- 43 minutes ago
22/10/2026
FTS 08.30
*Cuban authorities denounce the impact of the U.S. blockade.
*European protests escalate over education & cost of living.
teleSUR
FTS 08.30
*Cuban authorities denounce the impact of the U.S. blockade.
*European protests escalate over education & cost of living.
teleSUR
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NewsTranscript
00:11On Wednesday, Venezuela's government and former opposition deputies from the 2015 National Assembly closed their third round of talks.
00:24From Panama, Cuban authorities denounced the escalation of coercive measures and the direct impact that the U.S. blockade has
00:31on the population.
00:37The social crisis in Europe continues. People remain on the streets to protest the high cost of living and demand
00:43improvements in the education sector.
00:52Hello and welcome to From the South. I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Caracas, Venezuela. We begin with the
00:59news, so stay with us.
01:14Venezuela's government and former opposition deputies from the 2015 National Assembly closed their third round of talks.
01:22Both delegations announced that working groups followed up on agreements from previous rounds focusing on strengthening democracy and the judiciary,
01:31freedom of expression and the right to information.
01:34In addition, they agreed to form a joint delegation tasked with recovering Venezuela's gold reserves held at the Bank of
01:41England to address the double earthquake emergency.
01:44The parties also agreed to review legal frameworks to strengthen democratic coexistence.
01:57Opposition representative of the 2015 National Assembly, Dinora Figuera, also announced to the nation the conclusion of the third round
02:06of talks.
02:11The third round of talks between the national government and the 2015 National Assembly delegations has concluded. The results are
02:21set out below.
02:25Six working days were held, including two plenary sessions, and fifteen working meetings were conducted across four technical working groups.
02:37The methodology used during this third cycle consisted of two parts, follow-up on the three active working groups and
02:44establishment of a new working group.
02:48The follow-up on the three active working groups covered.
02:51Working group one, strengthening democracy and the judiciary.
02:56Working groups two and three, freedom of expression, thought, pluralism, and the right to information.
03:06A round table to address the emergency caused by the double earthquake and the recovery of gold in the United
03:12Kingdom.
03:15Establishment of the new round table.
03:17Establishment of the new round table.
03:18Political, economic and social guarantees.
03:25Progress in strengthening freedom of expression, thought, pluralism, and the right to information was recognized through the lifting of administrative
03:34and precautionary measures.
03:36It is agreed that we will continue to work towards achieving the best possible results from this process.
03:43In this scenario, Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced that the twelve members of the judicial nominations committee will
03:51be sworn in on Thursday.
03:54At the next session of the National Assembly, that is, tomorrow, the two members who will make up the nominating
04:01committee will be appointed, marking the start of the publication of the corresponding schedule in strict accordance with the Constitution
04:12and the law.
04:16Once the nominating committee is established, the credentials review board will be activated.
04:36Brazil is undergoing a transformation of its religious landscape with the growth in recent years of evangelical sectors linked to
04:44the far right.
04:45But reducing this population to a single political project ignores its diversity.
04:51Our colleague Belen de los Santos brings us this report from Rio de Janeiro on the religious and political process
04:56that could determine Sunday's election.
05:01Brazil is the country with the largest Catholic population in the world.
05:05However, a transformation is underway with profound cultural and political implications.
05:11This political debate takes place within a religious context of a struggle for hegemony.
05:19A transformation of Brazilian religiosity is underway.
05:23A country that was predominantly Catholic is becoming an evangelical country.
05:28To understand the rapid expansion of evangelicals in Brazil, we need to go back to their origins.
05:34We must remember that it was the Americans who brought the evangelical movement to Brazil.
05:41These groups actually have an economic, social and political project.
05:48This is not just a religious faith project, but rather an effort to use faith.
05:53And it took root among the most popular sectors of society, where the Republican state fails to meet people's everyday
06:01needs.
06:01With the rise of Bolsonarism in 2018, the alliance between fundamentalist evangelical sectors and the far right gained greater political
06:10visibility.
06:10But this has happened in a harmful way, especially for evangelical Christians, because our faith is being used.
06:23The far right has appropriated it to spread a discourse of hate through our faith in Brazilian society.
06:31The growing electoral weight of evangelical sectors makes it essential to distinguish between faith and a fundamentalist political project.
06:39Not everyone falls into the latter category.
06:43Believers are also teachers, doctors, domestic workers and bus fare collectors.
06:50There is enormous diversity among us, and we cannot talk about Brazilian religiosity and the evangelical church as if everyone
06:58were the same.
07:00Catholicism is plural, and these groups are plural too. That is why I speak of fundamentalism. I am not generalizing.
07:07For progressive evangelicals, the left's challenge is to strengthen dialogue with a sector that has become a decisive force.
07:15Listen.
07:16Listen.
07:17Listen.
07:17Listen without prejudice.
07:18Without preconceived judgments.
07:20Listen without interrupting.
07:22Listen without believing that our worldview is the best, the most perfect, the most beautiful.
07:27The people who are in church today are our people.
07:30They are the poor, our working class, women and young people from the outskirts.
07:35And there is nothing worse for a human being than being told that they are not an autonomous individual.
07:41How can I engage in a respectful dialogue with someone who looks down on me or believes I am not
07:47responsible for my own decisions?
07:49The left needs to understand this.
07:51Francisco Zamullio, Belen de los Santos, for Telesur English from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
07:57And now we have a short break coming up.
07:59First remember you can join us on TikTok at Telesur English where you'll find news in different formats,
08:04news updates and much more.
08:07So stay with us.
08:28Welcome back to From the South.
08:30From Panama, Cuban authorities denounced the escalation of coercive measures and the direct impact that the U.S. blockade has
08:37on the country.
08:38The Cuban ambassador to Panama, Orestes Pérez, asserted that the escalation of the blockade will not stop the celebrations marking
08:46the triumph of the revolution.
08:48He also emphasized that despite the escalation of executive measures promoted by the U.S. administration of Donald Trump, Cuba
08:56has been able to overcome the difficulties and preserve the cohesion of its people.
09:12And in anticipation of the IMF visit to Honduras, the Nasri Aspura administration has signaled that it will cancel social
09:20programs and devalue the currency to counter the impact of inflation.
09:24A move that could jeopardize the country's ability to meet required economic benchmarks.
09:29Gerardo Torres Zelaya reports from Tegucigalpa with more details.
09:37An international monetary fund, Emilio Fernández, is currently in Honduras for the sixth round of reviews, and the government has
09:44indicated that it will proceed with an accelerated devaluation of the currency against the dollar, as well as the cancellation
09:51of several social programs in order to secure a $120 million disbursement fund that the government needs to meet its
10:00financial obligations this year.
10:06Ultimately, what the IMF seeks is to ensure that the country maintains solvency indicators sufficient to meet its financial obligations,
10:13its public debt.
10:18The challenge lies in the disconnection between the macroeconomic framework and the microeconomy.
10:26We hear reports of incoming fund disbursements, yet poverty persists, inequality remains high, and inflation is elevated.
10:41It is possible that the IMF may conclude that the targets set by the monetary authority will not be met.
10:48In fact, the IMF has already signaled that the country will not achieve all of its established benchmarks.
10:57In less than a year, the Lempira, the official currency of Honduras, has gone from 25.5 to 27 Lempiras
11:05per each US dollar.
11:07According to the agreement between the government and the IMF, this rapid devaluation will continue, and its impact is already
11:13weighing heavily in the national economy, particularly for small business owners who import merchandise from the United States.
11:26It's had a significant impact, because previously, we, as resellers, could get a pair of pants for 200 or 300
11:33Lempiras at most.
11:34Now, that same pair of pants, even if used or stained, costs as much as 600 Lempiras.
11:40So, at what price are we supposed to sell them? People won't want to buy them.
11:49Currently, Honduras has the highest inflation rate in Central America, and although the general budget has been cut by one
11:55billion dollars, the indicators for public finance stability have yet to be met.
12:00But, it appears that the next items in the chopping block will be the social assistance programs that the Nasri
12:06Escuras administration inherited from the Xiomara Castro's administration.
12:15This government is negotiating a new agreement with the IMF, set to begin next year.
12:20My warning to the Honduran people is this.
12:23Unlike the agreement negotiated by President Xiomara, which, while facilitating the repayment of public debt, also included a major investment
12:31program for subsidies, infrastructure, and the well-being of the people.
12:39This government, unfortunately, lacks that vision. Instead, it is focused solely on business dealings. That is why it slashed more
12:46than 25 billion Lempiras from the budget, a move it even touted as a major achievement.
12:51In short, while they may negotiate a repayment plan with the IMF, they are not negotiating for the well-being
12:56of the Honduran people.
13:00Honduras now has a neoliberal government that aims to reduce the state's presence as much as possible.
13:07To secure an agreement with the IMF, it will continue to sacrifice social welfare projects as the cost of living
13:14keeps rising due to inflation and currency devaluation.
13:19For Teresur in English, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Gerardo Torres Zelaya.
13:24In other topics, China hosts a commemorative ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long
13:31March.
13:32Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the event, a milestone that consolidated the Communist Party's leadership and enabled the reorganization of
13:41the revolutionary process.
13:42The President called for embarking on an achieving new milestone in a new Long March, highlighting the spirit of discipline,
13:50sacrifice, self-determination and dedication to the country.
13:54The event was also attended by Chinese Vice President Han Cheng, as well as members of the Standing Committee of
14:01the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
14:19And now we have a second short break coming up. Don't go away because we'll be right back.
14:48Welcome back to From the South.
14:49In Portugal, citizens continued to protest in Lisbon against the country's housing crisis, despite police efforts to disperse the march.
14:58Just 24 hours after security forces forcibly cleared the Rocio Square encampment and arrested 55 people, hundreds of demonstrators returned
15:09to rebuild their tent city.
15:12Activists and young citizens emphasized that heavy-handed police actions will not deter the movement, which has spread to northern
15:20cities like Porto.
15:22Protesters also demand immediate legislative reforms to cap skyrocketing rental prices, freeze arbitrary evictions and expand public housing investment to
15:33ensure affordable living conditions across the country.
15:46And thousands gather in Milan to demand social solutions for youth grievances while condemning recent urban unrest and military deployments.
15:55Organized by Italy's largest trade union, the CG under the banner Call for Social Cohesion, the rally urged government institutions
16:04to address soaring living costs and decaying public education, rather than relying solely on police force.
16:12The mobilization followed weakened clashes and property damage that erupted during student-led demonstrations inspired by similar youth movements in
16:23France and Spain.
16:24And in response to the unrest, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government approved strict security measures, including the urban deployment of
16:32500 soldiers across Milan.
16:43Also, protesters in the United Kingdom rallied outside a facility owned by Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems, demanding the immediate
16:52closure of its operations.
16:53Demonstrators gathered outside the manufacturing site, waving Palestinian flags, shunting anti-war slogans and handing banners, fissuring portraits of killed
17:04Palestinian children, alongside slogans condemning the company's military role.
17:08Activists accused Elbit Systems of supplying drone technology and defense equipment used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
17:17The protesters urged the British government to revoke the company's operating licenses and halt arms trade agreements that contribute to
17:25the ongoing military aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories.
17:41Also in Serbia, students marched over Belgrade for the campaign closing ceremony on the eve of the country's parliamentary elections.
17:50Students from various regions of Serbia are converging on the capital Belgrade to lead their final protest before the elections
17:59on October 25th.
18:01The youth movement represents the greatest electoral challenge to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, led by former President Aleksandar Vucic.
18:10The election campaign is taking place amidst a climate of social turmoil following nearly two years of protests triggered by
18:19the collapse of the train station in 2024, an event that cities has attributed to government corruption.
18:33Also in Kenya, University of Nairobi students blocked a major highway in the capital to demand an end to a
18:40nationwide lecturer's strike that has houted public university education for three weeks.
18:45Demonstrators called for the immediate payment of fair wages to academic workers and demanded the resignation of the education minister
18:54over the government's failure to resolve the dispute.
18:58Launched on October 2nd by the Academic Staff Union, the strike demands the implementation of a collective bargaining agreement and
19:07guaranteed state treasury funding for public education.
19:10Expressing solidarity with the striking staff, students vowed to maintain pressure on the government until fair salaries are secured and
19:20academic activities resume.
19:45In German, missile and drone attacks were reported against two airports in the country.
19:51According to Yemeni authorities, the attacks struck the international airports in Aden in the south of the country and Al
19:59-Rajan in the eastern governorate of Hadrawad.
20:02Military spokesperson Yaja Saray claimed responsibility for the strikes, arguing that the targets taken out were command centers and transportation
20:11hubs for Saudi military equipment located within civilian facilities.
20:23Also the United Nations warned that more than 90 million Afghans could face active food insecurity in the coming months.
20:29In this regard, the organization released a report noting that 15.9 million people continue to struggle to feed themselves
20:38in the country.
20:39Although food is available, it remains out of reach for millions of citizens as rainfall and harvest have failed to
20:46alleviate the crisis.
20:47Furthermore, the United Nations Children's Fund warned that if restrictions persisted, the country would lose 20,000 teachers and more
20:56than 5,000 healthcare professionals by 2030.
21:08And with this information, we have come to the end of this news brief.
21:11Remember, you can find this and many other stories on our website at www.telesirenglish.net.
21:18Also join us on social media.
21:19We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok as well.
21:26For today, I'm your name, Alejandra Garcia. Thank you for watching.