WATCH: Latest global news highlights on Global Round-Up | December 1, 2023
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 - Good evening, Sharm Zespina here for Monique Tuzon,
00:16 here to give a recap of the major global events
00:18 since the middle of last week.
00:20 The newsmakers behind them and stories of human interest
00:24 that lift our spirits, keep our sanity intact,
00:27 and help preserve our trust and belief in each other.
00:30 We begin with a break everyone on the planet
00:33 has been waiting for in Israel's war of annihilation
00:36 against Hamas in the city of Gaza.
00:39 Friday last week, after painstaking efforts
00:41 of the Egyptian and Qatari governments
00:43 to intercede on behalf of Israel and the United States,
00:47 the release/swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners
00:51 finally took place.
00:53 And on Friday, November 24th, under a four-day truce
00:57 both Israel and Hamas signed off on,
00:59 the first batch of Hamas hostages
01:01 received their freedom from captivity,
01:04 to include a baker's dozen of Israelis,
01:06 10 Thai nationals, and a Filipino citizen.
01:10 This release was followed by 39 Palestinian prisoners
01:13 held in prolonged detention, also set free by Israel,
01:17 much to the relief and delight
01:19 of their Palestinian families and friends.
01:22 With the first day of the truce an astounding success,
01:25 the next three days proceeded on schedule,
01:27 save for a snag here and a snarl there,
01:30 and both Palestinians, Israelis, Americans,
01:33 and the entire world lauded the successful swap.
01:37 And as nearly all successful ventures are rewarded,
01:40 this one needed a follow-up, an encore, and a sequel.
01:44 And so even before the deadline expired,
01:47 all parties and persons involved in the deal
01:49 scrambled to extend it, and they did.
01:53 A two-day prolongation was agreed on,
01:56 and to date at least 81 hostages have been released.
02:00 In addition, as of this writing,
02:02 two Russian women not accounted for among the 240 hostages
02:06 have been reportedly set free.
02:08 It has become increasingly clear
02:12 how Hamas, the extremist and terrorist group,
02:15 is in control and dictating most of the conditions
02:18 on the release and swap of hostages
02:21 for Palestinian prisoners.
02:23 The most salient one, children and female hostages
02:26 get first dibs with the men, Americans,
02:29 and captured IDF soldiers at the back of the line.
02:33 The terms for their release will be entirely different,
02:35 with more prisoners for one hostage
02:37 definitely to be demanded by Hamas.
02:39 Only two Americans, both females,
02:42 and the last one being a history teacher
02:44 and tour guide in Jerusalem, have been set free.
02:47 Their families, kin, and friends
02:49 have upped the pressure on the Biden government
02:52 to do even more to expedite their liberation from captivity.
02:56 This is the price to pay
02:57 for President Joe Biden's perceived insensitivity
03:01 to the plight of innocent Palestinians
03:03 who've been killed in weeks of indiscriminate
03:05 and unforgiving airstrikes unleashed by the IDF.
03:08 The death toll is outstanding.
03:12 Nearly 15,000 Palestinians and Hamas fighters slain,
03:16 of whom 4,000 are women and 6,000 children.
03:20 His full support for Israel's vindictive
03:22 and atrocious bombing has been assailed
03:25 even by Democrat party mates and from all over the planet
03:28 who clearly see the overkill and the excessive suffering
03:33 born from the disproportionate retaliation
03:35 by the Netanyahu government on the Palestinian people.
03:39 Meanwhile, the release of two Filipinos,
03:42 the second one a female domestic helper/caregiver
03:46 believed to have been dead all along,
03:48 brought great relief and joy to the president
03:51 whose team in the DFA and DMV among others
03:54 worked tirelessly with the Israeli government
03:57 to see them through.
03:58 And the president expressed his delight
04:01 and heartfelt appreciation to all who made it happen.
04:04 And elsewhere around the planet,
04:07 17 Filipino seafarers and the rest of a 25-member crew
04:11 are put out of harm's way
04:13 after Houthi rebels take over the cargo ship
04:15 they were riding on.
04:17 According to the Department of Foreign Affairs
04:18 Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega,
04:21 the rebels targeted the ship but did not harm the crew.
04:24 The Israeli Defense Forces called it
04:26 a very grave incident of global consequence.
04:30 And at this point, let's turn to VOA's Chris Casquejo
04:34 for a brief rundown of events that have obtained lately
04:36 in the Asian continent.
04:38 Why Indonesia's critical mineral resources
04:42 could be key to US green energy ambitions.
04:45 Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly,
04:46 I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington.
04:48 That story is coming up, but first, making headlines.
04:51 The truce between Israel and Hamas
04:53 continued into a seventh day Thursday
04:56 as the original four-day truce was extended.
04:59 On Tuesday, Hamas released two more Thai nationals.
05:02 Other former hostages and the Thai foreign minister
05:04 greeted them at an Israeli medical center.
05:06 This follows the release of 17 Thai nationals on Sunday
05:10 through a separate arrangement with Bangkok.
05:12 A surge of respiratory illnesses,
05:14 including pneumonia among Chinese children,
05:17 is flooding Chinese hospitals.
05:19 The World Health Organization said this is not a new virus,
05:22 it's caused by the flu.
05:24 The Chinese health ministry is urging people to wear masks
05:27 and called on local authorities to focus
05:28 on preventing the spread of the illnesses.
05:31 Japan said Thursday it has asked the US
05:33 to stop all non-emergency Osprey flights over its territory
05:37 after a US military Osprey aircraft carrying eight people
05:41 crashed off southern Japan
05:42 during a routine training mission Wednesday,
05:44 killing at least one.
05:45 The cause of the crash is unknown.
05:47 Search and rescue efforts continued Thursday
05:49 to find the seven remaining crew members.
05:51 North Korean state media reported
05:54 that a North Korean satellite has photographed
05:56 and sent back detailed images of the White House,
05:59 the Pentagon, and US aircraft carriers
06:02 at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.
06:04 The existence of these images
06:06 has not been independently verified.
06:08 All 41 construction workers trapped for more than 17 days
06:13 in a collapsed mountain tunnel in India
06:15 were successfully rescued Tuesday.
06:17 None of the workers sustained serious injuries.
06:19 Joyful locals, relatives, and government officials
06:22 greeted them with celebrations, setting off firecrackers.
06:25 The officials hung garlands around the workers' necks
06:28 while the crowd cheered in relief.
06:30 US President Joe Biden will not be attending
06:32 the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28,
06:37 but US diplomats will be there interested
06:39 in getting access to the critical mineral exports
06:42 necessary to transition to green energy.
06:45 VOA's Jessica Stone reports.
06:48 When you drive a Tesla,
06:49 the world's largest producer of electric vehicles,
06:52 you're riding on a battery powered by critical minerals,
06:56 lithium from Chile,
06:58 cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
07:01 and nickel from Indonesia.
07:03 Currently, China dominates the market
07:05 for the extraction and refining
07:06 of these critical green energy battery components,
07:10 but in November,
07:11 Indonesian President Joko Widodo told business leaders
07:14 that Jakarta wants to become an alternative partner of choice.
07:17 As home to the largest nickel reserves in the world
07:22 and other critical minerals,
07:24 Indonesia is in the process of building
07:26 an EV-integrated ecosystem
07:29 and aims to produce 600,000 electric cars by 2030.
07:33 Bakri Group CEO Anandya Novyan Bakri
07:36 wants to take advantage of that pledge.
07:38 He's pivoting his family's traditional Indonesian
07:41 energy mining company into a renewable mining company
07:44 that can also exploit the growing demand
07:47 for a non-Chinese critical mineral supply chain.
07:50 If you want to focus not only to the east, to the west,
07:53 there is not only market,
07:54 but also enthusiasm, capital, and technology.
07:57 So that's a good thing.
07:58 Indonesian mines are already partnering
08:00 with Chinese refineries to process their minerals.
08:03 Bakri says Jakarta needs support
08:05 from Washington to compete.
08:07 In November, Widodo met with US President Joe Biden
08:10 to negotiate a critical minerals trade agreement
08:13 that makes Indonesia eligible for US subsidies
08:16 under the Inflation Reduction Act.
08:18 But Southeast Asia expert Greg Poling says
08:21 there's a long road ahead to approval.
08:24 Members of both parties on the Hill have been clear
08:26 that any future agreement with Indonesia
08:28 or other major mineral suppliers
08:31 has to involve a lot of progress on labor
08:33 and environmental standards
08:35 and may have to involve some kind of separation
08:38 of the supply chain to make sure that Chinese companies
08:40 working in those countries can't find back doors
08:44 to sell and qualify for IRA subsidies.
08:47 In the meantime, Jakarta is making progress
08:49 on reducing Beijing's dominance
08:51 in refining critical minerals.
08:53 In 2020, it banned the export of nickel ore.
08:56 And Indonesian law requires companies which mine
08:59 to also refine domestically.
09:02 Jessica Stone, VOA News, Washington.
09:06 Visit voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories.
09:09 I'm Chris Cascajo.
09:10 And now a new innovation in Thailand.
09:13 Thais have given an eco-friendly digital spin
09:18 to the floating basket festival.
09:20 This year, children made virtual rafts
09:22 and sent them floating down digital rivers.
09:25 Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly.
09:28 (speaking in foreign language)
09:32 The developments over last weekend have long been overdue.
09:38 And it is in the best interest
09:40 that this cessation of hostilities extend definitely
09:43 to liberate more, if not all, hostages
09:46 and lend them more trucks
09:47 delivering badly needed relief items.
09:50 But Hamas in Netanyahu and his hawks in his war cabinet
09:53 are focused on death and destruction towards each other.
09:58 And this has been Charms Espina for Monique Touzon,
10:01 reminding you all to always wear a smile,
10:03 count those blessings, give thanks,
10:05 keep fit while you catch the news right here.
10:08 An eventful weekend to you all.
10:10 Good evening.
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