‘Global Village Today’ presents big news from different countries around the world.
Host) What news do you have today?
Reporter) Yes. Russian forces have been carrying out airstrikes in Ukraine since the beginning of the New Year. The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Dasiouba, a symbol of the left wing of Latin America, was officially inaugurated on the 1st.
Host) Global Village Today, here is the first news. Ukraine still in the fire again at the beginning of the new year?
Reporter) Yes. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces carried out a drone strike on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on the 2nd. On the 31st of last month, on the 1st of New Year’s Day, the Russian army carried out a series of airstrikes using missiles and self-destructing drones throughout Ukraine.
Moderator) Has the extent of the damage been confirmed?
Reporter) Yes. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said some energy infrastructure in the city was damaged, leading to power cuts in some areas. A 19-year-old man was also injured and admitted to hospital. The man is said to have been injured after being hit by a piece of a drone.
Moderator) There were casualties during the last two days of air raids, right?
Reporter) Yes. At least four people were reported dead and over 100 injured over two days. The new year 2023 has started, but the people of Ukraine welcome the new year in fear due to the continuous air raids of the Russian army. A police officer in Cuiwu accused Reuters of dropping the drone on a children’s playground, not a battlefield.
Host) How did the Ukrainian military respond?
Reporter) Yes. The Ukrainian Air Force Command said its air defense system shot down 39 Iranian Shahid drones, as well as two Russian Orlan drones and one X-59 missile over Ukraine. Of these, 22 were shot down over Kiwu.
Host: What does Russia say about this series of airstrikes?
Reporter) Russia claimed that it was not targeting civilian facilities in Ukraine, but military facilities such as drone production facilities and launch sites. He also claimed that Russia was also attacked. An artillery shell fell on a village in the border town of Belgorod, and a hospital in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine was also hit by Ukrainian airstrikes, causing casualties. However, objective confirmation is impossible.
Host) The war is over for the year, but there is no sign of a ceasefire yet. What did the President of Ukraine include in his New Year’s address?
Reporter) Yes. In his New Year’s address on the 1st, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The war that Russia is waging is not a war against NATO, as propagandists claim, nor is it a security threat to Russia nor historical reasons. He emphasized that it was just that. a means to maintain power.
Host) Are you referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin?
Reporter) Yes. Specifically, President Zelensky said in Russian, “Your leader is now burning the future of the country and people behind the army, missiles, the presidential palace, and you.” “Neither the terrorist state nor those who ordered or carried out these attacks will be forgiven,” he said. “No drones, no missiles, nothing will help them,” Zelensky said. “Because we are united, but they are only united by fear.”
Host) Russian President Putin skipped the annual press conference last year. Are you curious about President Putin’s New Year’s address?
Reporter) Yes. At 0:00 on the 1st, President Putin released a pre-recorded New Year’s address on state television. Not in front of the festive decorations of the Kremlin Palace, but with a group of soldiers in the background for about 9 minutes. President Putin spent most of his New Year’s address on this day claiming the legitimacy of the war and criticizing the West. “The past year has been a difficult one, but it was a decision that was absolutely necessary to protect the integrity and sovereignty of Russia,” he said.
Moderator) Are you repeating your previous argument?
Reporter) Yes. “Now we are protecting people in our historical territory,” Putin said in his New Year’s address. As the justification for carrying out the so-called “special military operation” in February last year, Russia has presented the protection of pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, as well as the de-Nazification and de- militarization of Ukraine. Putin also said that the West is using Ukraine and its people to weaken and divide Russia, this war is against the West, and Russia is winning.
Presenter) Global Village Next news today. Was there a presidential inauguration in Brazil?
Reporter) Yes. The President of Brazil, Luís Inácio ‘Lula’ Dasúva, took the oath of office on the 1st and began his four-year term. In his inauguration ceremony attended by representatives from around 70 countries around the world, President Lula emphasized the need to create a united Brazil through hope and reconstruction, and promised economic development and the eradication of poverty.
Host) President Lula, the first three-term president of Brazil, right?
Reporter) That’s right. President Lula defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro by 1.8 percentage points in the final vote in the presidential election last October, setting a record as the first three-term president in Brazilian history. Lula served as president from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2010.
Host) Let’s listen to President Lula’s inauguration speech some more.
Reporter) Yes. President Lula’s inaugural address largely led to Brazil’s economic recovery and national unity. In particular, President Lula emphasized that Brazil’s quantitative and qualitative growth achieved during his time in power fell due to his predecessor, and that Brazil could lead the world economy. In particular, he drew attention by emphasizing the growth of the so-called green economy by preserving the Amazon ecosystem.
Moderator) Isn’t that different from the previous President Bolsonaro?
Reporter) Yes. After taking office in 2019, former President Bolsonaro promoted policies to promote the development of the Amazon rainforest in the name of agricultural development in Brazil. However, because of this, as the Amazon rainforest burned and the area of deforestation increased, criticism was poured in by environmental activists who were concerned about the Amazon ecosystem, known as the lungs of the earth. In his New Year’s address, President Lula emphasized that agriculture can grow without deforestation in the Amazon.
Moderator) During the presidential election, Brazil showed extreme division due to ideological conflicts. What did President Lula say about that?
Reporter) President Lula emphasized that Brazil is one country and said that healing a broken country is a crucial task assigned to him. President Lula also said that he had no spirit of revenge against those who tried to rule the country for personal ideas and purposes. But he added that he would ensure the rule of law and that those who committed wrongdoing should be held accountable for their wrongdoing.
Host) Are you talking about former President Bolsonaro?
Reporter) That’s what it sounds like. Lula did not name Bolsonaro directly in his speech. However, he criticized the former government by using the strong phrase ‘genocide’ for the corona damage that occurred during Bolsonaro’s tenure.
Host) Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the corona, right?
Reporter) Yes. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of corona deaths in Brazil reached 694,000 from the 2nd. President Lula accused Bolsonaro’s administration of failing to respond properly to the coronavirus, which cost more than 680,000 Brazilians their lives. He added that responsibility for this genocide must be investigated. Former President Bolsonaro has been criticized for raising the situation by dismissing it as the flu before a vaccine was developed in the early stages of the corona crisis.
Host) How was the atmosphere in Brazil now that President Lula has been welcomed again?
Reporter) Brazil, including the capital Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, was divided into protests by supporters and opponents welcoming the re-election of President Lula. Amidst this, a man was arrested while trying to go to the inauguration ceremony with explosives and a weapon.
Moderator) Did former President Bolsonaro attend the inauguration ceremony on this day (1st)?
Reporter) Former President Bolsonaro did not attend the inauguration ceremony as he went to Florida with his family on December 31, the day before the inauguration ceremony. This broke the tradition of the outgoing president tying a presidential belt to the new president at the inauguration ceremony. Meanwhile, former President Bolsonaro is said to have said he would return on the plane soon. Some media have commented that the Brazilian government will stay in the United States until the end of this month at least, given the steps taken by the Brazilian government to allow former President Bolsonaro to go with some officials.
Moderator) Yes. Global Village Today, I will listen to this.
