*Pope Francis' health sees slight improvement
*Trump willing to seal nuclear arsenal reduction deal with china, Russia
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*Trump willing to seal nuclear arsenal reduction deal with china, Russia
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NewsTranscript
00:00In view of the serious situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the African
00:11Union has called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the withdrawal of the M23 movement.
00:20In the Vatican City, health authorities reported that Pope Francis spent a quiet night after
00:24showing a slight improvement in the treatment.
00:32And the US President Donald Trump assured that he is willing to seal a deal with China
00:37and Russia to reduce the nuclear arsenal describing as unacceptable the use of atomic weapons.
00:48Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Caracas, Venezuela.
00:53We begin with the news, stay with us.
01:07The African Union has called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Democratic
01:12Republic of the Congo, in view of the escalation of violence in the east of the nation.
01:17The body also called for the withdrawal of the M23 movement, the Allied Democratic Forces,
01:24the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and other armed groups currently operating
01:28in the territory.
01:29In addition, the African Union reiterated its full support for the sovereignty and territorial
01:35integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and warned that its deteriorating humanitarian
01:40situation requires collective regional action.
01:43Furthermore, the bloc stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict and
01:48called on the parties to return to diplomatic channels to ensure the safety of the civilian
01:53population.
01:59In this context, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has warned about
02:04the situation of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
02:08It also denounced the increase in violence in the region by armed groups, which often
02:12target children who are displaced or living in extreme poverty.
02:17In view of this situation, he urged the parties involved to put an end to these abuses and
02:21to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in order to protect the civilian population, especially
02:27children who are the most affected.
02:42The Lebanese Resistance, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement rejected the presence of Israeli
02:53forces in the south of the territory.
02:55The resistance groups denounced the Israeli presence in large parts of Lebanese territory
03:00and considered it an act of state terrorism that reflects the aggressive nature of the
03:05Zionist enemy.
03:07The groups stressed that the actions carried out by the occupying army are a flagrant violation
03:12of the international ceasefire agreements.
03:15They also recalled that the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the Tel Aviv regime
03:20and compensations to the affected people must be a priority for the authorities.
03:30Israeli forces mounted Wednesday evening a raid, opening fire on several homes in the
03:35Fara'a refugee camp near Toubaz in the occupied West Bank, claiming at least three Palestinians'
03:41lives.
03:42The occupation army kept with the corpses and justified their killings by claiming they
03:47were alleged wanted terrorists.
03:49On the raid, Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians.
03:53The genocidal ongoing offensive on the northern West Bank has pushed up to thousands the figure
03:59of displaced civilians.
04:00Jenin, its refugee camp, Tulkarem and its Nurshams refugee camp had been some of the
04:06areas devastated by bulldozers that tore down infrastructure and soldiers who brought about
04:12more deaths.
04:20South Korean President Jong Suk-il appeared in court this Thursday for the first preliminary
04:25hearing of his criminal trial on charges of insurrection following his declaration of
04:30martial law last December.
04:32The hearing, which took place at the Seoul Central District Court, aimed to clarify the
04:37facts in dispute and plan future legal procedures.
04:41Although South Korean law does not require the accused to attend a preliminary hearing,
04:46Jung chose to do so.
04:48He has been detained since January 15 amid a criminal investigation into the alleged
04:53crime of insurrection for briefly declaring martial law in early December.
04:58The penalty for insurrection in South Korea is life imprisonment or capital punishment,
05:03for which there has been a moratorium since 1997.
05:14The gold market continues to see a lot of pressure to the upside as the market continues
05:20to look at the possibilities of tariff wars and geopolitical problems around the world
05:25driven by President Trump's new tariff measures.
05:28The gold market continues to show a lot of upward momentum in the early hours on Thursday.
05:35Spot gold climbed to 2,954.69 oz, making it 10th record high this year.
05:44As for US gold futures, its price gained 1.2%.
05:48As for Trump's tariffs, the president stated he would raise the tariffs on lumber, cars,
05:53semiconductors and pharmaceuticals next month or sooner.
05:58Besides these goods, Trump did impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff
06:04on steel and aluminium.
06:11And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on TikTok at
06:15Telecid English where you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.
06:19We'll be right back, stay with us!
06:28Welcome back to From the South.
06:41In the Vatican City, health authorities reported that Pope Francis spent a quiet night after
06:46showing a slight improvement in his pneumonia treatment for which he remains hospitalized.
06:51According to sources at the Holy See, the Supreme Pontiff continues his treatment and
06:56work activities authorized by the treating physicians from his stay at the Agostina
07:01Gemelli Hospital.
07:03He is signing documents instructing his close aides via telephone while the pneumonia responds
07:09to the treatment.
07:10His health situation has sparked the solidarity of the international community and kept the
07:15Catholic parishioners on their toes.
07:26In Argentina, Catholics gathered on Wednesday night to pray for the health of Pope Francis
07:30in his native Buenos Aires.
07:33From the neighbourhood of Flores, where Jorge Bergoglio grew up, the parish priest Martin
07:38Bourdieu responded to the call of the Argentine Catholic Church to pray for the Pope's recovery,
07:44who at 88 years old is hospitalized in Rome due to pneumonia in both lungs.
07:49The faithfuls, who share a special bond with the first Latin American head of the Catholic
07:54Church, listened quietly to the Mass and joined in prayer.
08:03We are all very mobilized because, well, we are following minute by minute the reports,
08:08the medical reports.
08:09There is concern, but there is also a very nice reaction from the people of God, that
08:13is to turn to our temples and to pray for him.
08:16It is what he asks, what he always asked for and also what we can do.
08:19Pray a lot for him so that he has peace, so that he has health and good, that he can make
08:23this journey in peace, especially in peace.
08:26But the people pray and ask a lot for him, permanently.
08:31In Uruguay, a general strike and mobilizations called by the inter-union workers' plenary
08:35moves forward in solidarity with workers facing conflicts with companies.
08:40The rally is held in the Independence Square, in front of the headquarters of the Presidency
08:44of the Republic.
08:46The Confederation of Industrial Unions represent the workers that are in conflict situations
08:51with companies such as Coleme, Calcar, Yasaki, among others.
08:55According to the union, this mobilization is also in opposed anti-union repression and
09:01call for better working conditions in respect of the rights.
09:14We are standing up in defense of the right to work.
09:17We are standing up in defense of our salary.
09:21We are standing up in defense of our conquered rights and against a model of inequality,
09:26a national model of national development that has shown its exhaustion, comrades and colleagues.
09:37In Panama, the People United for Life Alliance is calling for a march this Thursday towards
09:42the National Assembly to reject Bill 163 on the Social Security Fund.
09:47The protest was called after the release of 83 members of the Single National Union
09:51of Workers in the construction and allied industries, who were arrested following confrontations
09:57with riot police.
09:59In this sense, the organization expressed that this new regulation aims to steal the
10:03resources of the Social Security Fund and hand them over to the banks and private pension
10:08fund management companies.
10:09Meanwhile, the Parliament is continuing a second debate to approve other regulations
10:14and aspects of the management of the state body in charge of pensioners.
10:25Caribbean nations urge Europe to make compensations for transatlantic slavery within the 48th
10:31regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of the Caribbean Community, being held from
10:36February 18th through 21st in Bridgetown, capital of Barbados.
10:41The Prime Minister of Granada, Deacon Mitchell, tackled so, demanding an open and explicit
10:46rejection of the belief that one human being can own another human being.
10:51He also stressed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, granting
10:56her that Caribbean nations will discuss such issues with the European Union directly.
11:02Mitchell further noted that adequate compensation for years of slavery will have to be paid.
11:12The Mexican government has warned Donald Trump's administration that it will not allow extraterritorial
11:20actions after declaring the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.
11:24President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated that the designation was a decision taken by the
11:29United States without prior consultation with her government.
11:32In this sense, Sheinbaum stressed that her administration is committed to building peace
11:37and strengthening a security policy.
11:40For this, she reiterated that Mexico is interested in fighting the cartels to minimize the impact
11:46of the violence caused by the trafficking of weapons and substances that they carry
11:51out in the United States, but stressed that this has to be achieved without negotiating
11:56Mexico's sovereignty.
12:04The U.S. President Donald Trump assured that he is willing to seal a deal with China and
12:09Russia to reduce the nuclear arsenal, describing as unacceptable the use of atomic weapons.
12:15The GOP leader said so on his speech at the Priority Summit in Miami, where he addressed
12:21both domestic and global issues.
12:23Trump ensured that he has held phone conversations with his counterparts of Russia and China,
12:28Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively.
12:31The U.S. head of state advanced that they have a common vision about the risk of nuclear
12:36armament.
12:37In all, he warned that if a nuclear conflict were to break out in these times, it would
12:42be 500 times worse than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
12:51We have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
12:55channel at The Lesson English, there you'll be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
13:00special broadcastings and more.
13:02Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
13:06world's most recent events.
13:07Have fun and don't go away.
13:27Welcome back to From the South.
13:29Colombian authorities reported Wednesday evening several blasts targeting two police stations
13:34in Popoyán, the capital of Cauca's southwestern department.
13:38The first briefing on these incidents unfolded that one of the explosives detonated in an
13:43immediate attention command, alias KCAI, and the other did it in La Carceleta, an old headquarters
13:51of the school.
13:53Security forces had been deployed to the scenes to determine the causes and quantify damages.
13:58Earlier, authorities informed there weren't any casualties from the blast.
14:03However, investigations are underway to find the offenders.
14:11Right now, the police personnel are in the park, and in adjacent sectors of the park,
14:16making controls and verifying to try to establish if there was any use of a device such as a
14:21drone.
14:24It is still to be ruled out that it could have happened.
14:29At this moment, we further have explosives personnel inquiring into the area to determine
14:35if we have any additional elements.
14:41In Colombia, more cases and indictments of former military personnel involved in false
14:45positives or extrajudicial executions are known.
14:49Now in the Department of Antioquia, Hernán Tovar expands on the details.
14:58Four generals and more than 35 officers and ex-sub-officers were charged by the Special
15:02Jurisdiction for Peace for their alleged responsibility in war crimes and crimes against humanity,
15:07committed in the Department of Antioquia between 2004 and 2007 and when they belonged to the
15:13Army's 4th Brigade.
15:15According to the order read by the magistrates of the reconnaissance chamber, there was a
15:19systematic practice of body counts and killings over captures as a general rule, where pressure
15:24was exerted on the troops by senior commanders.
15:29Thus, for example, General González Pena urged the troops in radio programs broadcast
15:37between the 17th and the 21st of March 2000 for that, and I quote, the only thing that
15:42counts are the casualties, captures are of no use to us, the only thing that counts is
15:47to kill the enemy, and this type of statement was echoed by Rodríguez Clavijo.
15:52Putting pressure on and threatening the men under his command.
16:03440 people were killed by extrajudicial executions or also known in the country as false positives
16:09and forced disappearances, a practice that was mainly carried out against the weakest,
16:13minors, street dwellers, people with physical or mental disabilities, unemployed or peasants
16:18and members of the LGBT community, and who were reported as casualties in combat by members
16:23of the guerrillas in the Department of Antioquia.
16:26For human rights organizations, it was a state policy promoted by the President of the country
16:31in that moment.
16:39It is no secret that the speeches of former President Álvaro Uribe were related to the
16:44body count that would tell the effectiveness of the national army.
16:49From then on, from the casualties in combat, in this case fraudulent, it cannot be ignored
16:54that the 4th Brigade was the brigade with the most cases of executions, but at the same
16:59time it was the one that received the most injection of capital from the Colombia plan.
17:04And then, just as it received capital, so it was asked for casualties, as the only operational
17:10result that served as an indicator to measure the effectiveness of the national army.
17:22This is the first time that the Truth Recognition Chamber has identified acts of torture against
17:26direct victims or their relatives.
17:29In 22 cases involving 41 victims, most of the peasants arbitrarily accused by the military
17:34of aiding the guerrillas, including children, have been tortured.
17:41Unfortunately, among the provisional universe of 442 victims of false positives, there are
17:50also 26 minors.
17:54These are not mere coincidences, but rather criminal patterns whose existence has been
17:58proven by the Reconnaissance Room throughout the length the country.
18:02This determination is made in Case 3, which investigates false positive events throughout
18:12Colombia.
18:13The defendants have 30 working days to present additional arguments or evidence.
18:32And Mali's highly acclaimed director, Suleyman Cisse, who is considered one of the pillars
18:38of African cinema, has died at the age of 84.
18:41His daughter announced that Cisse died on Wednesday, leaving a revolutionary legacy
18:46on cinema, spanning half a century that was marked by a commitment to African storytelling,
18:52deep humanism and profound political engagement.
18:56Cisse won the Jury's Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival for the movie Jolene, Brightness,
19:02which draws on legends from West Africa's Bambra people.
19:12And with this information, we have come to the end of this News Brief.
19:15But remember, you can find this and many other stories on our website at telecineenglish.net
19:20and join us on social media.
19:22We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.
19:26For TELUS Ur-English, I'm Alejandra Garcia.