20/02/2025
FTS 12.30
*U.S. pres. Trump willing to seal deal with China and Russia
*CARICOM urges Europe to compensate years of slavery
FTS 12.30
*U.S. pres. Trump willing to seal deal with China and Russia
*CARICOM urges Europe to compensate years of slavery
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00Israeli forces mounted on Wednesday evening a raid, opening fire on several homes in the
00:16far-off refugee camp near Tubas in the occupied West Bank, claiming at least three Palestinian
00:22lives.
00:26U.S. President Donald Trump assured that he is willing to seal a deal with China and Russia
00:31to reduce the nuclear arsenal, describing as unacceptable the use of atomic weapons.
00:40And Caribbean nations urged Europe to make compensations for transatlantic slavery within
00:45the 48th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of State of the Caribbean Community
00:51being held from February 18th to the 21st.
00:59Hello and welcome to From the South.
01:01My name is Belén Delos Santos.
01:02I'm from Tercer Studios in Havana, Cuba.
01:05We begin with the news.
01:22And now we begin with the information.
01:24Israeli forces mounted on Wednesday evening a raid, opening fire on several homes in the
01:29far-off refugee camp near Tubas in the occupied West Bank, claiming at least three Palestinian
01:35lives.
01:36The occupation army kept with the corpses and justified the killings by claiming they
01:41were alleged wanted terrorists.
01:44On the raid, Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians.
01:48The genocidal, ongoing offensive on the North and West Bank has pushed up to thousands the
01:53figures of displaced civilians.
01:55Yenin, its refugee camp, Tulkarm and Nurshams refugee camp had been some of the areas devastated
02:02by bulldozers that tore down infrastructure and soldiers who brought about more deaths.
02:13We now move on to other topics.
02:14South Korean President Yoon Sung-kyo appeared in court this Thursday for the first preliminary
02:20hearing of his criminal trial on charges of insurrection following his declaration of
02:25martial law last December.
02:27The hearing, which took place at the Seoul Central District Court, aimed to clarify the
02:32facts in dispute and plan future legal procedures.
02:36Although South Korean law does not require the accused to attend a preliminary hearing,
02:42Yoon chose to do so.
02:44He has been detained since January 15 amid a criminal investigation into the alleged
02:49crime of insurrection for briefly declaring martial law in early December.
02:54The penalty for insurrection in South Korea is life imprisonment or capital punishment,
03:00for which there has been a moratorium since the year 1997.
03:09And Germany prepares for parliamentary elections on February 23, a few days before these elections.
03:15Our special envoy, Yunus Soner, with the details.
03:22These are extraordinary times for German politics.
03:25The ruling coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals has failed to reach the
03:29end of its time, which would have been September 2025.
03:33I think it is incredibly difficult to keep track of this early election campaign.
03:39And that's because many parties ultimately don't want to form a coalition with each other
03:42or can't imagine one.
03:44But there has to be a coalition.
03:52Germany's economy has stopped growing for two years, with an official recession.
03:57Right-wing parties blame climate change policies, subsidies for renewable energy, discrimination
04:02of traditional energy.
04:04They propose deregulation in favor of oil and even a return to nuclear energy.
04:11The decisions we take here in Germany have global consequences.
04:15We have responsibilities.
04:17And it is also time for us to grow up a little.
04:19Germany was occupied by foreign countries after the Second World War.
04:24And now we have to show that we can do justice to this economic power in foreign policy and
04:29also in climate policy.
04:35Fifty-nine million citizens are calling for the last federal election in 2021, the last
04:42federal election.
04:43The voting population is decreasing.
04:46Despite this, right-wing and ultranationalist parties want to close doors to immigrants
04:50and expel those they can.
04:55Migration is being dragged through the parties, but it is not the main issue.
05:02Migration is declining across Europe, but it is still being pushed as an issue.
05:13Alternative for Germany party, AfD, claims to be challenging the political system.
05:18None other than US Vice President Vance called on the other parties to form a coalition with
05:23which they consider to be outside the democratic order.
05:28I think it is extremely important to vote and I have already done so by post and what
05:32I think everyone hopes is that the AfD party does not become the strongest force in the
05:36country.
05:37And I hope that also the country will move forward again and that we will find the way
05:40back to commonality and go forward after so many problems.
05:47The population will elect 630 members of parliament on Sunday.
05:52According to all polls, no party will have an absolute majority.
05:56The party with the most votes will have to build a majority.
06:00Then the new prime minister and the government will be elected.
06:03No mean feat with the programmatic differences that exist.
06:11And now in other news, the gold market continues to see a lot of pressures to the upside as
06:16the market continues to look at the possibilities of tariff wars and geopolitical problems around
06:21the world, driven by President Trump's new tariff measures.
06:25The gold market continues to show a lot of upward momentum and in the early hours on
06:31Thursday, spot gold climbed to 2,954.69 an ounce, making it 10th record high this year.
06:43As for US gold futures, its price gained 1.2% to 2,970.7.
06:52As for Trump's tariffs, the president stated he would raise a tariff on lumber, cars, semiconductors
06:58and pharmaceuticals next month or sooner.
07:01Besides these goods, Trump did impose 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff
07:08on steel and aluminum.
07:38Welcome back to From the South.
07:46We continue with more information.
07:47The US President Donald Trump assured that he is willing to seal a deal with China and
07:52Russia to reduce the nuclear arsenal, describing as unacceptable the use of atomic weapons.
07:59The GOP leader said so on his speech at the priority summit in Miami, where he addressed
08:05both domestic and global issues.
08:08Trump ensured that he has held phone conversations with his counterparts of Russia and China,
08:13Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively.
08:16The US head of state advanced that they have a common vision about the risk of nuclear
08:21armament.
08:23In all, he warned that if a nuclear conflict were to break out in these times, it would
08:27be 500 times worse than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
08:37Caribbean nations urge Europe to make compensations for transatlantic slavery within the 48th
08:43regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of State of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM,
08:48being held from February 18th to the 21st in Bridgetown, capital of Barbados.
08:53The Prime Minister of Guinea, Dickon Mitchell, tackled so, demanding an open and explicit
08:59rejection of the belief that one human being can own another human being.
09:04He also addressed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, granting
09:09her that Caribbean nations would discuss such issues with the European Union directly.
09:15Mitchell further noted that adequate compensation for years of slavery would have to be paid.
09:27And after several days of struggle in the courts, and less than 24 hours after the last
09:31protests, the government of Panama released the 83 workers legally detained for protesting
09:37against government policies.
09:39The union leadership, the social movements, and the families of the detainees did not
09:43rest for a single hour until their release.
09:46The judge, Luz Mila Jaramillo, who was questioned by the defense of the workers as being taken
09:51over by the executive, ordered their release, but obliged them to report every 15 days,
09:58and prevented them from leaving their provinces of residence.
10:01The workers denounced the criminalization of the right to protest and affirmed that
10:06they were victims of cruel and degrading treatment during their detention.
10:19The struggle continues, comrades.
10:21The fight has to continue.
10:22This is not going to restrict our right to continue fighting for the non-law 163 that
10:27the Social Security Fund wants to impose on us.
10:32And now we go to Argentina.
10:34As moments before leaving for the United States, President Javier Millet transformed the National
10:39Bank into a joint stock company.
10:42The move comes amid his alleged involvement in a fraud case.
10:47Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni made the announcement, confirming that the president
10:51continues with the deepening of the reform of the state.
10:55The decision was promoted by the directors of the banking institution.
10:59From now on, it will be called the Bank of the Argentinian Nation, and the state will
11:04own 99.9% of the shares, while the Foundation Bank of the Argentinian Nation will have the
11:11remaining 0.1%.
11:19We stay in Argentina as Catholics gathered on Wednesday night to pray for the health
11:23of Pope Francis in his native Buenos Aires.
11:27From the neighborhood of Flores, where Jorge Bergoglio grew up, the parish priest Martín
11:32Burdio responded to the call of the Argentine Catholic Church to pray for the Pope's recovery,
11:38who at 88 years old is hospitalized in Rome due to pneumonia in both lungs.
11:44The faithfuls, who share a special bond with the first Latin American head of the Catholic
11:49Church, listened quietly to the Mass and joined in prayer.
11:53The last update from the Vatican stated that the Pope had had a restful night and had gotten
11:58out of bed for breakfast.
12:07We are all very mobilized because, well, we are following minute by minute the reports,
12:12the medical reports.
12:13There is concern, but there is also a very nice reaction from the people of God, that
12:17is to turn to our temples and to pray for him.
12:20It is what he asks, what he always asked for, and also what we can do.
12:23Pray a lot for him so that he has peace, so that he has health and good, that he can make
12:27this journey in peace, especially in peace.
12:30But the people pray and ask a lot for him, permanently.
12:35And now we have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our
12:38YouTube channel at Tell Us Your English.
12:40There you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories, special broadcastings, and more.
12:45Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
12:48world's most recent events.
12:50Final short break, don't go away.
13:11Welcome back to From the South.
13:12Colombian authorities reported on Wednesday evening several blasts targeting two police
13:17stations in Popayán, the capital of the Cauca Southwestern Department.
13:22The first briefings on these incidents unfolded that one of the explosives detonated in an
13:27immediate attention command, alias a CAI, and the other did it in La Carceleta, an old
13:33headquarters school.
13:36Security forces had been deployed to the scene to determine the causes and quantify the damages.
13:42Earlier authorities informed that there weren't any casualties from the blasts.
13:47However, investigations are underway to find the offenders.
13:56Right now, the police personnel are in the park and in adjacent sectors of the park,
14:02making controls and verifying to try to establish if there was any use of a device such as a
14:07drone.
14:10It is still to be ruled out that it could have happened.
14:14At this moment, we further have explosives personnel inquiring into the area to determine
14:20if we have any additional elements.
14:27And also in Colombia, more cases and indictments of former military personnel involved in false
14:32positives or extrajudicial executions are being known now in the Department of Antioquia.
14:39Hernan Tovar with the details.
14:45Four generals and more than 35 officers and ex-sub-officers were charged by the Special
14:50Jurisdiction for Peace for their alleged responsibility in war crimes and crimes against humanity
14:55committed in the Department of Antioquia between 2004 and 2007 and when they belonged to the
15:00Army's 4th Brigade.
15:03According to the order read by the magistrates of the reconnaissance chamber, there was a
15:06systematic practice of body counts and killings over captures as a general rule, where pressure
15:11was exerted on the troops by senior commanders.
15:16Thus, for example, General González Pena urged the troops in radio programs broadcast
15:25between the 17th and the 21st of March 2000 for that, and I quote, the only thing that
15:30counts are the casualties, captures are of no use to us, the only thing that counts is
15:34to kill the enemy, and this type of statement was echoed by Rodríguez Clavijo, putting
15:40pressure on and threatening the men under his command.
15:51Four hundred and forty people were killed by extrajudicial executions or also known
15:55in the country as false positives and forced disappearances, a practice that was mainly
15:59carried out against the weakest, minors, street dwellers, people with physical or mental
16:04disabilities, unemployed or peasants and members of the LGBT community, and who were reported
16:10as casualties in combat by members of the guerrillas in the Department of Antioquia.
16:14For human rights organizations, it was a state policy promoted by the president of the country
16:19in that moment.
16:27It is no secret that the speeches of former President Álvaro Uribe were related to the
16:32body count that would tell the effectiveness of the national army.
16:36From then on, from the casualties in combat, in this case fraudulent, it cannot be ignored
16:42that the 4th Brigade was the brigade with the most cases of executions, but at the same
16:46time it was the one that received the most injection of capital from the Colombia plan.
16:52And then, just as it received capital, so it was asked for casualties, as the only operational
16:58result that served as an indicator to measure the effectiveness of the national army.
17:10This is the first time that the Truth Recognition Chamber has identified acts of torture against
17:14direct victims or their relatives.
17:17In 22 cases involving 41 victims, most of the peasants arbitrarily accused by the military
17:22of aiding the guerrillas, including children, have been tortured.
17:29Unfortunately, among the provisional universe of 442 victims of false positives, there are
17:38also 26 minors.
17:42These are not mere coincidences, but rather criminal patterns whose existence has been
17:45proven by the Reconnaissance Room throughout the length of the country.
17:55This determination is made in case 3 which investigates false positive events throughout
17:59Colombia.
18:00The defendants have 30 working days to present additional arguments or evidence.
18:15And we move now to Peru, as the National Emergency Operations Center reported that
18:29heavy rains left 47 people dead.
18:32More than 48,000 people have been affected in the Andean region.
18:35Authorities also registered 635 houses destroyed and over 3,600 others rendered uninhabitable
18:44throughout the country.
18:46Specialists from the National Institute of Civil Defense reported that over 1,700 emergencies
18:52have been recorded throughout the nation.
18:55In the sense, the departments reporting the highest number of emergencies due to rains
18:59and related to these events were Cusco, followed by Ayacucho, Cajamarca and Arequipa.
19:15And Mali's highly acclaimed director Suleymane Sise, who is considered one of the pillars
19:24of African cinema, has died at age 84.
19:28His daughter announced that Sise has died on Wednesday, leaving a revolutionary legacy
19:32of cinema spanning half a century that was marked by a commitment to African storytelling,
19:40deep humanism and profound political engagement.
19:43Sise won the Jury's Prize at 1987 Cannes Film Festival for the movie Yaeli in Brightness,
19:52which draws on legends from West Africa's Bambara people.
20:01And also Chinese cinema took center stage at Berlin 2025 International Film Festival
20:07in Germany.
20:08Let's see.
20:09China's film industry continues to boom, not only at home, but also with the interest
20:19of international audiences.
20:21During the 75th Berlin Film Festival, a special evening dedicated to the cinema of the Asian
20:26giant was held, bringing together more than 150 international filmmakers, world industry
20:32leaders and Chinese cultural representatives for a dynamic exchange of ideas and creativity.
20:37One of those present was the president of the Jury of the Shanghai International Film
20:40Festival 2023, who described the city as a place full of magic and highlighted the relationships
20:46established around the seventh art.
20:56My best wishes for the Shanghai International Film Festival, because it is my favorite film
21:00event in the world.
21:01I had a fantastic time there two years ago, because of the wonderful place, the wonderful
21:05people, very good selection of films.
21:07All in all, it was so well organized by such nice people that I can honestly recommend
21:11Shanghai as a place to be.
21:19The Polish film director and screenwriter also encouraged the international filmmakers
21:23present in Berlin to join the Shanghai Film Festival, highlighting the vibrant Chinese
21:27film market to connect with Chinese film enthusiasts.
21:30Similarly, the jury member of the main competition of the Shanghai Film Festival's Golden
21:35Goblet Awards in 2021 praised the event in Berlin for its inclusiveness and for serving
21:40as a platform for filmmakers from China and other countries to showcase their culture.
21:51The Shanghai International Film Festival is really fascinating for a lot of people.
21:56It shows them the rich Chinese culture as well as a sense of foreign culture.
22:01Berlinale 2025 offers screenings from more than 30 countries, both from Europe and other
22:07continents, such as Argentina, Brazil, France, South Korea, Australia, Palestine and Egypt.
22:13The festival will be open until February 23.
22:31And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
22:33You can find these and many other stories on our website at telesforenglish.net.
22:37And also join us on social media.
22:39We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and also on TikTok.
22:43For TELUS for English, my name is Belén de los Santos.