- 13 minutes ago
03/03/2026
FTS 12.30
*Two months of kidnapping of Venezuelan President and First Lady
*Zimbabwe releases nearly 4,000 inmates under presidential amnesty
FTS 12.30
*Two months of kidnapping of Venezuelan President and First Lady
*Zimbabwe releases nearly 4,000 inmates under presidential amnesty
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:09In southern Iran, thousands gathered to bid farewell to the victims of the United States' Israeli bombing and the Minab
00:16Elementary School, an attack that claimed the lives of athletes' 168 students.
00:25Two months ago, today, March 3rd, Venezuela's constitutional president Nicolás Maduro Moros and First Lady Celia Flores were kidnapped by
00:34United States military forces and taken to the United States' territory.
00:42Zimbabwe began releasing nearly 4,000 inmates who were granted presidential amnesty in a bit to ease of religion in
00:49prisons.
00:55Hello, welcome to From the South. I am Lorena Fong from the Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba. We begin with
01:00the news. Stay with us.
01:17In southern Iran, thousands gathered to bid farewell to the victims of the United States' Israeli bombing of the Minab
01:24Elementary School, an attack that claimed at least 168 lives.
01:29The funeral, marked by grief and slogans against the United States and Israel, became a transformation of national unity after
01:37the loss of 168 girls in what Tehran described as a deliberate war crime.
01:43The coffins wrapped in the Iranian flag were scored by a mainly male crowd demanding strong retaliation beyond the current
01:52operation True Promise 4.
01:54Previously, the Iranian government declared 40 days of official mourning for the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the civilian
02:02victims of this massacre.
02:12The numbers of Iranians killed by the attacks launched by the United States and Israel on the Persian nation has
02:19risen to over 785.
02:22According to humanitarian organizations, at least 167 and 76 kids children have been killed and over 620 are still missing
02:33as a result of the attacks, while 971 civilians have been reported injured.
02:40The activist groups also announced that more than 500 Iranian communities have been affected after the latest attack launched by
02:48Washington and Tel Aviv.
02:49On the other hand, the government of the Persian nation urged the United Nations and other international bodies to speak
02:56out against the aggressions and take action to stop what it described as a barbarity.
03:08Several explosions shook Tuesday, the Iranian province of Isfahan, a critical area that is home to the country's main Iranian
03:17enrichment facility and nuclear technology centers.
03:21Images circulating on social media show thick plumes of smoke rising from strategic points in the region.
03:28According to local media, the Iranian government has not yet confirmed whether the incident was an attack or an accident
03:35within the facility.
03:36To date, the International Atomic Energy Agency is waiting for official reports to verify the integrity of the reactors and
03:44laboratories in the area.
03:52The Iranian government warned of a false flag operation, announcing the regime is deliberately attempting to expand the scope of
04:00the current conflict in the Middle East to regional countries.
04:03The warning reported attacks on diplomatic missions and strategic targets in the region.
04:08The Iran says seeks to blame the Islamic nation in this context.
04:13Iran reiterated that the attacks by armed forces were directed exclusively against Israel and the locations of what is classified
04:21as criminal aggressors as well as the United States bases military and security infrastructure.
04:27In the region, Israeli and United States false flag operations have been carried out against civilians and energy targets create
04:35instability and more tension in Western Asia, causing instability in global markets.
04:41The claim comes after the arrest of agents from the international intelligence agency Mossad in Saudi Arabia and Qatar who
04:49were planning new attacks.
04:56Iran warned the European countries on Tuesday that their involvement in the Middle East conflicts will be considered a declaration
05:06of war against it.
05:08The warning comes after Germany, the United Kingdom and France announced that they could take what they described as defensive
05:15measures to destroy Iran's missile launch capabilities.
05:18Iranian foreign foreign ministry spokesman Ismail Bahay said at a press conference that describing the possibility move as defense did
05:27not change its nature and wondered whether this country's intention were not to deprive the Persian nation of its ability
05:34to respond to the United States Israeli aggressions.
05:44Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 52 people and injured 154 others during the last 24 hours.
05:54According to Lebanese minister of social affairs, Hanin al-Sayed, this new attack has displaced over 25,000 people to
06:03168 shelters, 92 of which can still receive more refugees.
06:08Al-Sayed also reported a collapse in the road network with a large number of people trapped in traffic jams
06:16as they attempt to flee the conflict zones.
06:18The Israeli offensive has spread throughout southern Lebanon, the Bika Valley and the capital suburb of Dahyeh.
06:32Also in this context, the economic community of West African states, ECOWAS and the African Union warned that the escalation
06:40of war in Iran threatens to unleash a humanitarian and economic crisis in Africa.
06:45The organizations expressed their concern about the conflict that broke out after Washington and Tel Aviv attacked the Persian nation
06:53on Saturday and pointed out that instability in the Strait of Hormuz will cause energy prices and the global cost
07:00of living to skyrocket.
07:02ECOWAS emphasized that the consequences of diplomatic indifference will be felt directly in the homes of millions of Africans.
07:12For his part, the President of the African Union Mahmoud Ali Yusuf made an urgent call for de-escalation and
07:19sustained dialogue to prevent the volatility of energy markets from destroying the African economy.
07:32China said Tuesday that it remains the most stable, reliable and positive force in the world despite political turbulence and
07:42international conflicts.
07:43The statement was issued by the spokesperson for the fourth session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
07:51Consultative Conference, Liu Hei Yi, who also highlighted Beijing's efforts to establish a new and more equitable world order.
07:59The government's official also said that China supported the construction of a community of shared future for humanity, promoting the
08:07implementation of the Global Development and Security Initiative, and driving high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
08:21Let's now take a break before we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Telesur English, where you'll be
08:27able to watch our top stories, special live coverage and much more.
08:31Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.
08:36Final short break. Don't go away.
08:56Welcome back to Friend the South. If we continue more information, two months ago, today, March 3rd, Venezuela's constitutional president,
09:04Nicolás Maduro, Morrison's first lady, Sila Flores, were kidnapped by the United States military forces and taken to U.S.
09:11territory.
09:12The military operation violated Venezuela's sovereignty and immunity of a head of states and resulted in the killing of over
09:19100 civilians.
09:21The action was immediately condemned by the international community, including the United Nations General Assembly.
09:28Countries around the world, such as China, Russia, Iran and Cuba, raised their voices in solidarity with the Bolivarian nation
09:35and its leader, which for years were targets of the United States aggression.
09:39Venezuelans continue to take these streets across the country, to externally reject the United States attack and to demand the
09:47immediate release of return of the presidential couple.
09:57Also in Venezuela, a flight with 130 Venezuelans migrants arrived on Tuesday in Caracas from Miami, the United States, as
10:05part of the Back to the Homeland Government plant.
10:08The group, which included 101 men, 21 women, 14 teenagers and 4 children, landed at SimĂłn BolĂvar International Airport in
10:17MaiketĂa.
10:18As usual, the Ministry of Interior and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, activated the citizen security and health protocols upon the group's
10:26arrival before they joined their families.
10:29The initiative, promoted by President Nicolás Maduro and Acting President Elsie RodrĂguez, reaffirms the Venezuelan government's commitment to the safe
10:38and dignified return of those who decided to return to their homeland.
10:42It also seeks to protect the right to family reunification and national sovereignty.
11:01In Venezuela, democracy has transcended the ballot box to become ingrained in the daily management of the territory.
11:09The national public consultation is not just a voting process. It is the financial engine and the commune and its
11:16self-governing unit for releasing communal driving projects related to basic services, entrepreneurship and more.
11:26A commune in Venezuela is not just another administrative division. It is a grouping of communes that share a history
11:33and geographic space, and are organized into committees and spokespeople to manage their own economy and services.
11:39Today, this model encompasses more than 49,000 communal councils, including 4,100 communes in 5,336 districts throughout the
11:48country.
11:50The genesis of this project stems from Commander Hugo Chavez, who conceptualized the commune as a living and necessary organism
11:58for the Republic.
12:02A commune should be a cell, but who has ever seen a cell alone?
12:08A cell has to be next to another and another to form the body, the tissues, and the human body.
12:18So it has to be an integrated system of communes, not an isolated commune out there, and that applies right
12:24now to the communal councils, which are nuclei.
12:30You know that cells have nuclei. Well, the communal councils are the nucleus of the communes, or one of the
12:37nuclei of the communes.
12:41The commune is like the cell, and the cells have to branch out, link together, they have to form a
12:48system, articulating to give shape to a body.
12:52That cell now has its own voice. The commune is the space where socialism is territorialized through the commitment handed
12:59down by Commander Chavez, as a political legacy, and a strategic mission.
13:09Nicolas, I entrust this to you as I would entrust my life to you, the communes.
13:16To maintain this model in 2026, the key has been the national public consultation. Every three months, the people choose
13:24their priority proposals.
13:25With more than 4,500 simultaneous projects each day, the consultation grants financial autonomy, eliminating intermediaries and guaranteeing effective implementation.
13:38Because this path of at least one quarterly consultation, expressed in grassroots assemblies because, these are grassroots assembly processes expressed
13:51in projects diagnosed and developed by you, neighbors, communes, people of peace, grassroots people.
14:01Expressed in direct democratic participation, and decision making, is a process that takes place at least once every quarter.
14:15It is the beginning of a more vibrant, more direct democracy, and the construction of a new system of government.
14:24By managing their services, producing their food and realizing ventures, the Venezuelan people are building an independence based on territorial
14:32organization.
14:35The communal economy is a fundamental engine of the new economic model we want to build.
14:41It must be a diversified economic model, moving beyond oil sales.
14:47Venezuela must learn the lesson of the criminal blockade against our homeland to not depend on others, to not be
14:53dependent.
14:54And here, through the communal economy, we are building an independent economic model, diversified from Venezuela's vast capabilities.
15:04By transferring economic power directly to the grassroots, the citizen ceases to be a spectator, and becomes a protagonist of
15:11his own history.
15:14We're talking about a system where planning isn't done from behind a desk, but rather in assemblies with residents who
15:21know everything from water shortages to the need for a school.
15:24It's popular self-government made methodical where the commune legislates, the communal council executes, and public consultation finances.
15:32The communal state transforms resistance into a new architecture of power, where the people no longer wait for solutions, but
15:39create them.
15:39From Caracas, in the Jesus Romero Chamber for Telesur, Andrea Romero.
15:46Colombia is getting ready for the upcoming March 8 legislative elections, which are expected to serve as a barometer for
15:53the presidential elections next May.
15:55The governments of the South American nation is working to guarantee citizens' safety.
16:03During the election day and Sunday, with the deployment of more than 200,000 uniformed personnel,
16:09throughout 13,000 polling stations in 127 municipalities, the voters will elect 103 seats in the nation's Senate and 183
16:20in the House of Representatives out of members of both chambers of the Colombian Congress.
16:25For the 2026-2030 term, more than 3,200 registered candidates.
16:32The seats in both chambers will mainly dispute by two major antagonistic forces, the Historic Pact and the Democratic Center.
16:50In Cuba, the Ministry of the Interior reported the arrest of 10 Panamanian citizens for acts of propaganda against the
16:58constitutional order.
16:59Initial investigations revealed that these individuals had been instructed to enter the island for purpose of making signs with subversive
17:08content contrary to the constitutional order regulated in Article 124 of the Penal Code.
17:15The official statement adds that they were to leave the country once this object was achieved and upon returning to
17:22Panama would each receive between $1,000 and $1,500.
17:27From the moment of their arrest, those involved have admitted to being the perpetrators of the acts of this nature
17:34out in Havana during the early hours of Saturday, February 28.
17:53In other topics, the government of the Dominican Republic continued to distribute food, household items and emergency kits to families
18:01affected by the overflowing of the Bova River in the province of Espaiat.
18:05The head of the Directorate of Social Assistance and Community Food Supply, Edgar Augusto Feliz, led the beginning of the
18:13second phase of the emergency distribution protocol, which focuses on the distribution of these goods to hundreds of families who
18:21have lost their homes in recent dates due to the flooding.
18:25The government officials and groups of the affected municipalities to assist first-hand the needs of the residents and implemented
18:35a roof repair program.
18:44In Bolivia, the death toll rises to 24 after the military plane crash near La Paz Airport, while rescue teams
18:52continue their work to determine the cause of the disaster.
18:55According to the report, during the removal of the wreckage of the crash, military aircraft rescue teams found another vehicle
19:02bringing the initial death toll to 24.
19:05So far, 37 people are reported to be injured.
19:09Neuronautical accident investigation board took charge of collecting and safeguarding the aircraft black box.
19:15Police and rescue teams remained at the scene as investigations continue to determine the exact circumstances that led to the
19:24accident and the high number of victims involved in the crash.
19:37Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo foiled a drone attack at Banboka International Airport in Kisangani, the second
19:46in less than a month.
19:47According to the provincial administration of Tsopo, the attack was carried out by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, who
19:56launched four chemical drones equipped with subunitions that were intercepted and shut down without causing any casualties.
20:04The attack took place at four different intervals and put a landing civil aircraft in direct danger.
20:11Both sides in the conflict have traded accusations of carrying out drone attacks in densely populated areas.
20:25We go now to Zimbabwe on Monday, began releasing nearly 4,000 inmates who were granted presidential amnesty in a
20:34bit to ease overcrowding in prisons.
20:36This amid a tense political climate over reform that seeks to extend the term of President Emerson Nangawa.
20:44The Minister of Justice explained that the presidential amnesty seeks to decongest the country's presence, which house more than 24
20:54,000 inmates.
20:55The measure benefits inmates convicted of minor crimes and focuses on vulnerable groups and women.
21:02However, the measure excludes those convicted of serious crimes and those facing charges under the Peace Maintenance Act.
21:10The release of the prisoner comes as the opposition denounced an alleged constitutional coup over amendments that would allow Nangawa,
21:1983 heirs, to rule until 2030 without general elections.
21:30And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
21:33You can find this and many other stories on our website at TelesuriEnglish.net and join us on social media.
21:38We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
21:41For TelesuriEnglish, I am Lorena Fong. Thank you for watching.
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