29/11/2024
FTS 12.30
*Italy: second general strike for better labor conditions
*Amazon workers in 20 countries protest on Black Friday
FTS 12.30
*Italy: second general strike for better labor conditions
*Amazon workers in 20 countries protest on Black Friday
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Lebanese Armed Forces announced the Israeli Occupation Army for numerous violations of
00:22the ceasefire agreement less than 24 hours from its implementation.
00:32The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faces a second general strike summoned
00:37by the country's largest trade union on Friday.
00:46And thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries
00:52during Black Friday to press for better working conditions in climate action from the US retailer.
01:11Hello and welcome to From the South.
01:12My name is Belen de los Santos.
01:13I'm from Atresor Studios in Caracas, Venezuela.
01:17We begin with the news.
01:36The Lebanese Armed Forces announced the Israeli Occupation Army for numerous violations of
01:42the ceasefire agreement less than 24 hours from its implementation.
01:46The Lebanese Armed Forces said that on the 27th and 28th, Israeli forces violated several
01:53times the ceasefire agreement.
01:55These consisted of air raids and attacks with different weapons on the territory.
02:01On Wednesday, in the first hours of the effective date, the Zionist troops were reported by
02:06civilians against whom they fired to intimidate their return to their homes.
02:12An international press team was also attacked by occupation forces.
02:16The Lebanese Army assured that it is conducting an investigation with the relevant authorities.
02:30And also, Israeli occupying forces have committed three new massacres in the latest 24 hours
02:36in the Gaza Strip, claiming at least 33 lives and injuring 137 others.
02:42Palestinian authorities denounced that Israel goes on with its genocide against civilians,
02:47killing dozens of Gazan families in the latest 24 hours.
02:51The Gaza Health Ministry briefed that since October 7th of 2023, the Palestinian death
02:57toll amounted to over 44,363 while the figure of wounded surpassed 105,070 people.
03:12Meanwhile, in Brazil, the Landless Movement held in Sao Paulo an art meeting that featured
03:21Palestinian artists.
03:23The meeting took place within the framework of the World Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian
03:27People, the action that seeks to make visible the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli Zionist
03:33regime against the Palestinian population.
03:35It is important to highlight that this is not the first time that in Brazil an art meeting
03:40is held in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who since last October 7th are the
03:45victims of an escalation of the conflict with Israel.
03:49The Landless Movement, the MST, is an important Brazilian farmer social movement that groups
03:56around 350,000 families in its ranks and is dedicated to the struggle for the fair distribution
04:03of land.
04:10This is very important to give visibility to the Palestinian cause and the liberation
04:15process of the Palestinian people and to understand that art, culture, are tools that show that
04:21it is not about animals, about things, but about people who make art and culture.
04:27They want to be free like any other citizen of the world.
04:33And for almost two weeks, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has been on strike against
04:39Canada Post, rallying for dismissing those in picket lines, among other concerning issues.
04:45According to the Canada Labour Code, no worker can be fired in the middle of the strike.
04:50In this regard, the union leader of over 55,000 workers assured such intimidating measure
04:56to intend to spread fear over protesters.
04:59Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Seniors, Stephen McKinnon, just said that the special
05:04mediator appointed by the federal government is temporarily off duty.
05:09As a result, there have been hundreds of dismissals, even though the Canadian Union has not confirmed
05:15the accurate figure yet.
05:35We now move on to other topics.
05:36In Indonesia, the National Search and Rescue Agency reported that the number of people
05:41killed by floods and landslides in North Sumatra province has risen to 27.
05:47According to the entity, seven people lost their lives this week after an avalanche hit
05:52a bus in which about 20 people were traveling.
05:56The incident occurred in the district of Deliserdang and left a thousand people injured who received
06:02care at a local health centre.
06:05So far, an alert has been issued to the population to warn them that a new incident of this type
06:11could occur in the next few days.
06:13It is important to note that since last weekend, heavy rains in the province have caused heavy
06:18floods, leaving at least 10 fatalities in the areas of Karo and Padanglawas.
06:23Meanwhile, in southern Thailand, flooding triggered by three days of heavy rains killed
06:37one person and displaced thousands, with more days of rain forecasted.
06:42The head of the Narathiwak Province Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Wasang
06:49Chaitung Wenwong, reported that the floods killed one student and displaced more than
06:542,700 people.
06:56The official added that the prolonged rain also forced the suspension of 65 local schools.
07:02A heavy rain warning remains in effect, with continuous rain forecast across 70 percent
07:07of the province until early December.
07:10More than 500 soldiers and volunteers have been deployed to distribute relief kits and
07:15assist in evacuating residents to safer areas.
07:45Welcome back from the South.
08:04The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faced a second general strike summoned
08:10by the country's largest trade unions on Friday.
08:13The General Italian Confederation of Labour and the Italian Labour Union called for rallying
08:18against the 2025 general budgets.
08:21In addition, they are demanding pay raises, including pensions, ramping up funds for health,
08:26education and public services.
08:29Furthermore, protesters announced that national and international air and maritime transport
08:35will stop from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time on Friday.
08:39Moreover, medical services will further join the picket, excluding the essential ones.
08:46So far, unions have prepared demonstrations all over the nation.
08:57And in other news, Chad announced its determination to break security and defense cooperation agreements
09:03with France.
09:04Through a statement, the government informed about the decision to end the cooperation
09:08agreement.
09:09However, it emphasized that the decision does not question the historical relations and
09:14friendly ties between the two nations.
09:16Chad was the last country with a military French presence in the Sahel following the
09:22withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
09:26The African country's announcement comes just hours after the visit of the head of French
09:31democracy, Jean-Noël Barraud.
09:40The United States announced new sanctions against Russia.
09:43These not only threaten Russia's revenues, but also the energy security of several countries,
09:49including Turkey.
09:50Our correspondent Eunice Sonner has the details.
09:55The announcement came from the U.S. Treasury Department on November 21st.
10:00Among other entities, Gazprom Bank was sanctioned.
10:03The sanctions prohibit this bank from interacting with U.S. banks, as well as third parties
10:08with secondary sanctions.
10:11Gazprom Bank has an industrial role here in Turkey.
10:15The Russian companies established in Turkey had problems transferring capital from their
10:19country to Turkey, just like with the transfer of dividends to Russia.
10:26Apart from trade, natural gas imports are key for Turkey, explains Serif Askin Nesimioglu,
10:32energy policy expert.
10:35Turkey imports between 42 and 50 percent of its natural gas consumption from Russia.
10:40This implies a very large payment.
10:44Until now, out of sanctions, Gazprom Bank, which is partly owned by the company Gazprom,
10:49played a key role here, and not only for Turkey.
10:54Turkey has secured its gas consumption through TurkStream.
10:57Here, payment was made through Gazprom Bank.
11:01Russia receives its payment through this entity.
11:06The TurkStream connection transports gas not only to Turkey, but from here to several European
11:11countries, including Serbia, Hungary, Italy and Austria.
11:16Nesimioglu says the decision, which will come into force on December 20th, is generating
11:21reactions.
11:22It may be that the countries do not support the war in Ukraine, but with their decision
11:28moreover in winter conditions, putting them in difficult conditions, the United States
11:32has created a club of anti-United States.
11:35We see strong statements there.
11:40Before Parliament's Budget Committee, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fittin criticized the
11:44United States for not paying any attention to the needs of other countries.
11:49Energy Minister Alper Slanberaktar said, if we cannot pay, we cannot receive energy.
11:56Let's see possible solutions.
12:01All parties are going to do their best to solve the problem through bilateral agreements.
12:06Russia has already demonstrated its willingness to do so.
12:10The bill will probably be paid in smaller amounts through different banks.
12:18The Turkish minister demanded an exemption from sanctions from the United States, as
12:23was the case with gas imports from Iran.
12:26At the same time, representatives of the foreign ministries and the ministries of energy, trade,
12:31treasury and the central banks of Russia and Turkey met to discuss possible solutions.
12:37A common bank can be established and more use can be made of national currencies.
12:44Open accounts or barter can also be used.
12:47In the end, Turkey buys a lot of gas and oil from Russia, but also exports diesel and refined
12:52oil to that country.
12:56In perspective, the expert says that this situation has once again underlined the importance
13:01of working on alternative payment systems to the West, as was discussed at the last
13:06BRICS summit.
13:12And thousands of Amazon workers protest or strike in more than 20 countries during Black
13:17Friday to press for better working rights and climate action from U.S. retailers.
13:24Workers and representatives from unions and workers' groups joined protests against the
13:27Seattle-based company practices between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, one of the biggest
13:34shopping weekends of the year.
13:37Action is planned in big cities across the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Turkey, Canada, India,
13:42Japan, Brazil and other countries.
13:45It is coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, which calls on Amazon to pay its
13:51workers fairly and respect their right to join unions, pay its fair share of taxes and
13:57commit to environmental sustainability.
14:08And meanwhile in Australia, Parliament on Friday passed a world-first law banning the
14:12use of social media by teens under 16.
14:16The bill will make platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram liable to fines of
14:20up to US$33 million for systemic failures to prevent children under 16 from having accounts.
14:28The Senate passed the bill Thursday by a vote of 34 to 19.
14:34On Wednesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the legislation with
14:38102 votes in favor.
14:41Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the bill supported parents concerned about
14:45their children being harmed online.
14:48Social platforms have a year to decide how to implement the ban before sanctions are
14:52imposed.
14:53And now we have a second short break coming up but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
15:05channel at Solicitor English, there you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
15:10special broadcastings and more.
15:12Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
15:15world's most recent events.
15:17Final short break, don't go away.
15:41Welcome back to From the South.
15:44In Colombia, a building collapse in Barranquilla has resulted in the death of a woman and the
15:48rescue of four children from the rubble.
15:51Colombian military officials confirmed the incident which took place in a residential
15:55area of the city.
15:57Emergency response teams to locate and extract the children who were found alive amidst the
16:02debris.
16:03Authorities are now investigating the cause of the collapse, raising concerns about construction
16:08standards and safety regulations in the region.
16:11This incident underscores ongoing issues related to urban infrastructure in Colombia, where
16:17similar tragedies have occurred due to inadequate enforcement of building codes.
16:30And we stay in Colombia as the Inter-Institutional and Community Commission of the Peace Dialogue
16:35table keeps its session, holding talks between the government and the Central General Staff,
16:40the EMC, in San Vicente de Caguán.
16:44Government representatives will meet Friday with the EMC leaders of the Revolutionary
16:49Armed Forces of Colombia's People's Army, FARC-EP, in the following three blocks.
16:55Commander Jorge Suárez Briseño, Magdalena Medio Commander Gentil Duarte and Commander
17:00Raúl Reyes Front.
17:02Meanwhile, 18 domestic and regional entities will set technical working tables with the
17:08Yarizavanas community in southern Meta to address issues such as production, education,
17:15housing, land formalization, health, gender and ethnic approaches, financing productive
17:21projects and the environment.
17:31And during a historic ceremony, Honduran Education Secretary Daniel Enrique Esponda declared
17:36the Western Department of COPAN to be free of illiteracy.
17:41The achievement of the National Illiteracy Program, promoted by the government of President
17:45Xiomara Castro, has taught more than 383,000 people to read and write.
17:51To date, seven departments and 252 municipalities are free of illiteracy.
17:57Suárez expects to completely end illiteracy by the first quarter of 2025.
18:10And in other news, the Nicaraguan Parliament approved on Thursday an important reform to
18:14the General Law on Migration and Foreigners, with the aim of guaranteeing the protection
18:18of national sovereignty.
18:20The legislature has also introduced amendments to the Penal Code in order to modernize and
18:25strengthen the nation's legal framework.
18:30Parliamentarians stressed during the session that the law aims by strengthening border
18:34controls to combat organized crime, human trafficking and smuggling, as well as terrorism
18:40and threats to the territory.
18:42These reforms will also ensure a solid legal framework for investments in the country and
18:47will expand guarantees for the protection of children and adolescents.
18:59To strengthen our legal framework, to adapt it to the new times, in order to strengthen
19:04border controls at the national level, and guarantee citizen security, positioning our
19:09country as one of the safest countries in the region.
19:15We go now to other topics.
19:16In China, a museum in Shanghai set an important milestone in its visitor numbers by registering
19:22more than one million visitors to an exhibition on Ancient Egypt.
19:26Let's see.
19:29The exhibition, entitled At the Top of the Pyramid, The Civilization of Ancient Egypt,
19:37was inaugurated more than four months ago, and since then the exhibit has maintained
19:41a strong daily attendance rate of around 8,000 people.
19:45Ticket sales have already exceeded 1.3 million, and this number is expected to continue to
19:52rise until the end of this year, and could surpass the record set by a museum in the
19:57United States.
19:58Among the main objects on display are large items such as sculptures and murals, as well
20:03as smaller ones such as tablets and writings.
20:12The previous record for an Egyptian exhibition was set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
20:15in New York in 1978.
20:17With 1.36 million visitors, given current trends, we are on track to surpass that record.
20:29This exhibition features more than 780 works from Ancient Egypt, almost all of which are
20:34being presented for the first time on the Asian continent, making it the largest exhibition
20:39of its kind to be held outside of that country.
20:44The exhibition also marks the first major collaboration between a Chinese state museum
20:49and the African nation's government to present world-class artifacts to the Chinese population,
20:54who have recorded a 65% year-on-year increase in the number of Chinese visitors to Egypt.
21:05The popularity of the exhibition has been so great that it has also stimulated sales
21:10of cultural and creative products in Shanghai, from fridge magnets to cinna candles, as well
21:15as other items for games that have become very attractive to young people.
21:19In addition, the exhibition has also had an impact on the city's tourism and entertainment
21:24activity, which has helped the local economic activity and its inhabitants to grow.
21:39And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
21:41You can find this and many other stories on our website at CelesteroEnglish.net, and also
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21:51For Celestero English, my name is Belén de los Santos.