- today
22/07/2025
FTS 8.30
*Dominican Republic: senate approves controversial penal code
*Palestine: Israeli Zionist army arrests 4 people connected to W.H.O
FTS 8.30
*Dominican Republic: senate approves controversial penal code
*Palestine: Israeli Zionist army arrests 4 people connected to W.H.O
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NewsTranscript
00:00Salvalor and non-governmental organizations Cristo Sal, with more than 25 years of work which took
00:16up the defense of Venezuelan migrants, kidnapped by President Ayub Bukele at the Secot prison,
00:20called for an investigation into the human rights violations committed against them.
00:30The Dominican Republic Senate approved in second discussion, and by unanimous vote, a bill that seeks to reform the penal code.
00:42And two employees of the World Health Organization and two of their family members were arrested by the Israeli Zionist Army in the city of Del Alpala in Palestine.
00:51Hello, welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from the Delsus Studios in Havana, Cuba.
01:00We begin with the news, stay with us.
01:02Salvalor and non-governmental organization Cristo Sal, with more than 25 years of work which took up the defense of Venezuelan migrants,
01:23kidnapped by President Ayub Bukele at the Secot prison, called for an investigation into the human rights violations committed against them.
01:30Members of the organization made the demand from Guatemalan territory where they have had to flee after being threatened with prison by the Salvadoran government.
01:39Cristo Sal reaffirmed the migrants should not have spent even a minute in a Salvadoran penitentiary, much less a maximum security center.
01:47Let's recall that the lawyer for the organization representing some of the kidnapped victims reiterated that none of them had a criminal record,
01:53neither in Venezuela nor in the United States, and much less in El Salvador, a country they had never visited.
02:05Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro praised Monday the success of the Back to the Homeland plan and highlighted the 17th continuous month of economic growth of the Bolivarian nation.
02:17During his weekly TV program Con Maduro Mas, the Venezuelan head of state said his government will not rest until he can bring back to Venezuela the 29 children still held in the United States.
02:27He also informed that more than 8,000 Venezuelan migrants had already been rescued and returned to the country as part of the Back to the Homeland plan.
02:34In another part of his program, the head of state forecast a 20% increase in tourist arrivals in Margarita for the current year in relation to 2024,
02:43and informed that Venezuela will continue to produce oil for the world market.
02:50At Thursday evening, we closed the deal with the United States government.
02:57The ex-humanitarian exchange of 252 Venezuelans, we knew that they were coming.
03:04And also on Friday evening, without any mediators, the government of the United States informed that also six boys and girls of those 31 were claiming that they were also coming to the country.
03:21On Friday, we received them. It was a moment of great emotion.
03:28Those who have fathers and grandfathers feel this cause like a sacred cause, a special cause.
03:37No one, no boy, no girl should be touched.
03:42They are untouchable. They are sacred.
03:47There is no explanation, no excuses, no reason to kidnap a children, a boy or a girl.
03:56No race, no religion, no nationality. There is no way, no explanation.
04:07In this regard, the president also addressed the treatment of inmates at the Secot prison
04:11and the kidnapping of Venezuelan children who were falsely separated from their parents.
04:16Concentration camp. Secot means special camp of concentration. Secot.
04:24This one is very friendly today. Special concentration camp.
04:32It is very painful. But more than this, it was even more painful to kidnap boys and children and girls.
04:46We have still 29 boys and girls kidnapped and we have no rest.
04:53We will have no rest until those 29 boys and girls who are already forced separation, suffering,
05:02forced separation from their parents are going to be returned to Venezuela to hand them over to their parents,
05:07to their grandparents. All of them, you be sure about that.
05:11We are not going to rest, not even for a second.
05:15And Venezuela has recorded a GDP growth of 6% in the first half of 2025
05:22and expects to continue on the same path of growth in the coming months.
05:26We aspire that now in the third trimester
05:30and the fourth trimester consolidates an aesthetic growth by at least 9% of the GDP in the economy.
05:51We have a strong economy on the move, on the motion, generating diverse ways of enrichment with our self-production,
06:01with a self-production of 90% with a growth of several ways to increase employment for the people to have their own investment in their own business.
06:17On Monday, the Dominican Republic Senate approved in second discussion and by unanimous vote a bill that seeks to reform the penal code.
06:28Civil organizations confirm that the law represents a serious setback in human rights.
06:32They question that this code exempts entities such as the state, political parties or the church from criminal responsibility.
06:39It also establishes the total criminalization of abortion and does not contemplate any of the so-called free grounds for decriminalizing it.
06:46Entities such as Oxfam assert that it is an act of legalized torture.
06:51Sexually diverse groups denounce that it validates discrimination as it eliminates sexual orientation as an aggravating factor in crimes such as murder and torture,
06:59something that also occurs with gender-based crimes.
07:02In the new code, feminicide is only recognized in very extreme cases.
07:07And now we have a short break coming up, but remember you can join us on TikTok at Telesur English,
07:14where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
07:18And I'll be right back. Stay with us.
07:20In Argentina, Peronism closed Monday lists for the elections in Buenos Aires province, considered key nationwide.
07:47In this context, the governor of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, ensured that the state's strong Homeland Front left behind differences to make up the list of unity following striving negotiations.
07:58Even though the deadline expired towards midnight on Saturday, officials authorized the request for an extension due to the power outages that hit the country.
08:06These provincial elections define the Argentine Congress since Buenos Aires concentrates between 37 and 40 percent of the national electorate
08:14and the largest number of national deputies and senators are elected there.
08:21The government of Uruguay provided assistance to more than 2,560 homeless people in the face of the extreme cold wave that is sweeping the country.
08:32The national emergency system detailed that most of citizens were accommodating shelters in the city of Montevideo and other regions of the country.
08:39For their part, the police forces carried out more than 180 transfers of volunteers who will offer services to the homeless.
08:46Meteorological authorities forecast low temperatures for this Monday, so shelter operations will continue.
08:52In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro highlighted the economic and social advances of his government in a call to deepen structural change in favor of the minorities.
09:08From the premises of the national capital, Petro drew an optimistic account of his government, highlighting the reduction of inflation and the advances in land redistribution,
09:18while criticizing the remnants of an excluding economic model and traditional power structures.
09:23He emphasized that his administration managed to stabilize the economy despite the adverse forecasts of the opposition and highlighted the growth of the agricultural sector.
09:32The head of state also urged the Congress of the Republic to support the pending social reforms in what would be the last late leisure of his term.
09:40In the United States, Harvard University and the American Association of University Professors asked a federal judge Monday to prevent the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from the school.
09:58The legal action was filed before a federal court in Boston in response to a government-initiated funding freeze after Harvard refused to allow oversight of its admission process and the ideology of students and staff.
10:12The conflict originated in early 2025 when a federal task force created by the Trump administration to combat anti-Semitism accused the university of pursuing affirmative action policies and of failing to promote diversity of ideas.
10:28The United States government deployed nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom for the first time in 17 years.
10:38British media reported that several B61-12 thermonuclear bombs were recently moved from Kirtland Air Base in New Mexico, U.S. to the Royal Air Force Base in the United Kingdom.
10:49According to the report, the weapons are being stored in a specialized security facility built in advance in anticipation of the move.
10:56In addition, British media claims that this new deployment indicates a deterioration in relations between Washington and Moscow,
11:03in addition to a boosting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's nuclear deterrence capabilities.
11:13In France, authorities launched a criminal investigation against the social media platform X for manipulating data and information for political purposes.
11:22The authorities have intensified their scrutiny of the social networking platform by demanding access to its algorithms and data on all its users' posts.
11:31This request is part of a criminal investigation launched by the prosecutor's office accusing X of algorithmic manipulation and fraudulent data mining.
11:40In response, X rejects such accusations, calling them an alleged attempt to restrict freedom of expression.
11:45In Russia, a new earthquake was recorded in the Gulf of Abacha off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula with a magnitude of 6.5.
11:54This earthquake is recorded as the third of high intensity in a series of earthquakes recorded since Sunday, July 20, 2025, affecting the far east of Russia.
12:03The Geophysical Services Agency of the Geophysical Services Agency of the Geophysical Services Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the country reported that the death was 51.2 at about 170 km from the city of Petropavlovsk Kamchatka.
12:16Although citizens reported failing the movement, no casualties or significant damage were reported and a tsunami warning was not issued.
12:33A 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurred this week, which triggered tsunami warnings on several coasts of the planet.
12:49And in China, heavy rainfall flooded areas in the east of the country, registering 296 mm of rain in only 12 hours.
12:56The world phenomenon caused flooding in Lianjiang County in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, overwhelming subway infrastructure and causing a landslide that blocked a tunnel in the city center.
13:07According to witness statements, the streets were also severely affected, with many vehicles being completely submerged.
13:14The Fujian Meteorological Bureau issued an Orange Level Storm Warning, the second highest in China's four-level coded system.
13:21Now for our second and final show break coming up, we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Telesur English.
13:29There you'll be able to watch our top stories, special live coverage and much more.
13:33Follow our page and activate your vision button to stay up to date with the world's most recent events.
13:38And final break, don't go away.
13:51Welcome back.
13:52In Palestine, two employees of the World Health Organization and two family members were arrested by the Zionists.
14:10army in the city of Deir al-Bala, in the center of Gaza.
14:25Through his official account on the social media, ex-director general of the organization, Teros Adam Gerbeyazos, declared that the male employees were handcuffed, stripped naked, interrogated on the spot and searched at gunpoint.
14:37The WHO senior official added that so far three of the four detainees have been released, while 32 employees of the organization were evacuated to the headquarters.
14:54The United States sailors in New York's Central Park raised Palestinian flags in support of Gaza and the Handala ship.
15:00Through images spread on social media, it can be seen how boats crossed the lake with flags and posters demanding the end of the genocide against the Palestinian people.
15:09The issue of solidarity joins the hundreds of expressions of support for the Palestinian cause that have taken place in different parts of the North American country.
15:16Since October 7, 2023, the number of Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 59,000, while the number of wounded has reached more than 142,000.
15:32In other news, Syrian authorities say that the situation in the province of Sueida is calm after several days of conflict between armed groups.
15:39The ceasefire agreement came into force on Monday after armed clashes claimed the lives of at least 1,120 people and caused the displacement of dozens of families.
15:48According to Syrian authorities, the ceasefire deal includes the withdrawal of armed groups and members of the armed forces of the Syrian de facto government in the south of the country.
15:57In addition, humanitarian aid is authorized to enter the province of Sueida and the formation of an international commission to investigate the scale of violence.
16:27TELESUR celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025 and continues broadening its coverage to fully showcase our people's cultural richness.
16:38For this, since 2024, carnival celebrations in Latin America and the Caribbean have a special place in our programming.
16:44From Brazil, correspondent Andre Vieira tells us about his experience covering this significant celebration in the South American giant.
16:50I want to thank and welcome our dear correspondent Andre Vieira, who is ready to tell us what is going to happen starting tomorrow.
16:59But let's start from the beginning to tell us first where he is.
17:02Dear Andre, thank you for being with us. Good evening. Tell us where you are.
17:06Why Bahia and not Rio de Janeiro in this instance? What makes Bahia different?
17:11How are you, Sarai? Greetings to you and our audience. Here we are in the northeast region, which is where I am from, one of the most joyful and colorful regions of this country, with the colors and carnivals.
17:30Here we are to show a little bit of another type of carnival, because the most famous carnival in Brazil is the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, with the floats and samba schools.
17:41And here we are to showcase the black carnivals, a truly beautiful one.
17:46Among all the coverage I have done for TELESUR, together with cameraman Sebastián Soto, the carnival was undoubtedly one of the most exciting personally and professionally.
17:59Firstly, because as a good Brazilian, my flesh is made of carnival and my heart too, as a song by Novos Baianos.
18:08Second, because for the first time it was my turn to host a TV program, Carnival Time.
18:14Always accompanied by singer and journalist Mariela Santiago, we took a trip to the most popular party in Latin America and the Caribbean.
18:22Our home base for the first season was Salvador de Bahia, in 2024, the blackest city outside of Africa.
18:31La ciudad más negra fuera de África.
18:35África is our cradle, it is our mother, our comfort, where we reconnect, we communicate through the drums.
18:42The drums have an ancestral force, everything is super interconnected and we live it all year long.
18:47In 2025 we landed in Rio de Janeiro for the most famous carnival on earth.
18:57A total of 8 million people took part in their festivities in the city, according to the mayor's office.
19:03In addition to the Sembra Dome Carnival, there is the street carnival.
19:08I loved the first one, but I participated as a musician in the second one.
19:12And this year, for the first time, I managed to parade with my group Tuesday of Carnival, between one report and the next.
19:19For those of us who were born in this land, this period changes the whole routine of the cities that celebrate this party, and it changes our lives.
19:27Carnival is of European influence, but why is it so important in Brazil?
19:32It is of European influence, but why is it so important in Brazil?
19:37The key to understand the great popularity of the Brazilian carnival, the strength it has in the cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, São Luís do Maranhão,
19:51is because it is a carnival that funds conjunction of collective sense of life for those who were excluded by an extremely violent process that marks the formation of the Brazilian nation state.
20:06Not everything that makes up the carnival is a party. There is still a lack of public resources so that the groups, mainly the less publicized ones, can maintain the tradition beyond the five days of carnival.
20:25In addition, male chauvinism is still in force and we, the men, continue to dominate the management of the festival.
20:32But there is a struggle of many women that is changing this reality.
20:39There are many challenges. These spaces have grown a lot, and mainly with the pioneers we have in the world of samba, with singers and composers such as Clara Nunez,
20:54who made this connection, who made this connection, but even before that.
21:01We also have many difficulties with the juries of the samba schools in the carnival, the way women's bodies are treated, how women are objectified in the carnival.
21:16In Rio de Janeiro, we also experience recording songs with different artists, Songoroko Songo and his Psychotropicality.
21:27The African heritage represented by Orumila, the mixture of styles of orchestra de beco, and the power of Thais Lara's voice.
21:49Every year, our heart beats strongly for this tradition. Nothing and no one is more colorful than carnival.
21:58André Vieira y Sebastião Soto, Telesur, Brasil.
22:04Like this, we have come to the end of this news brief. You can find this and many other stories on our website at telesreenglish.net.
22:13So join us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok.
22:17For Telesreenglish, I'm Luis Alberto Matos. Thank you for watching.