19/02/2025
FTS 10.30
*Colombia: president Petro denounces attempts on his life
*Brazil: Bolsonaro charged in 2022 coup plot
FTS 10.30
*Colombia: president Petro denounces attempts on his life
*Brazil: Bolsonaro charged in 2022 coup plot
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, proposed to exchange all Israeli hostages
00:17for Palestinian prisoners at once in the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
00:25Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced that there are various groups of drug traffickers
00:29and smugglers who intend to make an attempt on his life.
00:36And the Brazilian Prosecutor's Office filed charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro
00:40for the attempted coup of 2022.
00:48Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:49My name is Belén de los Santos.
00:51I'm from the Tel Aviv studios in Havana, Cuba, bringing you the news.
01:12We now begin with the information.
01:13The Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, proposed to exchange all Israeli hostages
01:18for the Palestinian prisoners at once during the second phase of the ceasefire agreement
01:22in Gaza.
01:24The head of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed the initiative aimed at
01:29reaching a permanent truce and a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the devastated Palestinian
01:35enclave.
01:36He announced that next Thursday, February 20, the bodies of four Israeli hostages would
01:41be handed over, and also confirmed that next Saturday, six Israeli prisoners would be exchanged
01:47for 602 Palestinian detainees, 157 of whom are serving life imprisonment.
01:54Al-Hayya called for the terms of the agreement to be implemented without delay and expressed
02:00Hamas' readiness for the immediate implementation of the second phase.
02:09Now in this context, we continue in Palestine, as Israeli forces killed two Palestinians
02:14in Rafa in southern Gaza on Tuesday, in another violation of the ceasefire agreement.
02:19Medical officials confirmed that two bodies were taken to a nearby hospital after the
02:24Israeli tank attack.
02:26In this sense, the Israeli army tried to justify the killings by claiming that it had opened
02:31fire on a number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who were approaching its forces.
02:37The attack highlights the Israeli regime's continued disregard for the ceasefire agreement
02:42reached with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
02:50And the continuing siege of the occupied West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers has generated
02:56a humanitarian crisis that has resulted in massive displacements in the territory.
03:01Experts noted that Israel's tactics in the West Bank have become almost indistinguishable
03:07from those in the Gaza Strip ransacking homes and expelling residents using ruthless intimidation.
03:14In recent weeks, Zionist forces advanced into towns such as Tul Karem, Farah and Rosham,
03:21separating families and awakening bitter memories of the war for the creation of Israel in 1948.
03:28According to figures published by several NGOs, Israel's military operations in the
03:35occupied West Bank have displaced at least 45,000 Palestinians, the largest number since
03:41the Middle East War of 1967.
03:48Now in other news, Vietnam's parliament has approved a multi-billion dollar rail project
03:53that will boost trade by linking the country's main northern port to the Chinese border.
03:59The $8 billion project won the support of 95% of lawmakers in the National Assembly.
04:06The railway will pass through some of Vietnam's manufacturing hubs, where global factories
04:12such as Samsung, Foxconn and Pegatron operate and rely on component supplies from China.
04:19The voyage will travel 390 kilometers from the port of Haiphong to the mountainous city
04:26of Lao Cai in China's Yunnan province and into the capital city of Hanoi.
04:32It should be noted that a large part of this link will be financed by loans granted by the Asian giant.
04:43Meanwhile in Japan, on Wednesday, Ryukyu Kimura, the perpetrator of the 2033 attack on former
04:49Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
04:54The Wakayama court sentenced Kimura to five charges, including attempted murder and violation
04:59of the explosive control law.
05:02Defense lawyers argued that the defendant's intention was not to kill the former Prime
05:06Minister, but to injure him.
05:09However, the prosecution demanded 15 years in prison because an explosive test conducted
05:14a month earlier showed that the manufactured weapon had the capacity to kill.
05:20The attack on the former minister, from which he escaped unharmed, took place on April 15,
05:262023, at the port of Wakayama City, where Kishida's speech was scheduled to take place
05:32and hundreds of people were waiting to hear from him.
05:40Under Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, Rafael Grossi
05:46made his fifth visit to Japan to monitor the land contaminated by the Fukushima disaster
05:52and to visit the Kashiwasaki Kariwaka nuclear power plant.
05:55Grossi inspected a storage facility for contaminated soil from the 2011 disaster, while the Japanese
06:03government is debating how to dispose of it.
06:06The head of the IAEA will also visit the plant, known as KEK, with a capacity of more than
06:148,000 megawatts, which have been inoperative since the nuclear shutdown ordered by the
06:20Japanese authorities after the atomic disaster.
06:23Grossi's visit comes on the same day that Japan approved its new energy plan for the
06:29next five years.
06:35Now in other news, more than 10,000 people were displaced by the armed conflict in the
06:40Democratic Republic of the Congo and are seeking refuge in Burundi.
06:45The Burundian authorities reported that searches were being carried out in homes and hotels
06:50to ensure that Congolese were in possession of the necessary documents to stay in the
06:55country.
06:56They also expressed concern about the border between the two countries due to the displacement
07:00of people in the midst of the conflict in Goma and Bukavu, and warned of the possibility
07:06of the conflict in the DRC spilling over into their country.
07:11On the other hand, the authorities pointed to Rwanda as a factor of regional instability.
07:20Precisely in this context, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
07:24Rights reported that the M23 rebel group killed three children for carrying weapons and clothes
07:31abandoned by the army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
07:35The organization also expressed its concern for journalists, human rights defenders and
07:40members of civil society organizations who seek protection from retaliation by M23 rebels.
07:48On the other hand, maritime traffic returned to Lake Kibu after the reopening of the ports
07:53of the cities of Goma and Bukavu, which, according to the UN, could facilitate the entry of humanitarian
08:00aid into the country after weeks of fighting and looting.
08:09And now we have a short break coming up, but first, remember you can join us on TikTok
08:12at TELUS for English, where you will find news in different formats, news updates and
08:16much more.
08:18Stay with us.
08:30Welcome back from the South.
08:49We continue with more information.
08:51The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia to avoid
08:56legitimizing the U.S.-Russia meeting.
09:00The President declared that negotiations between the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia
09:03were a surprise for his country.
09:06At a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, he said that
09:11he had postponed the trip to avoid coincidences.
09:14Zelensky informed that they have contacted the Saudi authorities to inform them of the
09:19change of plans and that they have agreed to hold the meeting on March 10.
09:30Meanwhile, the President Donald Trump said that Ukraine needs elections if they want
09:36a place in the negotiations between Moscow and Washington.
09:40Trump's statements come after the Kiev regime expressed its dissatisfaction with the meeting
09:45in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, between high-level delegations from Russia and the
09:51United States who seek to normalize relations between the two countries and move towards
09:57an agreement on the conflict in Ukraine.
10:00In this regard, the U.S. President recalled that Kiev had almost three years to start
10:04negotiations on the settlement of the conflict and declared that Zelensky is a completely
10:10incompetent president who makes ridiculous statements and does not know the whereabouts
10:15of half of the money allocated to him by the United States.
10:24We go now to the United States as a fire broke out at a Pennsylvania aerospace factory
10:29in the state of Philadelphia, forcing schools to close and residents to stay indoors.
10:34According to the Abington police chief, the fire broke out at around 9.35 p.m. and in
10:40the morning it began to flare up with heavy smoke.
10:43Through a press release, the authorities of the municipality of Abington informed that
10:47the building was evacuated with no injured reported so far.
10:52They also noted that as smoke and particles from the fire spread throughout the area,
10:57residents and merchants around the factory were evacuated.
11:05And the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denounced that there are various groups of
11:09drug traffickers and smugglers who intend to make an attempt on his life.
11:14The Colombian president made the statement during the ceremony of transfer of command
11:18of the new Director General of the National Police at the Francisco de Paula Santander
11:23Cadet School.
11:24The president also assured that they know the identity of those who would be behind
11:29the alleged attack and expressed his concern for their safety, for which reason he entrusted
11:35the new general with the task of dismantling the illegal networks and confronting them.
11:41This is not the first time that the Colombian president denounces an attempt on his life.
11:48Panamanian students staged a new protest on the Trans-Indian Highway in front of the University
11:56of Panama denouncing the violation of university autonomy by the National Police.
12:01The meeting defended university autonomy, the right to protest and the defense of solidarity
12:06pensions.
12:07The mobilization took place after the police repressed a protest of students of the university,
12:13beating them, throwing gas at them and throwing firebombs inside the university.
12:19After what happened, two students were apprehended by police agents, cases were opened against
12:23them, and they have precautionary measures of periodic notification as well as a prohibition
12:29to leave the country.
12:34The 48th meeting of the Conference of Heads of State, Government of the Caribbean Community,
12:40CARICOM, opens on Wednesday in Barbados.
12:43The Caribbean Heads of State will meet for three days to discuss various issues such
12:47as food and nutritional security, climate change and the current challenges in Haiti,
12:52among other topics of interest.
12:54The meeting will be led by the bloc's President and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley,
13:00and CARICOM Secretary General, Carla Bernet.
13:03The meeting was convened under the theme Strength in Unity, Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive
13:09Growth and Sustainable Development.
13:14And the Dominican Republic announced that it will extend the wall it is building on
13:20the border with Haiti by 10 to 12 kilometers.
13:23The decision responds to a request from ranchers in the border area of DajabĂłn, in the north
13:28of the country.
13:29This, according to Dominican President Luisa Vinadero.
13:32The country began building the barrier in 2021, claiming protection from irregular immigration,
13:39violence and smuggling from Haiti.
13:41The construction of the wall, which will extend over half of the 340-kilometer border
13:48shared by the two countries, has already advanced to 80% in a first phase.
13:54It is important to note that since October, the Dominican government has implemented a
13:57large-scale deportation plan for Haitians in irregular migratory situations.
14:03Now we have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
14:12channel at Telstra English, there you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
14:16special broadcastings and more.
14:18Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
14:22world's most recent events.
14:24Final short break, don't go away.
14:33Welcome back to From the South.
14:47We continue with more information.
14:49The Brazilian prosecutor's office filed charges on Tuesday against former President Jair Bolsonaro
14:54for attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat.
15:00Bolsonaro had been indicted in November of 2024 through a report filed by the federal
15:05police which accused him of having full knowledge of the alleged coup plan to prevent President
15:11Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office after his electoral victory.
15:16Furthermore, it stressed that the former head of state had planned, acted in and effectively
15:22led the plan.
15:23In this context, the charges filed on Tuesday, which include attempting a coup d'etat, the
15:29violent removal of the rule of law and forming a criminal organization, will now be analyzed
15:34by the country's federal Supreme Court.
15:36If accepted, Bolsonaro and 33 others could face criminal proceedings.
15:48In this regard, the public prosecutor's office pointed out that 34 defendants are accused
15:53of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, organization for armed crime
15:59and coup d'etat, among other crimes.
16:01The prosecution's complaint is based on an extensive police investigation that establishes
16:05the existence of a plot that sought to keep Bolsonaro in power and prevent Lula's inauguration,
16:11which finally took place on January 1, 2023.
16:15It should be noted that the police also filed charges against him for the misappropriation
16:19of valuable jewelry that should have been incorporated into the state's assets and
16:24for fraud in the vaccination certificates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
16:33We go now to Paraguay, as the Chamber of Deputies accepted on Tuesday the resignation of Parliamentarian
16:39Orlando Arevalo, who is currently being investigated for punishable acts related to corruption
16:45and criminal association.
16:48After an extraordinary session debate that started at 10 in the morning, the Paraguayan
16:52lower house unanimously accepted Arevalo's petition.
16:56Precisely, the former deputy had presented his resignation on February 8, after private
17:01conversations between him and the late legislator Eulalio GĂłmez, who allegedly contacted him
17:08when he acted as representative of the legislative body before the judge's prosecution jury.
17:23And we now move on to other topics.
17:37In Australia, dozens of dolphins have died after a pod of more than 150 of them stranded
17:44on a remote beach on the southern island of Tasmania.
17:48The dolphins were stranded on a beach near Arthur River Inlet on Tasmania's west coast,
17:53a sparsely populated area known for its windswept coastline.
17:58The pod of 157 dolphins belonging to a little-known deep-sea species is believed to have been
18:04stranded in the last 48 hours, and that approximately 90 were still alive on Wednesday morning.
18:12In this regard, State Wildlife Officer Brenton Clark said it would be difficult to refloat
18:17the surviving dolphins, which can weigh more than a tonne.
18:21The dolphins appear to be members of a large species known as false killer whales, so named
18:28because of the oracle-like shape of their skulls.
18:36Our mass stranding events usually involve pilot whales, however these are false killer
18:41whales and it is our first large mass stranding of these animals in around 50 years.
18:47It's currently an early stage in the response and so assessments are ongoing, therefore
18:53some details are limited and yet to be confirmed.
18:59At this stage we do not know why these animals have stranded, and we won't be speculating.
19:05The team on the ground will be conducting post-mortem investigations and sampling of
19:09deceased animals in an attempt to determine some reasoning behind the stranding.
19:27And in Russia, Moscow Kremlin Museum signed a cooperation agreement with TV BRICS.
19:33This agreement marks the beginning of a new stage for the Kremlin, which started in 2025
19:39with an exhibition of Russian art in Beijing and also simultaneous exhibitions in the centre
19:44of Moscow.
19:45Collaboration will focus on strengthening international ties in humanitarian and informational
19:50areas, highlighting Russia's cultural and artistic richness.
19:55The agreement between these two institutions represents a significant step towards the
20:01expansion of the Kremlin's international presence.
20:09And the Carnival of Venice 2025 kicked off with colourful comparsas and big parades in
20:14this Italian city.
20:16For ten days, thousands of tourists and locals participate in the event with costumes and
20:21tours through the streets with Venetian masks.
20:24A symbol of this carnival, which allows attendees to immerse themselves in the mystery of the
20:30festival along with the baroque-style costumes.
20:33The event is one of the country's major tourist attractions, welcoming every year thousands
20:39of people from all over the world who enjoy music, lights and street shows.
20:44This year's edition commemorates the 300th anniversary of the birth of the adventurer
20:49Giacomo Casanova, with thematic activities inspired by his legacy.
20:59And like this, we have come to the end of this News Brief.
21:01You can find these and many other stories on our website at tellusorenglish.net.
21:05And also join us on social media, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and also on
21:10TikTok.
21:11For Tell Us Your English, my name is Belén De Los Santos, thank you for watching.