- 2 months ago
18/12/2025
FTS 8.30
*Brazilian Congress passes bill to reduce former pres. Jair Bolsonaro's jail sentence
*Russia and Iran propose initiative to address unilateral sanctions
FTS 8.30
*Brazilian Congress passes bill to reduce former pres. Jair Bolsonaro's jail sentence
*Russia and Iran propose initiative to address unilateral sanctions
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NewsTranscript
00:00President Nicolás Maduro reaffirmed Venezuela's oil sovereignty and made U.S. threats,
00:16emphasizing that the Venezuelan state will not subordinate its territory or its wealth
00:21to colonial governments.
00:22The Brazilian Congress passed a bill on Wednesday that could reduce the jail penalties for those
00:32involved in the 2022 coup d'etat attempt, including former President Jair Bolsonaro,
00:39who is currently facing 27 years in prison.
00:43And Russia and Iran announced a joint initiative to create a global group against unilateral
00:52sanctions, which they consider illegal and a violation of international law.
01:01Hello and welcome to From the South.
01:03My name is Belen de los Santos.
01:05I'm from the Telsor Studios in Havana, Cuba.
01:07We begin with the news.
01:13We begin with the information.
01:21Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ratified the nation's sovereignty over its oil and
01:27also rejected the claims of the United States, emphasizing that the Venezuelan state will
01:32not subordinate its territory or its wealth to colonial ambitions.
01:36During the commemorative ceremony for the 195th anniversary of the death of the liberator
01:42SimĂłn BolĂvar, the head of state, Nicolás Maduro, assured that Venezuela will continue
01:47to trade its oil and natural resources in strict compliance with the Constitution and the decree
01:54of the liberator SimĂłn BolĂvar, emphasizing that the country's resources belong exclusively
02:00to the Venezuelan people.
02:01In turn, he asserted that the majority of the U.S. people disagree with the aggressions
02:06and threats that U.S. imperialism continues to level against Venezuela and the Caribbean.
02:12In this sense, the President reiterated his full confidence in the people's commitment
02:17to enforce imperfect civil military police union, their historical rights over their wealth
02:23and national territory.
02:36And we continue with more information.
02:46The Venezuelan government sent a letter to the President of the United Nations Security
02:50Council to call for an urgent meeting of the Security Council in light of recent U.S. threats.
02:56The Venezuelan foreign minister opened the letter with stating,
03:00I am writing to you in your capacity as President of the United Nations Security Council to denounce
03:06a serious attack on the peace, security and stability of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
03:12as well as the Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole.
03:16He continues by saying that in the history of Venezuela, never before has a head of state
03:22and or government of a foreign power come up with a deranged idea that Venezuelan national
03:28territory, including its oil fields and other assets, belong to them.
03:33This delusion is compounded by the ultimatum that if Venezuela does not surrender to their will,
03:39our nation will be attacked by their military forces.
03:43The foreign minister added that gunboat diplomacy to extort peoples belong to an era that humanity
03:49has already overcome. If the Security Council ignores this crime of aggression,
03:55which is evident to the world, it would be accepting the destruction of the entire collective
03:59security system of the United Nations, which has cost peoples so much to build over the past 80 years.
04:12And the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America, Alba TCP,
04:16categorically rejects the U.S. declaration on its decision to totally and completely block oil
04:22tankers to Venezuela and its intention to steal its natural resources.
04:27In a statement, Alba denounced before the peoples of the world a serious, reckless and supremacist threat
04:33made on December 16th of this year by the President of the United States, Donald Trump,
04:39against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
04:41This declaration, which announces a total blockade and the forced appropriation of
04:46Venezuelan resources, constitutes an act of international aggression that grossly and
04:52flagrantly violates the charter of the United Nations, international law, and the most basic
04:58principles of coexistence among states.
05:01The communique also states,
05:03The peoples and governments of Alba express our full and unrestricted solidarity with President
05:10Nicolás Maduro, the Bolivarian government, and the Venezuelan people.
05:13And we warn that any aggression against Venezuela is an aggression against all of our America.
05:19We call on the peoples of the world and social movements to reject this criminal threat and
05:23defend the right of people to decide their own destiny.
05:27We reaffirm that our America is not a colony or the backyard of any empire.
05:33Venezuela is not alone.
05:35Free peoples will defend peace, sovereignty, and dignity against any attempt at domination.
05:46In the meanwhile, on Wednesday, the United States Army carried out a new attack against
05:51a vessel in the eastern Pacific under the pretext of participating in drug trafficking activities.
05:56According to a U.S. statement, the incident was captured in video showing the exact moment
06:03when the boat was hit while sailing.
06:06In this context, the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hexat, stated that the incident resulted
06:11in the death of at least four people who were allegedly linked to a drug trafficking network.
06:18The strike brings the total number of attacks on vessels in international waters to 30, resulting
06:23in approximately 100 extrajudicial executions perpetrated by U.S. forces in the Caribbean and
06:31the Pacific.
06:38And we continue now with other topics in Honduras.
06:41The Libre Party called on its supporters to take to the streets to defend the will of the
06:45people expressed at the ballot box in the face of allegations of fraud.
06:50The leadership of the ruling Libre Party at an event held at the presidential palace and
06:56attended by senior party officials demanded the opening of more than 19,000 ballot boxes
07:03for a vote-by-vote recount.
07:05In this context, President Xiomara Castro, together with the general coordinator of the Libre
07:10Party, Manuel Zelaya, denounced electoral fraud due to the interference of the United States
07:15and called on their supporters to mobilize peacefully throughout the country.
07:20And by calling, convoking you, it is precisely for us to be able to manifest ourselves in a peaceful
07:38way, in the way that we are used to, in a peaceful way, because the democracy is defended, standing, not in silence.
07:53And with this, we have a short break coming up.
07:59But first, remember, you can join us on TikTok at Tell Us for English, where you will find news
08:03in different formats, news updates, and much more.
08:06Stay with us.
08:07Welcome back to From the South.
08:29On Wednesday, the Brazilian Congress approved a bill that could reduce the penalties of those
08:34involved in the 2023 attempted coup, that is, including former President Xiomara Bolsonaro.
08:40More information on this, the bill, which had been approved last week in the Chamber of Deputies,
08:46passed with 48 votes in favor and 25 against.
08:49The measure seeks to reduce the effective prison time for those prosecuted for crimes against
08:55the Democratic rule of law, including former President Xiomara Bolsonaro and other coup
09:00plotters who tried to override the will of the people at the time.
09:05The regulation could reduce Bolsonaro's penalty, who is currently facing 27 years in prison,
09:11to as little as two and a half years.
09:14For his part, Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Selva has the power to veto the bill,
09:20but in the event that he does, the bill could be taken to Congress once again.
09:30And in other news, the Cuban Central Bank announced on Wednesday the implementation
09:36of a new exchange market structure, introducing a daily floating exchange rate segment for currencies
09:42alongside two existing fixed rates.
09:45Central Bank President Juan Alilia Delgado Portal said that having different foreign exchange
09:51rates causes problems, encourages informal activity and makes it hard to track economic activity
09:57through banks and taxes.
09:59The authorities aimed to create conditions for gradual, temporary foreign exchange market
10:04transformations.
10:05A new three-segment structure was designed as a transitional scheme to avoid a sharp,
10:11disruptive devaluation.
10:12The reform aims to gradually recover the convertibility of the Cuban peso and move towards monetary convergence.
10:27Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the University of Buenos Aires warned of a 30 percent cut in the budget
10:33for its university hospitals in 2026, as outlined in the draft budget of President Javier Mille's
10:40administration.
10:41With 132 votes in favor, 97 against and 19 abstentions, Argentina's Chamber of Deputies approved the
10:49controversial 2026 budget bill, which repeals the disability emergency law and the university
10:55funding system.
10:56The University of Buenos Aires noted that this will impact top hospitals, which serve over
11:02700,000 patients a year.
11:05The institution expressed its rejection of the government's initiative to repeal the university
11:10financing law and also denounced the decline in wages of its workers, whose purchasing power
11:16has been halved in two years.
11:25We continue in Latin America, as the Peruvian Congress has submitted a bill that extends for the fifth
11:31consecutive time the temporary permit for informal miners to continue extracting gold and copper until the end
11:37of 2026.
11:39The decision comes after a day of protest in the capital, where hundreds of miners march to the area
11:45surrounding the Congress in Lima to demand the continuation of their operations.
11:50President Javier Mille, who previously affirmed his support for this extension, also has 15 days to sign the law
11:57or return it to Parliament with comments.
12:00Since 2016, successive Peruvian governments have systematically extended the deadline due to their inability to register
12:08and monitor thousands of miners.
12:11The struggle of all Peruvians and all miners is a struggle that we have won.
12:22It doesn't matter if it's one year.
12:25It doesn't matter, but remember authorities, congressmen and government, formalization does not depend on us, it depends on you.
12:34The Energy Committee's substitute text, which amends Legislative Decree 1293, declaring the formalization of
12:46artisanal and small-scale mining activities to be of national interest, was approved in a second vote.
12:53Also on Wednesday, the Ecuadorian government activated the Emergency Operations Committee to monitor the
13:00AH3N2 flu and the circulation of other respiratory viruses in the country.
13:05The Ministry of Public Health reported that the ministry held a meeting Wednesday to analyze the current
13:13epidemiological situation and planned actions.
13:15The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Ines Manzano, and attended by several members
13:22of the executive, including Vice President of the Republic, Maria Jose Pinto, who oversees health.
13:28The Vice President reported that more than 250,000 people have already been vaccinated against the flu in the
13:35country, including 100,000 children under the age of 6 belonging to this priority group.
13:42And we continue now with other topics.
14:00Two Indian officials recently made remarks about pollution, which has increased frustration among
14:05residents who claim that policymakers are unwilling to acknowledge the severity of India's air quality
14:12crisis. Environmental Minister Bupinder Javad told Parliament that New Delhi had seen 200 good air
14:20quality days. However, pollution experts and opposition leaders say that he overlooked the worst month.
14:27Environmentalists and data experts claim that India's air quality measurement standards are more lenient than
14:34those of countries such as the United States, causing moderate readings to often mask dangerous pollution levels.
14:41India's government air quality standards have also been accused of being less stringent than World Health
14:49Organization guidelines.
14:50And like this, we have a second short break coming up, but we invite you to visit our Facebook page, as usual,
15:01at Tell Us of English. There you'll be able to watch our top stories, special live coverages and much more.
15:06Follow our page and activate notifications to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.
15:11Final short break. Don't go away.
15:13Welcome back to From the South. We continue with more information.
15:35Russia and Iran announced a joint initiative to create a global group against unilateral sanctions,
15:42which they consider illegal and a violation of international law.
15:45The proposal was presented by Foreign Ministers Sergei Labrab and Ava Sergachi during a press conference
15:51in Moscow as part of their commitment to strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation.
15:57Labrab stated that Moscow and Tehran agree on the need to create an internationalist group
16:02against sanctions and stress that these maneuvers have a negative political and economic impact
16:08on the countries affected.
16:09The Russian minister also highlighted the active cooperation between the two countries on strategic projects
16:15and expressed Russia's willingness to join mediation efforts if Iran requests it.
16:21We condemn the practice of using unilateral coercive measures that undermine international law.
16:35This is particularly evident now, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis,
16:41when Europe is attempting to undermine the constructive aspirations of the Donald Trump administration,
16:46even violating all conceivable rules and principles that have prevailed to date
16:51in international economic and financial relations.
17:16And we go now to Palestine as the death toll rose in the Gaza Strip amid continuous Israeli aggressions
17:23and harsh winter conditions that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis there.
17:28According to the Ministry of Health, one Palestinian was killed and 11 were injured
17:32in the latest Israeli aggression, while many martyrs remain trapped beneath the rubble
17:38or stranded in the streets as rescue crews struggle to work.
17:41Furthermore, the tragic winter has left 12 people dead, 11 of them from collapsed structures and one of them freezing.
17:51For its part, Gaza's civil defense warned that severe winter weather has sharply worsened the humanitarian crisis
17:58in the Gaza Strip, triggering building collapses, mass flooding and further civilian deaths.
18:04So far, Israel has committed 394 ceasefire violations since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement that is currently in place.
18:20And we continue with other topics.
18:22On Thursday, Australian police announced that the park and surrounding area at Bondi Beach,
18:27where a massacre killed 16 people during a Hanukkah celebration, had reopened to the public.
18:33After analyzing the crime scene and area, New South Gales police will reopen some roads to vehicles
18:40and public transportation on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 17th.
18:45The authorities said that the suspects, a father and a son, were inspired by the Islamic State group.
18:52The tragedy has sparked a national conversation about anti-Semitism in Australia.
18:59Prime Minister Antony Albanese unveiled legislative plans aimed at curbing radicalization and hate.
19:05Meanwhile, the investigation into the suspects' background continues as the Jewish community mourns the victims.
19:12And resident doctors in England are going on strike for five days to demand better pay,
19:22a move that threatens to disrupt public health services due to the current flu outbreak.
19:28The strike, called by the British Medical Association, began on Wednesday morning
19:33after talks between the British Medical Association and the government to avoid it failed.
19:38This is the 14th strike by this group since March 2023.
19:42Resident doctors, who make up almost half of the medical staff in English hospitals,
19:47are demanding a pay rise of more than 20%.
19:50In addition to the salary issue, the British Medical Association has linked the protests
19:55to the shortage of specialized training places, arguing that thousands of qualified doctors
20:00cannot find work despite long waiting lists in the National Health Service.
20:06When do we want it? I believe that we will win.
20:11And in France, farmers blocked the highway near the city of Carcassonne
20:16in protest against the authorities' handling of the outbreak
20:20of the contiguous nautical dermatosis affecting livestock.
20:24The protest took place a week after the first outbreak of the disease
20:29was detected on a farm in the Department of Ariash.
20:32The demonstrators chanted slogans while demanding urgent support
20:36for the agricultural sector and compensation for those affected.
20:40For their part, the French authorities argued that they are closely monitoring the situation
20:44and that veterinary teams are working to contain the disease
20:48and implement the necessary changes.
20:51On Thursday, the China media group CMG unveiled four mascots
21:15for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala representing the ear of the horse.
21:19The Chinese Lunar Year 2026 is the ear of the horse.
21:23It begins on February 16th.
21:25The horse is the most dynamic and spirited animal in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle.
21:31It represents strength, perseverance and unstoppable momentum.
21:36The four horses were named after a Chinese saying
21:39that means galloping steed onward unstoppable,
21:43which is also the theme of the upcoming gala.
21:46Inspired by classic representations of horses across different periods of Chinese history,
21:51the mascots are adorned with traditional Chinese clout and thunder.
21:55Since 1983, the Spring Festival Gala hosted by CMG
22:00has been an essential part of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.
22:05And the 27th edition of the Winter Festival in Harbin, China,
22:15will mark the opening of Ice and Snow World,
22:18the world's largest ice and snow theme park.
22:21The space, which covers 400,000 cubic meters,
22:25features ice sculptures and attractions that celebrate the country's culture
22:29and includes impressive illuminated structures, activities such as sledding,
22:34ice skating and interaction with artificial intelligence,
22:37as well as rest areas and gastronomy.
22:40The park will be open until the end of February 2026,
22:44and local authorities hope the event will boost tourism
22:47and promote the art of ice, offering a unique experience for visitors.
22:52And Mexico lights up the city with the Winter Lights Program,
23:04a massive cultural event that will fill the capital with music and art
23:08during the December holidays.
23:10Mexican authorities reported that the activities will continue until January 6th
23:14in the ZĂłcalo and 15 other locations,
23:17with the participation of 76 musical groups of various genres.
23:20The initiative seeks to decentralize cultural offerings
23:24so that the celebrations reach all communities beyond the historic center.
23:28Highlights include a 150-meter tunnel of light,
23:32a monumental nativity scene,
23:35and forums with pastorellas and storytellers.
23:45And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
23:48You can find this and many other stories on our website
23:50at TellUsForEnglish.net.
23:52Also join us on social media.
23:53We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok as well.
23:58For TellUsForEnglish, my name is Belen de los Santos.
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