Live from Asmara, this is ERI TV English. This broadcast for Tuesday evening, September 8th. The time is exactly 10:30 p.m. Here are stories making headlines today. Eritrean community festival [music] in Canada. Statement in connection [music] with International Literacy Day. Russia and Ukraine temporary [music] ceasefire ends. And Russian and Saudi Arabian foreign ministers [music] discuss regional de-escalation and bilateral ties. Great to have you. Let's proceed with our full reports. The Eritrean community festival in Canada was colorfully held on 5th and 6th of September in Toronto. The festival was officially opened by the guest of honor, Mrs. Sophia Tesfamariam, Eritrea's permanent representative to the United Nations. The festival attended by nationals from various Canadian and US cities, as well as religious leaders and heads of national organizations, aimed to promote national harmony, strengthen unity among nationals, enhance Eritrean cultural identity, and strengthen the organizational capacity of nationals. Highlighting the significance of the festival in strengthening national unity, nurturing national identity, and passing on noble societal values to future generations, Mr. Temesgen Terfe, chairman of the holidays coordinating committee, commended those who contributed to the successful implementation of the festival. In a statement released in connection with International Literacy Day observed on 8th of September, the Ministry of Education called on the public to make concert rather concerted effort to preserve the achievements registered in eradicating illiteracy. The statement noted that literacy campaigns began during the armed struggle for independence and continued after independence. Since 2000, the program has been one of the government's priority tasks implemented in all regions of the country and in all language. The statement indicated that the national literacy rate had increased from 65% to 80% in 2025. While acknowledging the encouraging results achieved, the Ministry of Education called for a review of progress based on a nationwide research conducted in 2025. It also called for a strengthened efforts to improve adult education in general and eradicate illiteracy in particular with a view to addressing areas of low achievements. Regarding future programs, the statement noted that due attention will be given to village and administrative areas that have received limited attention as well as regions where low participation has been observed. International Literacy Day, 8th of September, is being observed for the 25th time at the national level and for the 60th time at the international level. Training on small and productive farm plot has been provided to exemplary farmers, area administrators, and agricultural experts in Sene Afeso Zone. Mr. Awol Ahmed Mr. Awol Ahmed Rahto, a plan development expert, said that the objective of the training was to enable farmers to adopt integrated family farming through small and productive farm plots and ensure the availability availability of nutritious food. Mr. Awol Bia said that the farming system could yield abundant harvest even in areas with low rainfall. He called on the trainees to apply the knowledge gained during the training, supply agricultural products to local markets, and strengthen their economic capacity. Underlining the significant contribution of small and productive farm plots to increase agricultural production and ensuring the availability of nutritious food, Mr. Medhane called on farmers to work earnestly to that end. The participants expressed their readiness to introduce small and productive farm plots to ensure food security and called for the continuation of the training program. Saharti and Minefe High Schools in Gala Nefe Saw Zone as well as Lem at and Dembe Saw High Schools in Asmara have recognized outstanding students who attained high score in the National School Leaving Examination for the 2025-2026 academic year. At programs organized on 6th and 7th of September, Saharti and Minefe High School recognized 62 outstanding students while Lem at High School recognized 50 outstanding students. Dembe Saw High School recognized 75 outstanding students who attained high score in the National School Leaving Examination and 64 outstanding students including 41 female students who attained high mark in the 8th grade national examination. The school directors called on the award-winning students who who avoid negative peer influence and excel in their college education to realize their aspiration. The heads of the education offices in the sub zones called on award-winning students to strive for academic excellence in their college education. Mr. Mesfin Welde Selassie, head of administration and finance at the education office in the central region, said that the recognition program organized by parents and school will motivate fellow students to excel in their education. Those were updates on domestic issues. Global matters follow as we come back. Russia and Ukraine exchanged deadly attacks following the end of a limited ceasefire that had been in place during a weekend of diplomatic meetings. The renewed fighting followed a weekend of diplomatic efforts involving US envoys. The two met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before traveling to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. News reporters questioned one of the US envoys, Jared Kushner, about the prospect for the latest round of negotiation as fighting continues. And Kushner acknowledged the difficulty of the conflict the administration is attempting to address and said the US delegation remains committed to its diplomatic efforts. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud met in Moscow to discuss regional de-escalation and bilateral ties, though no formal mediation treaty or binding settlement was signed. Sergey Lavrov and Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed about Middle East tensions and energy cooperation. During their meetings, Lavrov stated that Moscow is interested in helping with efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, offering Russia's readiness to mediate. Both sides also agreed to maintain close coordination within the OPEC plus alliance to balance oil supply and demand. Both nations committed to further trade, investment, and ongoing political consultations. Washington stepped up trade embargo against Cuba caused the island a record economic loss of 8.08 billion US dollars from March 2025 to February 2026, 7% higher than the previous year's figure. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said yesterday, denouncing the embargo's devastating impact on all aspects of Cuban life. Cuba has been under a US trade embargo for more than six decades. The government said the cumulative economic damage has exceeded 178.7 billion dollars at current price, up 7. up 4.7% from the previous period. The administration of US President Donald Trump has stepped up the embargoes by effectively banning fuel supplies to Cuba through executive orders that threaten sanctions against companies operating tankers or shipping lines, leading to an acute energy crisis. Rodriguez said the embargo does not punish a government, it punishes the daily lives of people in every aspect. We're about to end our news broadcast, but here's a final look at the top stories. Eritrean community festival in Canada. Statement in [music] connection with International Workers' Day. Russia and Ukraine temporary [music] ceasefire ends. And Russian and Saudi Arabian foreign ministers discuss regional [music] de-escalation and bilateral ties. And that's all of the news for this session. On behalf of the entire news crew, thank you for watching. I'm Selam Berhane, wishing you a great night. >> [music]