FTS 12.30
*Argentina: energy sector workers reject govt.’s debt plan
*Cuban president pays tribute to Fidel Castro in Russia
*Argentina: energy sector workers reject govt.’s debt plan
*Cuban president pays tribute to Fidel Castro in Russia
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NewsTranscript
00:00In Argentina, energy companies called for an emergency summit to reject the plan of
00:18Minister of Economy Luis Caputo regarding the entity's debt.
00:23The Hamas president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and in Russia, the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel,
00:36honored the commander of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, during his official visit to
00:40the Eurasian nation.
00:48Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:50My name is Belén de los Santos and from the Telesur studios in Havana, Cuba, we'll begin
00:54with the news.
00:55In Argentina, energy companies have called for an emergency summit to reject the plan
00:59of Minister of Economy Luis Caputo regarding the entity's debt.
01:04The plan was presented as a regularization proposal, but far from that, the company's
01:08staff members qualified it as another imposition by the government.
01:13Workers declared that they do not accept the proposal presented by the libertarian government
01:17to the whole country.
01:18In this context, the chamber that gathers the electric energy generators, Algera, called
01:23for an emergency meeting.
01:25The compulsive restructuring of the debt seriously affects these companies' leverage in foreign
01:30credits.
01:31Additionally, the generators noted that the resolution was signed by the Secretary of
01:37Energy, who is not empowered to issue governmental bonds.
01:45In this context, also members of the Argentinean Confederation of Transport Workers held rallies
01:50at their workplaces in order to reject the measures applied by the government and in
01:55the face of the half-sanction that lawmakers gave to the package of laws, among them is
02:00the income tax.
02:01Let's see.
02:04Through informative assemblies, railway, aeronautical, maritime and underground workers led a day
02:11of rejection to the measures of the national executive.
02:17We had a national plenary meeting of the Transport Confederation where there was a paramount
02:21debate on the domestic adjustment taking place, the upturn in fares, the income tax, the DNU
02:31that the government is willing to sign.
02:33So we decided that before the strike all the transport unions ought to take a measure which
02:37each union can do as they wish, with no collaboration or like us today, with the opening of the
02:46turnstiles or like the truck drivers last evening to stop the collection of garbage
02:51or like the air navigators to go on strike in every city.
02:57Under the announcement of free pass, turnstile free metro delegates opened for two hours
03:02the accesses to the underground terminals in repudiation of raising fares in the service.
03:10Transport in 10 days is going to ramp up by 600%, that is in Buenos Aires city, which
03:14has the particularity that every day 4 million people come to work through here, the headers
03:19where the railways are combined with the means of transport, the buses outside and the metros
03:26inside.
03:27These people come for two or three trips, imagine what they'll have to pay.
03:32From being the cheapest we are now one of the most expensive metros in the world.
03:38It has to do with the logic that the president of the republic uses.
03:41Everything is business, that is to say there are no public services, there is nothing that
03:45guarantees the collective welfare.
03:50They oppose the measures of the executive branch, the bills that have been passed by
03:55the congress, and demand respect for the parity ones among others.
04:05We are further holding this day of protest against the possibility of reincorporating
04:09the income tax.
04:10We said that work is not profit.
04:12Today we are getting ready for the outstanding strike to take place on May the 9th.
04:21We are convinced that it will be a very strong strike where the working class will express
04:29itself strongly against all these policies that the government of Javier Milet is pursuing.
04:40The different unions in the sector are preparing to join the general and national strike next
04:45Thursday, a day on which there will be no public transport services.
04:51We go now to Chile with justice sentence Hector Yaitul, Mapuche leader of the Arauco-Mallego
05:01coordinator, to 23 years in prison.
05:04The Mapuche leader was prosecuted for the alleged violation of the law of internal state
05:09security.
05:10The Arauco-Mallego coordinator is a Mapuche resistance group of an autonomous nature,
05:16which for at least two decades has been fighting the forestry exploitation model with sabotage
05:20and direct actions to expel the transnational and companies that own more than 70 percent
05:26of the indigenous land in the south of the country.
05:29The defense of Hector Yaitul indicated that he will present an appeal for annulment to
05:34avoid a new conviction, which he described as persecution for his political thinking.
05:45As a comparison, because it's inevitable to do so in these cases, for example, human
05:50rights offenders have been condemned for violations of rights committed during the military dictatorship.
05:56They have received much lower sentences than those that my client has received, considering
06:01that he has simply dedicated himself to vociferate certain words that speak of the struggle
06:07and resistance of his people.
06:09Therefore, today, not only Hector Yaitul Karayanka condemned here, but also an important sector
06:16of the Mapuche nation, who are in constant struggle for their own liberation, is being
06:21condemned.
06:24On Tuesday, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, referred to the fact that the structural
06:28and professionalized corruption has deeply penetrated several state institutions.
06:33In this sense, the Colombian leader pointed out that one of the main points of his denunciation
06:38is focused on the National Savings Fund for teachers, as well as the case of the energy
06:43company Ecopetrol, where he noted a multimillionaire embellishment cover-up by control organs.
06:51Meanwhile, President Petro also denounced the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management,
06:57stating that it has diverted funds destined for victims of natural tragedies.
07:02In this regard, he reiterated that fighting against corruption is one of the flags of
07:06his administration, and assured that he seeks transparency in the use of the country's public
07:12resources.
07:20I do not only speak against corruption.
07:23I have fought to eradicate it all my life.
07:25The fight against corruption is not a speech.
07:28It is not just words in the air.
07:30Fighting corruption is a matter, first of all, of principle, but also of life and death.
07:37Without opportunism, I have put my life at risk in order to reveal the schemes that have
07:41led to the fact that, in Colombia, public money ends up in the pockets of private individuals.
07:47Upon arriving at the national government I have found what I already knew.
07:54We have a structural and professionalized corruption that has taken over several institutions
08:00of the Colombian state.
08:01My responsibility is to destroy and neutralize them.
08:05In other news, citizens of the state of Falcón in Venezuela received President Nicolás Maduro
08:10to ratify their support to the Venezuelan leader.
08:13On Tuesday, inhabitants of the municipality of Tocopero in the state of Falcón took to
08:18the streets to welcome the president's arrival.
08:21Maduro, together with several authorities of his cabinet, got to the town to participate
08:26in the inauguration of the Susana Maduro Hospital.
08:29During his visit, the president, supported by the community, rejected the coercive measures
08:33imposed by the United States government against the country, while local residents reaffirmed
08:39their commitment to the Venezuelan government.
08:47Now let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok at TELUS for English,
08:52where you will find news in different formats, news updates, and much more.
09:00Other stories coming up, stay with us.
09:17Welcome back to From the South.
09:24In Ecuador, the inhabitants of the Cantón de Folón opposed the real estate project
09:29of Lavinia Balbonesi, wife of the president Daniel Novoa, due to the devastating environmental
09:34impact it will have on a protected mangrove area.
09:37The people stopped the works of the company Vinacin, mainly owned by Balbonesi, followed
09:43by the arrival of the police forces.
09:45They assure that the logging of trees in the Esterillo of Oloncito sector will have
09:51a lethal impact on the area that was declared in 2001 as protective forest and vegetation.
09:58In addition, the project contemplates the disappearance of a lagoon, a fact prohibited
10:02by the country's constitution, which guarantees access to water.
10:08We are not going to let them build anything here, nor cut down a single tree.
10:20And you as a policeman should help us, not be in favor of these shameless companies that
10:26want to damage the environment.
10:30You are not going to let one more tree grow here.
10:35You as a policeman are obliged to help us.
10:40On Tuesday, Paraguay and Brazil consolidated important advancements regarding negotiations
10:45and fees for the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant.
10:48Rubén Ramírez, Paraguay's foreign affairs minister, in a press conference spoke about
10:53the significant progress achieved in fixing the new electricity rates generated by the
10:58Itaipu bi-national.
11:00On the Brazilian side, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, announced
11:05that the agreement would be made official before the end of the year.
11:09The nations agreed to fix the fee at $19.28 per kilowatt unit until 2016, less than $22.60
11:19proposed by Asunción, and more than the $16.7 to which Brazil had aspired.
11:33In other news in Haiti, at least 34 health institutions have closed their facilities
11:38as a result of a siege by criminal groups.
11:41According to the Ministry of Public Health and Population, health care centers are working
11:45at half speed because of the problems they are facing due to the lack of supplies, inputs
11:50and energy.
11:52According to the report, the capital Port-au-Prince and the municipalities of Gonab, Arcaie and
11:57Cornillon, among others, are the most affected.
12:00The violence has also contributed to absenteeism from work, as many workers are caught in the
12:06middle of intense shooting.
12:28And we now move on to other topics.
12:29In Brazil, the Supreme Federal Court approved the sending of resources to help the cities
12:34affected by the rains that hit the country.
12:37The judiciary released more than $12 million to assist victims affected by the floods caused
12:42by the rains in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
12:45The Federal Supreme Court's initiative allows money collected in fines to be sent to the
12:50state's civil defense.
12:52Meanwhile, local authorities report that so far, 388 towns in Rio Grande do Sul have been
12:58affected by the rains.
13:05And in Santiago de Chile, low temperatures caused snowfall for the first time in four
13:09years.
13:10The Meteorological Office of the capital city reported that the heavy rainfall of the last
13:15few days, together with the decrease in temperatures brought by a cold frontal system, are what
13:21caused the snow that fell in the eastern regions of Santiago.
13:25The snowfall surprised locals who got to experience this phenomenon again since it was last recorded
13:31in the city on July 4th, 2020.
13:37In this context, also the heavy rains that have been affecting the region caused a blackout
13:42in Central Chile on Tuesday.
13:44More than a quarter of a million users were left without service.
13:49The national electricity company reported that most affected districts of Santiago were
13:53Maipú, Quilicura and Pudahuel.
13:57Work crews were immediately deployed and managed to reconnect the service for the affected
14:02users.
14:07In Mexico, the national electricity system entered into a state of emergency due to the
14:12heat wave sweeping the country.
14:14After the power grid reached the maximum demand for energy, the authorities declared
14:19the system in an operational state of emergency.
14:22The National Energy Control Center reported almost five hours of power outages in several
14:27states of the country.
14:28San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Sinaloa, Chiapas and Puebla are some of the 10 states that
14:34registered failures of verifying intensity in the service.
14:38The use of air conditioners, fans and other devices to alleviate the heat accelerated
14:43the collapse of the services.
14:49And meanwhile, floods caused by the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño are impacting
14:54all of Latin America and the Caribbean.
14:56Among those affected in the area are Haiti, which has already reported 17 deaths.
15:02In the last 48 hours, the torrential rains have aggravated the situation in the country.
15:07The overflow of the Dayavon River was reported on Tuesday.
15:11The Pitover Canal, center of serious disputes with the neighboring Dominican Republic, has
15:16been severely deteriorated.
15:18Likewise, the acting government, which is still in charge of the response to civil emergencies,
15:24reported that more than 4,000 homes have been flooded.
15:28Thus, the weather crisis adds to the query of difficulty plaguing the Caribbean nation.
15:41The Bahamas became on Tuesday the 122nd member state of the United Nations to recognize Palestine
16:01as a state.
16:02The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the recognition of the state of Palestine
16:07demonstrates the commitment of the Bahamas to the principles adopted by the UN Charter.
16:12Furthermore, they added that they support the right of the Palestinian people to freely
16:16determine their political status and to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
16:22development.
16:23On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Caribbean nation's decision.
16:33In Mexico, the Inter-University and Popular Assembly of Students and Workers of the National
16:37Autonomous University joined more than 150 campuses around the world in solidarity with
16:44the people of Palestine.
16:45In recent weeks, expressions of solidarity have been reproduced throughout the world,
16:50while the number of civilians killed, wounded and displaced by the Israeli genocide in the
16:55Gaza Strip grows.
16:57The recent mobilizations of the academic world are a clear example of this.
17:01The Academic Collective for Palestine celebrates the initiative of Mexican students whose objective
17:06is to exert pressure to break academic, political, sports and economic relations with Israel.
17:14We have major importance to Gaza because in Gaza what is happening is a genocide, and
17:23a genocide is something very different from a war because it is a much more indiscriminate
17:28violence and therefore has an extraordinary impact on the population in general.
17:35That is, a genocide is the greatest possible attempt against life itself.
17:44Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, thousands of demonstrators in support of the Palestinian
17:48people have gathered to denounce the repudiation of Israel's attacks on Rafah, south of the
17:54Gaza Strip.
17:55On Tuesday, protesters gathered in front of the building of the British Prime Minister
17:59Rishi Sunak to demand the end of his cooperation with the Israeli genocide, urging him to stop
18:05sending arms to the Syrian government.
18:08More than 5,000 people participated in the encampment, replicated in cities such as Manchester,
18:13Brighton and Leicester.
18:19And we have a final short break coming up, but before we invite you to join our WhatsApp
18:23community for our English-speaking audience, you can scan the QR code on screen to join
18:28directly and also share the link to reach more people.
18:31Constant news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the rest of the
18:35world.
18:36Stay connected and informed with TELUS Earth, final short break, don't go away.
19:00Welcome back to From the South.
19:02In South Africa, a multidisciplinary rescue team, including Sniper Dogs, continued Tuesday
19:07night to search for more than 30 people who remain trapped under the rubble of a building
19:12under construction in the city of George.
19:15Seventy-five people were there when the multi-story apartment complex under construction collapsed
19:23Monday afternoon.
19:24At least seven of them have been pronounced dead and others were taken to the hospital
19:28in serious condition.
19:30More than 30 hours after the accident occurred, the death toll is likely to rise.
19:41To come and make prayers for those who have been involved in the incident, also to give
19:48the spiritual support to the families and members and the loved ones of the people that
19:53have lost their families that were working in this building.
19:57I'm here to support the families who have lost their lives on the site.
20:03Yeah, that's why I'm here.
20:05Just to support the moral support for the family, because it's just a tragedy, a tragedy
20:09that has happened, yes.
20:13In other news, on Wednesday, the president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, honored the commander
20:17of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, in Moscow, the Russian capital.
20:21The head of state went to the district of Sokol to lay wrath at the monument of the
20:26historic commander.
20:28In the square that bears his name, a three-meter statue was erected in 2017.
20:33The Cuban president attended the ceremony, together with a delegation that's accompanying
20:37him on his working visit to Russia.
20:40On Wednesday, Diaz-Canel is set to speak at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
20:49Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree defining the national development goals
20:53for the nation until 2030, with a view to 2036.
20:57The document seeks to change the lives of Russians in the upcoming six years.
21:03Among the issues to set out in the decree are increasing the birth rate and reducing
21:08poverty.
21:09It also includes improving education and the quality of city life, as well as providing
21:13better housing, environmental welfare, and increase the nation's GDP.
21:18The Russian president also reaffirmed the country's sovereignty to define its national
21:22development and stressed that Russia's destiny would be determined only by Russians.
21:32And in this context also, Russian troops destroyed a workshop for the production of solid rocket
21:37fuel and military technical equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces.
21:41The Russian Defense Ministry detailed that the military facility had several warehouses
21:46and depots for military equipment.
21:49Part of the balance sheet indicates that Kiev forces lost at least 335 soldiers, a
21:55Leopard 1 tank and armored personnel carrier, two armored combat vehicles, and three cars
22:01in the course of the operation in Kharkov and Lugansk regions.
22:11And in Vietnam, locals gathered to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the battle that expelled
22:16French colonizers.
22:17The military ceremony was presided by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and also attended
22:23by French Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu.
22:27On an official visit to the country amidst the rainy weather, around 12,000 people participated
22:33of the massive parade that took place in the rural town of Thiên Biên Phú.
22:38The celebration commemorates the victory of the Viet Minh on the 56-day battle against
22:45France.
22:46The parade made the European country desist from maintaining its colonial presence in
22:50the territory.
22:55And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
22:57You can find these and many other stories on our website at www.telesorenglish.net.
23:01And also join us on social media, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and also on
23:07TikTok.
23:08For Telesore English, my name is Belén de los Santos, thank you for watching.