Transcription
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Good morning. This is Sen 7 World News in 7 minutes. I'm Steven Devincenzi. Today is Wednesday, the 9th of April 2025. [Music]
Starting in the Americas today, in the Dominican Republic, at least 58 people have died after the roof of a nightclub collapsed in the capital city, Santo Domingo, early yesterday morning. 160 other people have been reported as injured. And 12 hours after the collapse, emergency services said that they were still pulling people alive from the rubble. At the time of the collapse, many politicians, sports people, and celebrities were attending the venue. And one of the confirmed deaths is of the governor of Monte Christi Province, Nelie Cruz. According to the Associated Press, Cruz called President Luis Abinader to say that she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed. Abinader has announced 3 days of national mourning.
United States President Donald Trump has said that the US will hold direct talks with Iran. Speaking in the White House during a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that talks would be direct, and he suggested that the US might bomb Iran if a deal is not reached about Iran's nuclear program. "We're dealing with the Iranians. We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we're dealing with them directly. You know a lot of people say, 'Oh, maybe you're going through surrogates or you're not dealing directly. You're dealing through other countries.' No, we're dealing with them directly. And uh, maybe a deal is going to be made. That would be great. Going to be—it would be really great for Iran. I can tell you that. I think if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger. And I hate to say it, great danger, because they can't have a nuclear weapon." Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arachi, confirmed the talks taking place in Oman. However, he said that they would be [Music] indirect.
European Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski has said that Ukraine has captured two Chinese men fighting for the Russian army in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Zilinski said that six Chinese men were fighting in the area for Russia but didn't say what happened to the other four. During a news conference with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever yesterday, Zalinski said that the Chinese fighters had been captured and that they had their Chinese passports and other documents on them at the time. There have been many cases of mercenaries joining Russia's invasion of Ukraine, mostly from Central Asian countries. The only time that a foreign military has entered the war was when North Korea sent around 12,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia, with Western observers estimating that about a thousand of them have been killed. Ukraine has welcomed foreign soldiers from all around the world to fight against the Russian invasion. Zilinski has also spoken for the first time about Ukrainian soldiers operating in Russia's Belgorod region as well as Russia's Kursk region. Zilinski added, "The war must return to where it came from."
The United Nations Human Rights Office has said that a Russian missile strike on the central city of Kremenchuk on Friday was the single deadliest verified attack on children that Russia has committed in the war, with nine children being killed in the attack and many more injured. Although this was the verified deadliest attack on children, there were probably deadlier attacks during the siege of Mariupol in 2022, such as when Russia blew up the Mariupol theater where many families were sheltering. However, verifying details about these attacks was not possible.
In the United Kingdom, a woman has given birth after a uterus transplant for the first time. Grace Davidson was born with an underdeveloped uterus and was unable to have children until her sister, Amy Davidson, donated her uterus to her 2 years ago. Grace recently gave birth to a daughter who she has also named Amy, after her auntie.
Africa. Gabon is preparing for a presidential election on Saturday, the first election since the removal of President Ali Bongo in a coup d'état in 2023. Bongo's cousin, Brice Oligui Nguema, was the leader of the military who removed Ali Bongo and declared himself transitional president. Last month, he declared that he would run for president, and he is widely expected to win.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, anthrax poisoning has killed many large animals, including 50 hippopotami. Staff from the Virunga National Park said that tests had confirmed anthrax poisoning, but the cause of the poisoning was not [Music] clear.
Asia. South Korea will have a presidential election on the 3rd of June. The election has been brought forward by two years because of the removal from office of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he was impeached as a result of briefly implementing martial law last year. The candidates of the election have not been selected yet. However, opinion polls generally show that the opposition Democratic Party candidate is likely to beat the right-wing People Power Party of former President Yoon.
In Thailand, an American academic has been arrested and charged with insulting the monarchy. Thailand has one of the most strict lèse-majesté laws in the world, and insulting the royal family can lead to 15 years in prison for a single charge.
And the secret to making a stronger pour-over coffee without adding more beans is to add the water slowly and from higher up. According to a new study, around the world, one of the most popular forms of making coffee is also the most simple: pouring hot water on top of ground coffee through a filter, which can be made of paper or cloth. A team from the University of Pennsylvania found that pouring quite slowly gave the water more time in contact with the coffee, and pouring from higher up caused the coffee grounds to move more, which also increased the strength. For people who make coffee using a cafetière, also known as a French press, previous research has found that using a spoon to stir the water in the cafetière before pushing the plunger down can increase the strength and flavor.
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