02/01/2025
FTS 12.30
*98% of power restored in Puerto Rico
*Ghana allows visa-free entry for African citizens
FTS 12.30
*98% of power restored in Puerto Rico
*Ghana allows visa-free entry for African citizens
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00In Palestine, at least 12 people, including three children, were killed during a shelling
00:20carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in the southern Gaza Strip.
00:27In Puerto Rico, 98% of power has been restored after a massive blackout that affected 90%
00:33of the country's users.
00:38And as of January 1st, Ghana is allowing visa-free entry to citizens from all African countries.
00:52Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:54My name is Belén de los Santos, I'm from the Televisual Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:57We begin with the news.
01:15Now we begin with the information.
01:17In Palestine, at least 12 people, including three children, were killed during a shelling
01:21carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in the southern Gaza Strip.
01:26According to local media, this new attack targeted tens of displaced people located
01:31in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawassi, leaving also 15 people injured.
01:37In this sense, the Palestinian authorities sent civil protection teams and medical personnel
01:42to the place to recover the bodies and assist the wounded.
01:46In addition, it was confirmed that the director general of the Palestinian police in the Gaza
01:51Strip, Mahmoud Al-Salah, was killed in the airstrike perpetrated by the Israeli Zionist
01:57army.
02:00I went to the place of the attack and found wounded people on the ground, most of them
02:07were children, as well as two women martyrs.
02:15You call these safe areas?
02:17We came here on the basis that this is a safe area, but we came here for nothing.
02:22There is no safe area.
02:24What can we do?
02:41Let Arab countries do something.
02:43We don't want food.
02:45Soldiers also entered neighborhoods in Nablus city and Al Ain refugee camp.
02:49Meanwhile, two Palestinians were arrested in the nearby city of Qalqilya, three more
02:55in Bethlehem, and another in the village of Beit Fachar.
02:59Since the onslaught of the Israeli offensive began over Palestine in October 2023, more
03:05than 12,000 people have been detained by the Zionist army in the occupied West Bank.
03:18They demolished this house which housed a family of seven.
03:21My son who is arrested doesn't own a house to himself.
03:23Just like his siblings, he was living in this house, but he didn't own it.
03:29It hurts because we're living this injustice and it feels like such injustice doesn't exist
03:34anywhere else in the whole world.
03:36This injustice continues and no one is calling them out for it.
03:40No one is punishing them.
03:41Someone needs to stand up to them, to stop them and call them out for their actions.
03:48And also in this context, the Center for the Protection of the Palestinian Journalists
03:52once again called on the international community and especially on the UN to stop Israeli attacks
03:58against journalists in the Gaza Strip.
04:00In a statement, the entity warned that the number of professionals killed in the coastal
04:05enclave since October 2023 represents three times the number of communicators that were
04:11killed during the Second World War.
04:13They also warned that the high number of journalists killed in Gaza will have long-term effects
04:18in Palestine.
04:20In this regard, they stressed that the world must assume its responsibilities and take
04:25decisive action to stop Israeli violations and ensure respect for human rights in the
04:31occupied territories.
04:51We now move on to other topics.
04:52In the United Kingdom, some areas were flooded on Wednesday as heavy rains and strong winds
04:57continued to disrupt New Year celebrations.
05:01Several communities in the Manchester area were flooded, with homes evacuated and cars
05:06submerged up to the roofs after nearly a month's worth of rain fell in just two days.
05:12A major incident was declared and mountain rescue teams were called in to help firefighters
05:17deal with flooded homes and stranded vehicles.
05:21In Stockport, rivers were overflowing and local flood chiefs warned that extra measures
05:27may have to be taken.
05:28At one point, more than 150 communities across the United Kingdom were under flood warnings,
05:35most of them in northern England.
05:37By the end of the day, however, dozens of those warnings had been lifted.
05:47And in Brazil, during 2024, there was a 42% increase in the number of forest fires recorded
05:53in the Amazon and the highest number since 2007.
05:58According to the National Institute for Space Research, in the last year, 186,463 forest
06:06fires were recorded, while the agency insists that there were indications that the total
06:12area that suffered deforestation could be the lowest in years.
06:16According to reports, deforestation in the region from 2023 to August 2024 had decreased
06:22by more than 30% and was at the lowest in nine years.
06:27At the same time, the director of Amazon Watch, Andrew Miller, pointed out that the fires
06:32and droughts experienced in 2024 in the Amazon rainforest could be indicators of an ecological
06:39turning point.
06:44And on Thursday, Indian authorities removed hundreds of tons of toxic waste remaining
06:49for over 40 years after the world's deadliest industrial disaster struck the city of Bhopal.
06:55Around a dozen trucks carried the 337 tons of waste in a slow convoy to the disposal
07:02site some 225 kilometers away at Pitampur town.
07:07According to State Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swantra Kumar Singh, the
07:14convoy has been fortified with the highest security protocol ever witnessed in the movement
07:19of industrial waste in the country.
07:21For decades, people had blamed a high level of sickness on underground water pollution
07:29after the toxic gas leak from the Union Carbide factory in December of 1984.
07:34Therefore, this initiative by the Indian authorities will substantially improve the living conditions
07:40of the communities near the disaster area.
07:48Now we have a short break coming up, but first, remember you can join us on TikTok at TELUS
07:52for English, where you will find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
07:57Stay with us.
08:10Welcome back to From the South.
08:19We continue with the information.
08:20In Puerto Rico, 98% of power has been restored after a massive blackout that affected 90%
08:27of the country's users.
08:29Precisely, Luma Energy, the private company that oversees energy distribution in the nation,
08:35has announced that service has been restored to 100% of customers in the region of Bayamón,
08:42Caguas and San Juan, while work continues to fully re-establish the service in the remaining
08:48areas.
08:49The figure represents an improvement from Wednesday, when 77% of customers had electricity
08:57and an unexplained disconnection of the Palo Seco and Aguirre power stations led to a new
09:03blackout.
09:04The incident, which Luma's preliminary check blames on a fault in a subway power line to
09:09the south, adds on the ongoing energy problems the Caribbean nation has been facing in recent
09:15years.
09:16And in other news, the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil has said farewell on Wednesday to
09:29the four missing minors whose death was confirmed on Tuesday.
09:33The children were mourned at their homes from Tuesday to Wednesday.
09:37Judge Daniel Lohr granted 10 days for the government, through the Ministry of Defense,
09:42to make a public apology to the families.
09:45As stipulated in the sentence, the state must carry out a public act of recognition of the
09:50events that occurred, which will be broadcasted on national television.
09:55On Tuesday, a judge ordered preventive detention against the 16 active duty members of the
10:00Ecuadorian Air Force who are being prosecuted for these events.
10:10The Ecuadorians on Wednesday demanded justice as they buried the four minors murdered during
10:15a military operation in Guayaquil, whose remains were found on Christmas Eve.
10:20The children, identified as brothers Jose and Ismael Arroyo, Saul Arboleda and Steven
10:25Medina, were between 11 and 15 years old.
10:29Authorities have said that they will investigate whether the crime was an extrajudicial execution
10:35or linked to organized crime, as Guayaquil is one of the main cities affected by drug
10:40violence.
10:41The bodies were found near an Air Force facility in Taura, about an hour away from Guayaquil.
10:54And in Honduras, President Xiomara Castro warned on Wednesday that she will force out
10:58U.S. military bases if President-elect Donald Trump orders massive deportations of Hondurans
11:03when he takes office on January 20th.
11:15To the Honduran people, I would like to say that we hope that the new U.S. administration's
11:20democratically elected president, Donald Trump, is open to constructive and friendly
11:27dialogue and does not take unnecessary reprisals against our migrants, who usually make a great
11:34contribution to the U.S. economy.
11:37In the face of a hostile attitude of mass deportation of our people, we will have to
11:42consider changing our policy of cooperation with the United States, especially in the
11:48military field, where for decades they have maintained military bases in our territory
11:54without paying a penny, which in this case will lose all reasons to exist in Honduras.
12:02We go now to the United States as the number of people dead after a mass shooting in New
12:06Orleans rose to 15 during the course of the day.
12:10The authorities have qualified this event as a terrorist attack.
12:13Some 30 people were injured in the attack, which occurred when the driver of a pickup
12:18truck mowed down dozens of people on downtown Bourbon Street, the tourist heart of the city,
12:24and closed to traffic during New Year's celebration.
12:28After charging into the crowd, the attacker got out of his vehicle and began firing a
12:33gun.
12:34The authorities identified the perpetrator as Shamshuddin Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old
12:39U.S. citizen who was shot dead by the police.
12:47In this context, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated that the alleged
12:50perpetrator of the mass shooting had served in the U.S. Army and was inspired by the Islamic
12:56State.
12:57The FBI has reported to me the killer was an American citizen born in Texas.
13:05He served in the United States Army on active duty for many years.
13:09He also served in the Army Reserve until a few years ago.
13:12The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social
13:18media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill, a desire to kill.
13:27The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, which he rented to conduct this attack.
13:33And Cuba commemorates the 66th anniversary of the departure of the Freedom Caravan of
13:38the Rebel Army led by Fidel Castro in 1959.
13:41Media, social and political organizations, as well as people in general, remember the
13:46date that marks a milestone in the history of the Caribbean island.
13:51The caravan departed on January 2nd from the city of Santiago de Cuba to the Cuban capital
13:57on a journey of more than a thousand kilometers, which ended on January 8th.
14:03The event signified the first direct encounter between the Cuban people and the guerrilla
14:08leader who later would build a socialist project of world reference.
14:13After entering the capital, Fidel Castro proclaimed victory over the troops of Fulgencio Batista's
14:19regime, proving that long-deferred dreams of social justice could be fulfilled with
14:25revolutionary unity.
14:38And Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, the oldest living Olympic medal winner, passed away on
14:48January 2nd at the age of 103.
14:51Born in Budapest in 1921, Keleti won her first Hungarian championship in 1940.
14:58The gymnast survived the Holocaust during World War II by hiding in the countryside,
15:03but lost family members to the Nazi concentration camps.
15:07She went on to win her first Olympic gold at Helsinki Games in 1952, and then won four
15:14more at Melbourne in 1956, becoming at 35 the oldest female gymnast to ever earn the
15:21coveted medal.
15:22Keleti's press official informed of her passing on Thursday due to pneumonia.
15:28Of her legacy, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said that
15:33she had demonstrated the power of strong determination and courage to overcome tragedy.
15:40Now we have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
15:47channel at Tell Us Your English, there you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top
15:51stories, special broadcastings and more.
15:54Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
15:57world's most recent events.
15:59Final short break, don't go away.
16:03Welcome back to From the South.
16:21In South Korea, demonstrators gathered in front of the residence of ousted President
16:26Yoon Sung-kyo on Thursday, as the former head of state continues to resist arrest for a
16:31third day following his impeachment over a failed martial law declared on December
16:353rd.
16:36In this way, Yoon's legal team warned that police officers attempting to detain him could
16:41be arrested by his presidential security service or even civilians.
16:46In this context, the ousted president issued a message to his supporters vowing to fight
16:52to the end the Seoul's court orders of detention issued after he evaded multiple requests to
16:58appear and obstructed an investigation into whether his brief seizure of power on December
17:053rd amounted to rebellion.
17:12In China, import tariffs have been lowered to increase domestic demand and stimulate
17:16the economy.
17:17The authorities announced that they will apply provisional import tariffs, which are lower
17:22than most favored nation tariffs on 935 products, as part of an annual tariff adjustment plan.
17:31On the other hand, import tariffs on some goods will be raised to support the development
17:36of domestic industries.
17:38Economist Yang Yong pointed out that China's large-scale liberalization, the main ally
17:43of more than 150 countries in the world, opens up new opportunities for developing
17:49countries.
17:54And on Thursday, Montenegro declared three days of national mourning a day after a gunman
17:59went on a rampage, killing 12 people, including two children.
18:04The streets of Sardinia and Batiste, the towns where the incident took place, were deserted
18:10on Thursday morning, and a police patrol was stationed in front of the gunman's house
18:15at the entry of the village.
18:17Meanwhile, in the country's capital, Mayor Zasa Mujović said that candles would be lit
18:23for the victims at the main square of the city on Thursday evening.
18:28On the other hand, Prime Minister Miloš Josipović leveled the shootings as a terrible tragedy
18:34and stressed that it should lead to a review of the country's gun ownership laws.
18:45I came out for an investigation at six different locations.
18:50So we had six crime scenes.
18:53We established that 12 people have been killed, including two children.
19:01What I can tell you this morning about the patients' condition in our hospital is that
19:05three of them, two male and one female, are in stable condition.
19:09They had surgeries last night.
19:12This morning they woke up and have been detached from a machine that helps them breathe.
19:16The fourth patient is in an extremely critical condition.
19:20He sustained head injuries.
19:23Surgeons have operated on him with the help of other surgical teams.
19:27In other news, Italian authorities continue the search for 20 missing people, including
19:32five women and three children, off the coast of Lampedusa after attempting to cross the
19:37Mediterranean Sea.
19:38The youngest among the survivors is an eight-year-old Syrian boy who lost his mother in the shipwreck
19:44and is now under the temporary custody of the Juvenile Court of Palermo while his remaining
19:49relatives are reached.
19:51For 2024, UNICEF reported that the number of people killed and missing while attempting
19:56to cross the Mediterranean Sea exceeded 2,200, with 1,700 lives lost on the central Mediterranean
20:04route alone.
20:06In this regard, the director of UNICEF's regional office for Europe and Central Asia, Regina
20:12Dominicis, stressed that hundreds of children were among the victims.
20:21And as of January 1st, Ghana is allowing visa-free entry to citizens from all African
20:26countries in a move aimed at building stronger ties among the continent.
20:31The measure comes after President Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to make it a reality early in the
20:37year during the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues, effectively approving the action later in
20:43December.
20:44The new approach is expected to increase tourism, trade and travel to West African countries
20:50as analysts have previously pointed to visa restrictions as an obstacle to these sectors.
20:56With the move, Ghana then becomes the fifth nation in the continent to allow the entry
21:02of all African passport holders after Rwanda, the Seychelles, the Gambia and Benin.
21:21And in Nigeria, the capital metropolis of Lagos hosted the Fenty Carnival on January
21:271st, a yearly tradition that welcomes the new year by celebrating the diverse blend
21:33of the city's Brazilian and Cuban heritage.
21:36The Lagos Fenty Carnival, also known as Carita Carnival, is a 19th century tradition brought
21:43by returnee slaves from Latin American countries, mostly from Brazil and Cuba, making it a unique
21:49fusion of the two continents' cultural heritage.
21:52Usually celebrated on the first day of the year, the event is the biggest of its type
21:57in West Africa, renowned as an inclusive festival with no discriminatory tendencies, where people
22:03dress up with costumes to dance in a colourful display of the shared rich culture.
22:10We are celebrating it because it's a new beginning.
22:14We want to start afresh.
22:16We have done a lot of things in the past, so we are using this opportunity to unite
22:21ourselves, to try to look for something even more better than what we have been doing in
22:29the past.
22:30The key aspect of the celebration is that everyone comes home.
22:35The key aspect of the celebration is that everyone comes home.
22:39We deliberate and there is progress in the community.
22:42Young ones who intend to go to the university for higher learning receive support from our
22:45kinsmen who teach in those education centers.
22:51And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
22:53You can find this and many other stories on our website at telusoreenglish.net.
22:57And also join us on social media.
22:59We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and also on TikTok.
23:03For Telusore English, my name is Belén de los Santos.