separated of Ukraine security and defense.
17:05A stronger European defense, it boosts Ukrainian defense and a stronger capacity for Ukrainian
17:15defense is also very important to boost our own defense.
17:21As the International Women's Day draws near, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the
17:25opportunity to meet with representatives of the defenders of the Fatherland Foundation
17:29in Moscow to highlight their work in the field.
17:32The foundation represents the state fund in support of those involved in the ongoing
17:36special military operation in Ukraine.
17:38The Russian President held a meeting at the Unified Support Center with mothers and wives
17:44of servicemen participating in the military operation.
17:47Putin further stated that women's representation in Russia is of vital importance and that
17:51seeing them even engaged in the military area and on the front line should be emphasized
17:56as women represent the motivation in the struggles to achieve any victory.
18:03I see here today also women in military uniform.
18:08This means that they are among us, and today at our meeting, all those who are directly
18:13involved in the special military operation.
18:17Special words of thanks to you, deep respect for your choice.
18:21Women in general, even among medical personnel, specialists in other areas of military service
18:26and even on the front line, are not so rare.
18:34Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Amad Mourira announced Thursday that his country submitted a formal
18:39application to join the BRICS.
18:41The Zimbabwean Foreign Minister referred to the conflict in Ukraine, reiterating his country's
18:45position in favor of a peaceful solution, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart
18:49Segel Lavrov.
18:50Mourira expressed that his country expects a consensual response from the members of
18:55the bloc, after considering that it meets the necessary requirements for membership.
18:59The BRICS group is characterized for promoting cooperation among nations with diverse political,
19:04economic and cultural systems, based on principles such as mutual respect and non-intervention
19:09in the internal affairs of member countries.
19:11Like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
19:16You can find these and many other stories on our website at telescopeenglish.net.
19:20You can also join us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
19:25With Telescope English and Wizard Bear Tomatoes, thank you for watching.