19/03/2025
FTS 8.30
*Cuba: International Colloquium Patria will close on Wednesday
*Russia: 175 prisoners’ to be exchanged with Ukraine
FTS 8.30
*Cuba: International Colloquium Patria will close on Wednesday
*Russia: 175 prisoners’ to be exchanged with Ukraine
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Colombia's Congress shelves labor reform proposed by Gustavo Petro's government amid
00:15popular demonstrations.
00:20In Havana, Cuba, the fourth edition of the international colloquium Patria will close
00:24on Wednesday after three days of debate on the impact of technology in the communications
00:31field.
00:34And Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that a new exchange of prisoners between the
00:39Russian and the Ukrainian sides will take place on March 19th.
00:48Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Alejandra García from Telesurf Studios in
00:51Havana, Cuba.
00:52We begin with the news.
01:06Colombian Congress shelves labor reform proposed by Gustavo Petro's government amid popular
01:11demonstrations.
01:13Since his inauguration, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has proposed a series of reforms
01:18that seek to improve the living conditions of millions of citizens.
01:23Tuesday morning, demonstrators in different cities in the country participated in rallies
01:27to support a project which has been obstructed by the country's Congress and that sought
01:33fair remuneration on the mandatory workday and was intended to provide job stability
01:39and reinforce stability for people who are pregnant, sick and about to retire, as well
01:45as measures for the elimination of violence, harassment and discrimination at work.
01:51Despite this massive protest, Colombian Congress voted in favor of shelving the reform.
02:04The President of the Republic elected by the people will not betray the people.
02:09We will first go out dead and sick, then betray the people.
02:21We will resist because we know that our mission is to demonstrate the ways of the people's
02:25victory that we have already done, that we have already shown, that it is possible to
02:32win again.
02:36When again the time has come and again the time must be no more oligarchs in Colombia.
02:43The corrupt are finished.
02:47In the Congress will be elected by the people and the people will punish corruption and
02:51greed and will once again put forward the clean politics of Jorge Elisir Gaetan, speaking
03:01clearly and truthfully.
03:05The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petra, affirmed that the popular consultation will
03:09not stop and highlighted that the big companies in Bogotá have generated the biggest environmental
03:15disaster.
03:20Not even the rain is going to stop the popular consultation, and even less so in a city that
03:33is running out of water simply because of greed.
03:40Yet the press does not want to discover the greatest environmental disaster generated
03:45by the companies in the largest city in Colombia, and that is that Bogotá is running out of
03:53water and it is not possible to replace the damage, if not in years, than when the eastern
04:04mountain range manages to get the water flowing again in the Bogotá savanna.
04:15In Peru, Narif women mobilized to Barbadillo prison in rejection of the imprisonment of
04:21ex-president Pedro Castillo.
04:23Demonstrators spoke out against the false trial presented by the Peruvian government
04:28against ex-president Castillo.
04:30In this sense, the seven women of the Narif people of the Puno region were beaten by security
04:36forces in the prison.
04:38Pedro Castillo has been in this prison since he was arrested in December 2022, accused
04:44of alleged rebellion and other crimes.
04:50In Peru, various authority figures have spoken out to criticize the government's actions
04:55regarding the implementation of a state of emergency in order to combat organized crime.
05:01Members of the Peruvian Armed Forces were deployed on Tuesday in Lima after the government
05:07declared a state of emergency in the capital for a month.
05:10In this context, the major of the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, Jesús Maldonado,
05:16declared the state of emergency does not have a strategy or an integral plan to fight
05:21delinquency and criminality.
05:23Likewise, congressman Sigrid Bazán described the major as a mockery to the citizenship
05:30and added that President Dina Boluarte has no idea how to face crime.
05:47Representatives of the Salvadoran Catholic Church and ecologist activists delivered signatures
05:56to demand that the government of Nayib Bukele repeal a law that allows mining exploitation.
06:02Demonstrators went this Tuesday to the Legislative Assembly to deliver 150,000 signatures of
06:09citizens asking to repeal the general metallic mining law approved last December.
06:16Hundreds of people gathered in the Legislative Assembly to sign and express themselves in
06:21defense of the commons.
06:23According to data from ecologists, the organization's mining exploitation would affect around 4
06:29million people in El Salvador, a country of 6.3 million inhabitants.
06:38And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on TikTok at
06:42TellUsYourEnglish where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and more.
06:46We'll be right back, stay with us!
07:13Welcome back from the South!
07:15In Havana, Cuba, the fourth edition of the International Colloquium Patria will close
07:20on Wednesday after three days of debate on the impact of technology in the communications field.
07:26According to the organizers, four other presentations will complete the broad program of presentations
07:32of the event, which will conclude with a final declaration on the need for greater articulation
07:38of the counter-hegemonic media of the world.
07:44The event, held at the University of Havana, discusses forms of media counter-hegemony,
07:49as well as strategies of developing countries in the face of the information domination of the West.
07:59During the second day of the fourth International Patria, colloquium participants discussed
08:05the use of new technologies to rewrite the Global South's own stories.
08:09The day's agenda also included the screening of the 2024 Academy Award-nominated documentary
08:15A Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat.
08:18Our correspondent in Havana, Belén de los Santos, with the details.
08:23Using new technologies to write our own stories, debunking false narratives that for centuries
08:29have imposed an imperialist view on the Global South.
08:32This is at the center of what is being discussed at the Patria Colloquium underway in Cuba.
08:38We are being told how to govern ourselves, our history is being changed and so on.
08:44And to be able to combat this, we need to work together, we need to network, we need to have
08:50a common understanding of the common enemy who is responsible for our underdevelopment,
08:57our poverty and our general misery.
09:00This is why this colloquium is so, so very important.
09:05And in this struggle to write counter-demonic narratives, cultural artifacts take front stage.
09:10In this sense, one of the highlights of the second day of the event in Havana is the screening
09:15of the Academy Award-nominated documentary A Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, directed by
09:20Johan Grimmond Press, a film that goes back to the 60s to retell episodes that US and
09:26European imperialism have tried to hush, such as the overthrow and assassination of
09:30Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.
09:40It's not what the film focuses on, it's not sort of something of the past.
09:43Again, it's history, but history is very much alive and it's something that should be talked about.
09:48And I think this forum is so much about this as well.
09:51For the over 400 participants to the event, the challenge is to come together to draw up
09:56common strategies that enable the sharing of these stories, of men and women that continue
10:01fighting to this day for a different world.
10:05We know the revolution won't be televised, but what's really important for us is that
10:09we're fighting for the revolution to be televised.
10:12To give that example of hope, you know, I'm from Britain and in Britain you don't hear
10:16much about socialist Cuba or Venezuela or the anti-imperialist struggles across the world.
10:21But we have to be using social media to massively kind of push out this information to build
10:27up an international anti-imperialist movement.
10:31With one day to go, the Patria Colloquium continues to bring together experiences from
10:36around the world, with the conviction that the only way to counter the unilateral narratives
10:41of imperialism is through collective action and internationalism.
10:54In more news, Mexico City lawmakers voted to ban violent bullfighting, triggering outrage from fans.
11:01The legislation bans the killing of bulls and the use of sharp objects that could injure
11:07the animals and sets time limits on how long bulls can be in the ring.
11:12The decision sparked anger and protest from bullfighting supporters and matadors,
11:18some of whom shouted angry slogans behind a police barricade.
11:23Meanwhile, activists and the lawmakers behind the bill celebrated by pumping their fists
11:28on the steps of Mexico City's Congress.
11:31According to Animal Rights Group, around 180,000 bulls are killed each year in bullfighting around the world.
11:45The state of Louisiana used nitrogen gas to execute a man for the first time.
11:50Jesse Hoffman Jr. was pronounced dead at 6.50 p.m. at the Louisiana State Penitentiary,
11:57marking the first time the state has used this method.
12:01Seeking to resume executions, Louisiana expanded its approved death penalty methods
12:06last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution.
12:11Over recent decades, the number of executions in the U.S. has declined sharply amid legal battles,
12:17a shortage of lethal injection drugs and wanting public support for capital punishment.
12:24This is the first time nitrogen gas is used in the history of the United States.
12:32In accordance with the execution warrant issued by the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Tammany Parish
12:37and the laws of the state of Louisiana, the execution of death row inmate Jesse Hoffman
12:42was carried out by nitrogen hypoxia tonight, March 18, 2025, at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
12:48Mr. Hoffman was pronounced deceased by the West Louisiana Parish Coroner's Office at approximately 6.50 p.m.
12:54Mr. Hoffman was convicted of first-degree murder of Mary Margaret Mollie Elliott on June 25, 1998,
13:01and in accordance with the jury recommendation, was sentenced to death on September 11, 1998.
13:06In the United States was released on Tuesday classified documents related to the 1963 assassination
13:13of former President John F. Kennedy following an order from President Donald Trump shortly after taking office.
13:19The documents were posted on the website of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
13:26The National Archives collection of more than 80,000 pages of records, photographs, films, sound recordings
13:33and artifacts related to the assassination was previously released.
13:37Researchers have estimated that about 3,000 records had not been made public, either in whole or in parts.
13:45Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, during a visit to Dallas, Texas.
13:52In the early 90s, the federal government ordered that all documents related to the assassination
13:58be kept in a single collection at the National Archives and Records Administration.
14:04We have a second show break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Telesur English,
14:10there you'll be able to watch our top stories, special live coverage and much more.
14:15Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.
14:21Find a show break. We'll be right back.
14:33Welcome back.
14:53Russia will hold a new prisoner exchange with Ukraine on Wednesday.
14:58Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that an exchange of prisoners between the Russian and Ukrainian sides
15:04will take place on March 19.
15:06In this agreement, 175 people from each side will be released.
15:12In addition, as a gesture of goodwill, 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers
15:18who are being treated in Russian medical institutions will be handed over.
15:22On the Gaza Strip, people returned to roads in displacement amid renewed Israeli bombardments.
15:48The Israeli army has ordered locals to leave battle zones following heavy airstrikes,
15:54forcing them back onto the streets in a process of displacement.
15:58According to Israeli military spokesman Abishai Adrey,
16:02the order told residents to seek refugee in western Gaza or Congenies in the south.
16:09The order has dashed hopes of a return to normalcy and left residents fearful for their future.
16:16More than 400 Palestinians have been killed and 562 others injured since the new airstrikes began,
16:23according to Gazan health officials.
16:30At least 14 people were killed in new overnight bombings by the Israeli army against the Gaza Strip.
16:36The attacks come amid widespread condemnation of the resumption of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian population.
16:44Gazan journalists reported that the night raids by Israeli aircraft were uninterrupted.
16:49In this context, Red Crescent paramedics said that two civilians were killed
16:54and five others were injured when an Israeli drone attacked a tent
16:58sheltering displaced persons near the al-Mawassi area southwest of Congenies.
17:04The day before, Israeli bombardment claimed the lives of more than 460 people in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
17:12The renewed aggression against Gaza comes amid fears of a worsening humanitarian situation
17:18given the ongoing blockade and the cut-off of medical and humanitarian supplies.
17:26The Israeli occupation expands illegal settlements in the West Bank.
17:31The number of settlements and the annexation of the occupied West Bank by Israel has increased
17:37and its own population has moved into the territory in violation of international law.
17:43The spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tamer al-Ketan,
17:49presented a report outlining the ongoing transfer of authority over the occupied Palestinian territory
17:56from the Israeli military to the government.
18:00The report includes plans for the construction of 20,000 new housing units in the occupied West Bank.
18:12The government of Israel has been increasing the number of settlements in the occupied West Bank,
18:17including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory
18:22and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes.
18:25At the same time, settler violence has increased with continued impunity.
18:31By doing that, the Israeli government is facilitating the advancement of settlements in the West Bank
18:36and the steady integration of this occupied territory into the state of Israel, the report finds.
18:42Israel's settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures
18:49are in breach of international law and violate Palestinians' right to self-determination.
18:55In Israel, police forces repressed a demonstration by relatives of hostages demanding the resumption
19:01of the ceasefire truce in the Gaza Strip.
19:04In the early hours of Wednesday morning, approximately 50,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Tel Aviv
19:10to call on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to the truce agreement
19:15with the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas and continue with the return of all prisoners.
19:21One of the leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas declared
19:25that Netanyahu is using the lives of captives to preserve power,
19:29warning that the attacks will lead to the death of many Israeli hostages.
19:38In the United States, citizens marched in several cities in rejection of the new Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
19:44A massive march filled the streets of New York and Charlotte in North Carolina
19:50following Israel's unilateral breach of a ceasefire with a genocidal bombing campaign
19:55that killed more than 400 people in the Gaza Strip.
19:59Pro-Palestinian protesters denounced the slaughter committed by U.S. President Donald Trump
20:04and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a plan to carry out ethnic cleansing
20:10and turn the enclave into a luxury real estate.
20:14In Israel, far-right-wing party of lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir returns to power.
20:24Less than two months after withdrawing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition,
20:30Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yedudit political party
20:37are returning to Israel's occupation government.
20:40The return was formalized following a joint communique ratifying the reinstatement of Ben-Gvir's ministers to their post.
20:47The return of this man to the government is not only a change of political leadership
20:52but also a setback for efforts to achieve a just peace in the region.
21:01In Skopje, the capital of northern Macedonia, thousands of people held a vigil
21:06in memory of the 59 people who died in a tragic nightclub fire last Sunday.
21:11At the tribute, people raised their mobile phones, lit flowers and lit candles in silence.
21:17Last Sunday, 59 young people died and around 150 were injured
21:23after a discotheque in the eastern town of Kokani caught fire.
21:28Authorities are currently investigating the possible causes
21:31and numerous allegations of bribery over permits and safety regulations
21:36while the city's mayor has resigned in the wake of the tragedy.
21:44And with this information we have come to the end of this news brief
21:47but you can find this and many other stories on our website at www.telesurenglish.net
21:51and join us on social media.
21:53We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.
21:57For Telesur English, I'm Alejandra Garcia. Thank you for watching.