01/12/2024
FTS 12.30
*Parliamentary elections underway in Romania.
*Trial against General Benedicto Lucas Garcia is postponed in Guatemala.
teleSUR
These and many more stories now!
FTS 12.30
*Parliamentary elections underway in Romania.
*Trial against General Benedicto Lucas Garcia is postponed in Guatemala.
teleSUR
These and many more stories now!
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00Chronicle Group sees Aleppo, Syria's second largest city on Saturday after the army withdrew
00:15from the city.
00:20Around 18 million Romanians will go to the polls this Sunday to elect 331 members of
00:26the Chamber of Deputies and 103 members of the Senate for the next four years.
00:35And the trial of General Benedicto Lucas Garcia, accused of genocide against indigenous peoples
00:40in Guatemala, has been postponed.
00:49Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from the Televisual Studios
00:53in Havana, Cuba.
00:55We begin with the news.
00:57Radical Group sees Aleppo, Syria's second largest city on Saturday after the army withdrew
01:01from the city.
01:02At the moment, there is a large displacement of civilians from the city for fear that radicals
01:07will use the two million inhabitants as human shields.
01:10They added that the streets of the city are empty, civilians are staying in their homes
01:14and employees are not going to their workplaces, for fear of the radicals roaming the streets.
01:19The Syrian army has retreated to Aleppo International Airport and the Nairab airbase, while large
01:24convoys of reinforcements continue to arrive to launch a counterattack.
01:33And in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad assured that the government forces, with the support
01:37of Russia, continue to strengthen the defense lines in the affected areas.
01:41During a telephone conversation with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin
01:46Saeed, the Syrian leader said that his country continues to defend its stability and territorial
01:50integrity against all terrorists.
01:52In this context, Bashar al-Assad also stressed that Syria, with the help of its allies and
01:57friends, is capable of defeating and eliminating the terrorists, no matter the severity of
02:03their attacks.
02:23The Israeli occupation forces carried out three massacres in the Gaza Strip during the
02:29last 24 hours, leaving at least 47 Palestinians killed.
02:34Health authorities added that the attacks left about 108 wounded.
02:38Authorities warned that both figures could be even higher since many of the victims remain
02:41trapped under the rubble of the infrastructure affected by the bombings.
02:46Israeli forces continue to block the entry of ambulances and civil defense teams.
02:50According to the most recent health report, at least 44,429 Palestinians have been killed
02:56and another 105,250 have been wounded since October 2023, mostly women and children.
03:10And in Palestine, the foreign ministry condemned the constant aggressions of the Israeli forces
03:14against the country, with emphasis on the Gaza Strip, which it considered violations
03:18of international law.
03:19In a statement, the foreign ministry stressed that the continuous Zionist aggressions by
03:24the Tel Aviv regime requires international action to stop the genocide against the Palestinian
03:30people, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Palestinian citizens.
03:37It also questioned the continuous Zionist attacks and incursions against the people
03:41and the aggressions in the occupied West Bank.
03:43The foreign ministry urged the world community to put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop
03:48the genocide, and allowed the Palestinian National Authority to exercise full sovereignty
03:52over the territory.
04:00The United Nations Relief and Public Works Agency has warned that people in the Gaza
04:04Strip completely depend on humanitarian aid amidst Israeli aggressions.
04:09The agency shared testimonies of displaced Palestinians who have been unable to get medicine
04:13or food as they ran out of them, due to Israeli restrictions on operations in the region.
04:20They say civilians in Gaza have been forced to rely solely on humanitarian aid, while
04:24United Nations availability of resources keeps falling due to the Israeli blockade.
04:28The agency reiterated the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, stressing that Israel
04:33continues to control the entry of supplies into the Gaza Strip, thus aggravating the
04:38humanitarian crisis.
04:44And the poor city of Tyre, Lebanon is slowly coming back to life on Saturday, as businesses
04:48that had suffered damage during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reopened.
04:53Over the past three days, some of the thousands of residents displaced by the 13-month attacks
04:58that escalated in late September returned to their homes and businesses.
05:02Store owners were reporting painting and rebuilding their cafes, while other businesses resumed
05:07work.
05:08Tyre has been subjected to almost daily airstrikes for the past two months, flattening entire
05:12buildings and forcing many of its residents to flee to safer areas in Lebanon.
05:26The situation is very difficult, with bombings and a crushing economic crisis.
05:32Of course, we have seen that people are slowly coming back, reopening their shops, trying
05:36to fix their situation and, as you can see, they are repairing things.
05:41Those who have broken doors are replacing them and repairing things.
05:45And December 1st marks the International Day of Prisoners for Peace, a day to recognize
05:50the courage of conscientious objectors who are in prison because of their resistance
05:54to war.
05:55The aim is to support people who have been in prison for taking action against war and
05:58in favor of peace.
06:00International Prisoners for Peace Day was declared by World Resisters International,
06:04Global Network of Peace and anti-military groups around the world.
06:08World Resisters International encourages everyone to support the cause of these people
06:12who have been in prison for trying to defend peace.
06:19And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on Tiktok
06:22at Telestudio English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and
06:26more.
06:27We'll be right back, stay with us.
06:38Welcome back.
06:39The Russian Armed Forces liberated Lenka and Petrovka, two strategic settlements in the
06:44Donetsk region.
06:45The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces lost over 470 soldiers.
06:50Meanwhile, the Russian troops also destroyed illegal military facilities, strong production
06:54workshops and long-range missiles in western Donetsk.
06:57In addition, Ukrainian troops also lost a US-made armored personnel carrier, a howitzer
07:03from the United Kingdom, among other equipment.
07:12On this Sunday, over 18 million Romanians go to the polls to elect 331 members of the
07:17Chamber of Deputies and 134 members of the Senate for the next four years.
07:21This year, 31 political parties and alliances, as well as 19 ethnic minority organizations,
07:28take part in the electoral race, with lists that include 8,168 candidates.
07:33Moreover, they are joined by 58 independent candidates.
07:37Voting is currently underway in 18,968 polling stations across the nation.
07:42The election day will run until 9 p.m. local time, although the Permanent Electoral Authority
07:46may extend it for a maximum of three hours in case there are queues of voters towards
07:51the closing time.
07:53Elections in Romania are being held barely a week after the first round of the presidential
08:09elections, which could be repeated in mid-December if the Constitutional Court decides to annul
08:14them.
08:15This happens after two eliminated opponents, Cristian Teres and Sebastian Constantin Popescu,
08:20each filed a petition to annul the November 24th election, alleging fraud.
08:25Independent candidate Colin Giorgoscu was winning in the first round with 22.94 percent
08:29of the vote, followed by the leader of the Union to Save Romania, Elena Lascone, with
08:3419.18 percent.
08:43And in Iceland, the first partial results of the parliamentary elections gave the centre-left
08:47Social Democratic a small advantage, which could lead to a possible change of government
08:51after the fall of the Conservative coalition.
08:54Social Democratic Alliance, led by Kristrún Frostadóttir, would be the most-voted party
08:59according to preliminary data from several constituencies.
09:03Slightly behind would be the centre-right Independence Party of Prime Minister Jarni
09:07Benediktsson.
09:08In third and fourth place, respectively, were the Progressive Party and the Left-Wing Movement,
09:13although these two last parties were in the previous government coalition.
09:16Significant losses recorded could even mean the departure of the Left-Wing Movement not
09:21only from the government but also from Parliament.
09:28And the Electoral Commission of Namibia extended until this Saturday the general elections
09:32initially scheduled for last Wednesday due to long delays and complications with the
09:36technical team, while votes continued to be counted.
09:40In this context, more than 1.4 million registered voters were called to elect their next president
09:44and 96 members of the 104 seats that make up the National Assembly.
09:49We want to assure the nation that the Commission is fully committed to ensuring integrity of
09:58the electoral process and reinforce our commitment to free and fair elections.
10:07We anticipate that the preliminary results of constituencies verified will be available
10:17shortly after the close of the extended polls.
10:25And we aim to formally start announcing these results today.
10:32Georgian President Salome Souravisvili has described the country's government as illegitimate
10:37while strong protests continue in the streets of the capital.
10:40Souravisvili announced on Saturday that she would not resign from office despite the fact
10:43that her mandate expires in December.
10:46I've just today announced that I am gathering around me representatives of society, civil
10:57society and political parties, representatives to form a national council that will be the
11:06political arm, I would say, of this delegitimisation process and that will carry the stability
11:19in this country because you need it.
11:22My message is very clear.
11:24It's no business, not even as usual, no business with the illegitimate representatives, non-representatives
11:33of this country, business with us, we represent the Georgian population, support us in our
11:40legitimate demand of having new elections, have the mission come here to help us set
11:48the provisions for these new elections.
11:53In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, the police repressed demonstrators, law enforcement officers
11:57violently prevented a crowd from storming parliament.
12:00The demonstrators are outraged by the government's decision to freeze EU accession negotiations
12:04until 2028.
12:05In this context, the officers used water cannons to chase the crowd away from the government
12:11building while the protesters put up resistance and threw firecrackers at the police and officials
12:16remaining in parliament.
12:18After clashes between protesters and security units, special forces intervened and took
12:21control of the area.
12:28French Agricultural Minister Annie Gennevard announced on Saturday a series of measures
12:33in favour of farmers in an attempt to calm growing tensions in the sector.
12:37Among the measures announced by the ministry is the creation of a council to speed up marketing
12:41applications for certain products, in order to respond to the most urgent needs of certain
12:45crops.
12:46The French Health Safety Agency has been strongly criticized by industry unions for having banned
12:51or restricted the use of some pesticides.
12:54Measures were also announced to accelerate the implementation of livestock projects and
12:58to shorten deadlines.
12:59We now have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
13:07channel at Telesol English, there you'll be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
13:12special broadcastings and more.
13:13Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
13:17world's most recent events.
13:18Have a short break, and go away.
13:28Welcome back.
13:31The trial of General Benedicto Lucas Garcia, accused of genocide against native people
13:36in Guatemala, has been postponed.
13:38Guatemala's Public Prosecutor's Office requested on November 8th a sentence of 2,860 years
13:44in prison for Benedicto Lucas Garcia in relation to his alleged role in the massacre of more
13:49than 1,200 indigenous people during the country's internal armed conflict.
13:54However, on Thursday, November 28th, an appeal court suspended the trial against the 92-year-old
13:58retired general.
13:59Lucas Garcia is already serving a 58-year-old prison sentence since 2018, imposed before
14:05the first disappearance of a young man and the rape and torture of his sister in 1981.
14:18Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal has called for elections to renew the country's highest
14:22judicial bodies by popular vote.
14:25Out of 139 candidates pre-selected by the Bolivian Pro-National Legislative Assembly,
14:2917 were eliminated and so far there are 122 candidates from which new members of the judiciary
14:37will be elected.
14:39Members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Tahuichi Tahuichi Crispe, affirmed that until
14:44this day this is the number of contenders on the ballot to be elected next December
14:4815th as magistrates of the Pro-National Constitutional Tribunal, Supreme Court of Justice and the
14:54Agro-Environmental, as well as members of the Council of the Magistrate.
15:04In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on
15:09BRICS countries if they tried to end the international dominance of the dollar.
15:14Through a statement on his social media, Trump warned the bloc that they must respect the
15:18U.S. dollar and that he would not allow the creation of a new currency that would jeopardize
15:22their hegemony.
15:23Likewise, the U.S. President-elect stated that he would take all necessary measures
15:27against BRICS so that it does not threaten his economic position in international trade.
15:32This comes after member countries of the bloc discussed at the summit meeting how to boost
15:36transactions in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
15:57In South Korea, in the context of the fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating
16:01Committee, talks for an agreement on plastic pollution come to an end on Sunday as nations
16:05continue to debate whether to address the exponential growth of plastic production.
16:10Negotiators spent all day behind closed doors trying to reach an agreement, but the latest
16:14draft of the treaty has yet to be released.
16:17The battle over whether to limit the amount of plastic companies can produce is the most
16:22contentious.
16:23Delegates from Panama and Fiji said that nations not defending the treaty requirements should
16:28get out of the way.
16:33Every piece that we allow to produce without limits is a direct assault on our health,
16:40on our nature, and our children.
16:42For those blocking progress, you are allowing this crisis to fester, and it will kill us.
16:49This is just not a treaty about plastics.
16:53This is humanity's lie on the sand.
16:57If we don't get an ambitious treaty out of Busan, it will be a global betrayal.
17:03If we don't get an ambitious treaty out of Busan, history will not forgive us.
17:09This is the time to step up or get out.
17:25The Botafogo soccer team made history on Saturday by winning its first Libertadores Cup, the
17:30final of the 65th edition of the Continental Tournament, a match played at the Monumental
17:37Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
17:39Botafogo showed great defensive solidity and outstanding performance by its key players.
17:44With this victory, the club from Rio de Janeiro rejoins the elite of Libertadores champions.
17:49With this title, Brazil now has a total of 24 Libertadores Cups, consolidating its position
17:54as the country with the second most titles in the history of the tournament, only behind
17:58Argentina, which has 25.
18:05And every year on December 1st, the World Commemorates World AIDS Day and comes together
18:09to support people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
18:16On December 1st, many awareness-raising events take place.
18:19People take to the streets wearing a red ribbon, a symbol of the fight against Human Immunodeficiency
18:26Syndrome.
18:27Moreover, groups mobilize to raise funds for research and to express their support and
18:33solidarity with people living with AIDS.
18:35The idea is being promoted that an end to AIDS is possible.
18:39However, there are still barriers that slow down the path to ending this disease.
18:47We have come to the end of this newsbrief.
18:49You can find this and many other stories on our website, telestoreenglish.net, so join
18:52us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
18:57I'm Tresor English.
18:58And I'm Luis Alberto Matos.