*Hundreds of retirees reject attempt to privatize Paraguay’s loan fund
*U.S. to refuse visas to those related with Cuba’s int'l medical cooperation
🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
Https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
Https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?Hl=es
Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/telesurenglishofficial
Youtube⏯
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucmutmply35o3csvhya6vrkg
Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hmlcy0a6z7&_r=1
*U.S. to refuse visas to those related with Cuba’s int'l medical cooperation
🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
Https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
Https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?Hl=es
Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/telesurenglishofficial
Youtube⏯
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucmutmply35o3csvhya6vrkg
Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hmlcy0a6z7&_r=1
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In Panama, Rio Indio residents announced rallies against the construction of a dam in the Panama
00:12Canal basin.
00:17Hundreds of retirees in Paraguay reject the attempt to privatize the country's loan fund.
00:26And the United States government has announced that it will expand its visa restriction policy
00:31to those associated with international medical cooperation agreements with Cuba.
00:56In Panama, Rio Indio residents and several farmer national movements announced rallies
01:03against the construction of a dam in the Panama Canal basin.
01:07Digna Benitez, Farmer Coordinator for Life, expressed that the authority of the Panama
01:12Canal disseminated fake news about the alleged acceptance of this project.
01:17She denounced the questionable and intimidating censuses that do not reflect the will of the
01:23people.
01:24Benitez recalled that since 1999, farmers have been waging a struggle in defense of
01:30their territory against a government program that includes the eviction of productive lands
01:35that they have occupied for several generations.
01:39That is the case of Rio Indio, vital for the agricultural and livestock activities of over
01:4412,000 people.
01:51Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she doesn't rule out a meeting
01:55with her U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to discuss the tariffs that Washington is threatening
02:00to implement.
02:01The statement was issued during Sheinbaum's regular morning press conference, where she
02:06reaffirmed that despite the possible imposition of U.S. tariffs, Mexico continues to be an
02:12attractive nation to invest in.
02:14The head of state also informed that there is a wide communication between the trade
02:19officials of both countries to look for bilateral agreements on all controversial issues.
02:25Sheinbaum's statement comes ahead of the tariff pause deadline, scheduled for March 4.
02:36If it's necessary, we would look for it.
02:38There has been meetings between the secretaries of treasure of both nations.
02:42That is to say, there has been coordination and communication with Secretary Ebrard.
02:47He is also in communication with the Secretary of Commerce.
02:53So this week the meetings were intensified, and we will always look for an agreement within
02:58the framework of respect for our sovereignty and our constitution.
03:03On the other hand, the Mexican head of state announced the likelihood of bringing forward
03:08the revision of the deal between her country, the United States and Canada.
03:14Remember also that we have ahead the revision of the treaty.
03:21That was agreed by the United States Congress and our legislative power.
03:26So the treaty has become a law.
03:30And there is a revision scheduled for 2026.
03:35And it is very likely that the whole revision will be brought forward.
03:39Hundreds of retirees in Paraguay reject the attempt to privatize the country's loan fund.
03:45On Wednesday, groups of retirees protested against the loan system of the pension fund
03:50of the Social Security Institute, questioning its conditions and irregularities.
03:55They also condemned the intention of Santiago Pella's government to hand over the administration
04:00of the loans of more than 76,000 retirees to the banks.
04:05Moreover, they demanded greater transparency and better benefits to satisfy their needs.
04:14They are trying to privatize our loan fund.
04:17The only thing we retirees have left over is to withdraw our money for our medicine,
04:21to subsist.
04:23Because no one can touch this money.
04:25I don't understand why they don't understand this.
04:28So, I declare it a government that is a thief, because how are they going to touch the private
04:33money that is ours?
04:36They can't just pay these three counselors that they are saying they represent, who weren't
04:40elected by us.
04:42We, as retirees, have the right to elect retirees who represent us and who know our needs.
04:50The Chilean government confirmed that three patients depending on electrical devices died
04:55during the National Power Outage.
04:57The president of the Luz Para Ellos Foundation criticized the electric companies for lack
05:02of preventive measures.
05:04Authorities informed that one of the victims passed away due to the lack of a backup generator.
05:09Meanwhile, the Interior Minister Carolina Toja added two other deaths, noting that the
05:15patients they missed will be analyzed thoroughly.
05:22In that context, the Viña del Mar International Song Festival called off its activities as
05:27a result of Chile's power outage nationwide.
05:30After having cancelled the production of the festival, it reassigned its activities
05:34for next Saturday, March 1st, 2025.
05:38On a press release, the event's organizers stated that the confirmed artists will be
05:42present on the new date, keeping up with the same agenda.
05:46The measure was pursued around 7pm local time, four hours following the National Power Outage.
06:00Carnivals officially start on Thursday in the Brazilian city of Recife, but thousands
06:10of people are already celebrating the event on the streets.
06:13Our correspondent Brian Meir with the details.
06:18I'm in Recife on the banks of the Capibaribe River.
06:22Behind me, the famous statue of the Rooster of Dawn, a carnival tradition in this northeastern
06:29Brazilian city that goes back to 1978, a period when the dictatorship was beginning
06:35to fall and the military loosened their regulations on street carnivals.
06:41That was the year that the world's largest carnival block party was founded, the Galo
06:46da Madrugada, the Rooster of Dawn.
06:49Every Saturday of carnival since 1994, this party has been registered as the world's largest
06:56carnival block, with a record crowd appearing there about 10 years ago of 2.2 million people
07:02dancing behind 30 sound trucks with 30 different bands on them.
07:07The rooster itself is a statue that's put up on a main avenue in downtown Recife to
07:13commemorate the carnival bloco.
07:16This year it's 32 meters high, and using the theme of climate change adaptation, it was
07:21made from over 20,000 plastic soft drink bottles that were donated by fans of the Galo.
07:29So it's the last night before carnivals.
07:32As you can see, the crowd is enthusiastic.
07:35The streets are packed with people, entire families coming out, sometimes with small
07:39children who just don't feel comfortable going to such a big party as the Galo bloco itself
07:45during carnival.
07:46Take their kids to see the statue.
07:48It's become part of Recife's tradition.
07:51It's just been put up.
07:52They've had to reroute 120 city bus lines to accommodate the Galo de Madrugada, which
07:59is now officially standing up in the city of Recife the day before carnival starts.
08:05And now we have a short break coming up, but first, remember, you can join us on TikTok
08:11at Telesud English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates, and more.
08:15We'll be right back, stay with us.
08:21Welcome back to From the South.
08:40The United States government has announced that it will expand its visa restriction policy
08:44to those associated with the International Medical Cooperation Agreement with Cuba.
08:50The measure was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and represents the seventh
08:55aggression against the Caribbean nation in a month.
08:58The decision would restrict the granting of visas to Cuban and third-country government
09:03officials, whom Washington accuses of accomplices, as well as to persons responsible for the
09:09island's international health program.
09:12Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez accused Rubio of putting his personal agenda
09:17ahead of the interests of his government and said the decision was based on falsehood
09:23and coercion aimed at benefiting special interest groups for whom Rubio does warranty the waste
09:30of U.S. taxpayers' funds.
09:36Cuba denounces a new affront to its sovereignty by the U.S. government, which is keeping more
09:41than 30,000 migrants in Guantanamo's illegal naval base.
09:46Cuban citizens gathered on Wednesday at the Mariana Grajales Square in the province of
09:49Guantanamo to condemn the imperialist aggressions of the United States.
09:54Furthermore, they demanded that the U.S. government return the territory which has been illegally
09:59occupied for more than 122 years and blamed Washington for promoting human rights violations
10:06in the enclave.
10:07In addition, demonstrators denounced the blockade the U.S. has maintained on the Caribbean island
10:13for more than 60 years and rejected the re-inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring
10:19terrorism.
10:24Our brave people, in the name of Cuba, denounce, in this trench of honor, the interference
10:32policy of the government of the United States.
10:36The cruel economic and financial blockade against our country and the illegal naval
10:40base at Guantanamo, a territory that belongs to us.
10:46Our destiny is irrevocable.
10:49The homeland is happiness and heaven for all because homeland is humanity and we will always
10:54be anti-imperialist.
11:02The people of Guantanamo, the first anti-imperialist trench of Cuba, will never surrender.
11:11We will continue to depend on this land and this flag of the Lone Star that has never
11:17been mercenary.
11:19Stop terrorism.
11:21Long live peace.
11:24Ever honor to victory.
11:29In the United States, a child who had not been vaccinated against missiles died from
11:34the disease in rural West Texas, becoming the first death in the country from the highly
11:39contagious respiratory disease since 2015.
11:43The fatal case occurs while the Trump administration's health secretary, Robert Kennedy, represents
11:49radical and skeptical stances towards immunizations.
11:53The child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the largest outbreak of the disease
11:58in Texas in nearly 30 years.
12:01According to health authorities, most of the more than 130 cases reported so far are children,
12:0818 of whom have been hospitalized.
12:11The epicenter of the outbreak is in the Texan county of Gaines, home of an important Mennonite
12:16population, a Christian sect with a history of reluctance to vaccines.
12:27In Qatar, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov announced Russian diplomats will hold
12:32a meeting with their U.S. counterparts on Thursday in Istanbul to sort out issues concerning
12:37their embassies.
12:38Lavrov specified the encounter is aimed at normalizing bilateral relations grounded in
12:44the fact that both nations had expelled their embassy personnel from the other during the
12:49Biden administration.
12:51As the Kremlin and Washington have been making negotiations regarding the conflict in Ukraine,
12:56tensions have started to diffuse between them.
13:04Our diplomats, high-level experts will meet with U.S. colleagues and consider systemic
13:09problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of the previous
13:13administration in creating artificial obstacles to the activities of the Russian embassy in
13:18the U.S., naturally.
13:22We responded by creating uncomfortable conditions for the work of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
13:30Such a meeting will take place tomorrow in Istanbul. I think that its results will show
13:37how quickly and effectively we can move forward.
13:42U.S. President Donald Trump confirms he will receive his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr
13:47Zelensky in Washington on Friday as negotiations are underway on a deal to give the United
13:52States access to Ukrainian mineral resources.
13:56We are doing very well with Russia-Ukraine. President Zelensky is going to be coming on
14:01Friday, it's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement which will be a
14:06very big agreement.
14:08Russian foreign ministers rejected the European Union's intentions to deploy troops in Ukraine
14:13and accused its leaders of trying to rearm the Slavic country. The head of Russian diplomacy
14:20Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia does not block talks on the settlement of the Ukrainian
14:25conflict and recalled that it is mainly the Ukrainian leadership under pressure from Europe
14:31that refuses to negotiate. Lavrov also drew attention to the statements of the European
14:37politicians who say that the conflict in Ukraine should be solved militarily and not at the
14:43negotiating table. The Russian top diplomat emphasized that the possibility to engage
14:47in negotiations over the conflict in Ukraine will never disappear from his government's
14:53agenda.
14:55We have a second short break coming up, but before we embark it's a visit our YouTube
15:01channel at TeleCity English that you'll be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
15:06special broadcastings and more. Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell
15:11to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.
15:14Fan a short break, we'll be right back.
15:25Welcome back to From the South. This Wednesday, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa opened
15:35the G20 Summit of Finance and Economic Ministers in Cape Town. Multilateralism is once again
15:41the common factor in the opening speeches. Regarding that the group was founded on the
15:46principles of cooperation, the President called on the developed and emerging powers that
15:51make up this alliance to deepen multilateral cooperation. He referred to the escalation
15:57of tensions and the unprecedented global uncertainty to underline the importance of working together.
16:03The agenda of this conclave focuses on the reform of the financial architecture without
16:09neglecting to analyze the tariff threats from the United States, a country that is not attending
16:15this meeting.
16:19It is vital to ensuring that the rights and interests of the vulnerable are not trampled
16:28beneath the ambitions of the powerful. Multilateral cooperation is our only hope of overcoming
16:38unprecedented challenges including slow and uneven growth, rising debt burdens and levels.
17:04In Gaza, the medical aid directorate warned of the aftermath of the cold wave and the
17:10growing shortage of basic supplies. Health authorities detailed that around 35,000 Gazan
17:16families have been facing all kinds of shortages of basic services due to over 158 months of
17:23Israeli genocide against the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, they estimated that over 60,000 mobile homes
17:30and 200,000 tents are required to assist the forcibly displaced for safeguarding them
17:36against the effects of extreme weather events. In this context, the United Nations indicated
17:41that close to $53 billion are needed to rebuild Gaza.
17:50Israeli forces killed four civilians in an airstrike in southern Lebanon in yet another
17:56violation of the ceasefire agreement. The Lebanese authorities reported that at least
18:01two people were wounded in the bombing and were taken to nearby medical centers. They
18:06also denounced the siege imposed by the troops of the Tel Aviv regime on at least five key
18:11points in the south of the country. And the violation of the ceasefire agreement signed
18:16by Israel with the Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah on November 27, 2024.
18:27The Egyptian government has rejected an Israeli proposal to take over Gaza for eight years
18:32in exchange for Israel cancelling its foreign debt. The proposal was made at a forum in
18:38the United States, where the Israeli leader, Yair Lapid, suggested that Egypt administer
18:43Gaza for eight or possibly 15 years. The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi rejected
18:49this condition, affirming that Egypt would cancel its own debts and condemning the expulsion
18:55of the Palestinians from their land. The Egyptian leader called for the ceasefire to be maintained,
19:01reiterating his support for Palestine and his commitment to the reconstruction of Gaza,
19:06as the idea of U.S. control violates international laws and norms.
19:15In Sudan, a military plane crashed into Omdurman city, bringing about around 46 deaths and
19:2112 other injured. The accident occurred in the Altawara town in the Karradi district,
19:28where the aircraft hit several residential buildings due to a technical failure. The
19:32military plane, which took off from the Wadi Satna base in Khartoum, was bound for the
19:38port of Sudan city, the seat of the current government and the army command. Civilians
19:43and soldiers, including high-ranking military commanders, were among the fatal casualties.
19:52And with this information we have come to the end of this news brief, but you can find
19:56this and many other stories on our website at www.telusareenglish.net and join us on
20:01social media, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well. For TELUSA English
20:06I'm Alejandra Garcia, thank you for watching.