FTS 16:30 10-07: Venezuela reaffirms strength of electoral system
10/07/2024
FTS 16.30
*Israeli forces killed over 50 civilians in the last 24 hours.
*China launches investigation into European Union trade sanctions.
teleSUR
FTS 16.30
*Israeli forces killed over 50 civilians in the last 24 hours.
*China launches investigation into European Union trade sanctions.
teleSUR
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NewsTranscript
00:00In Venezuela, Foreign Affairs Minister Iván Gil confirmed that more than 600 international
00:15observers will participate in the July 28 elections.
00:22In Palestine, the Israeli occupation committed four massacres in the Gaza Strip, leaving
00:26at least 52 Palestinians killed.
00:30And in China, authorities launched an investigation into the European Union's restrictions on
00:35trade and investment imposed against Chinese companies.
00:42Hello and welcome to From the South, my name is Alejandra GarcĂa from Telesur Studios
00:46in Havana, Cuba.
00:47We begin with the news.
00:49The Government of Venezuela offered details to the Diplomatic Corps accredited in the country
00:53about the electoral process of the next July 28.
00:57In this regard, the Foreign Minister Iván Gil highlighted the strength of the Venezuelan
01:01electoral system as a warranty of transparency, a characteristic that, in his opinion, places
01:07it among the most accurate systems in the world.
01:10This fact is being witnessed by the more than 635 international electoral envoys attending
01:16the elections as observers.
01:17Likewise, the diplomat denounced before the international community the attacks and aggressions
01:22against the presidential candidate, Nicolás Maduro, and the Venezuelan people.
01:36Our electoral system is a system in which we are also very proud to have it, an electoral
01:42system built to give the greatest possible transparency.
01:50I and all the electoral power and the Government of Venezuela and the people of Venezuela are
01:54sure that it is perhaps the electoral system, one of the most perfect electoral systems
02:06that exists on the face of the Earth, and a system that is based on popular elections.
02:12Furthermore, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil denounced that the United States
02:18and Europe seek to undermine the electoral process of July 28 and distort the will of
02:23the people.
02:24This government, as you know very well, has been subjected to a policy of sanctions, a
02:31policy of aggression, a policy of 936 sanctions, that have so far gone to the heart of the
02:43government's work, harming the people, and this obviously limits or creates distortions
02:48in this government's ability to manage, which it has managed to resolve.
02:59But we must denounce to the world that it is an election that is being interfered with
03:10by external agents, especially from the United States and Europe, who are trying to undermine
03:14the electoral process to distort the will of the people.
03:19In Venezuela, presidential candidate of the great patriotic Paul Nicolás Maduro denounced
03:24on Tuesday that the far-right wing has hired Colombian paramilitaries to create chaos in
03:29the country during his electoral campaign.
03:31During his visit to the state of La Guaira, Maduro said that the Venezuelan far-right
03:36is responsible for deceiving the Venezuelan people with false promises, using the little
03:41support they have from some communities to damage the country.
03:44In this sense, Maduro also reiterated that while his campaign is focused on visiting
03:49the national territory to present his management plan, leaders of the far-right are carrying
03:54out various plans to destabilize the country.
04:02Manage and deceive.
04:03They ask for sanctions.
04:04They steal our cigs, they steal our oil, and then they go out to deceive again and again.
04:10They go out to cheat their own people.
04:12They make the electoral war while we are making an electoral campaign.
04:17They hire paramilitaries in Colombia.
04:19You want the Guarimba and the violence to return.
04:21They want the Guarimba and the violence.
04:26Also the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, visited the town of Cumanaycoa to
04:31re-inspect the progress made in the recovery efforts after the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
04:36Following the overflowing of the Manzanares River as a result of the rains caused by Beryl,
04:41the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, together with other high officials, made an
04:45inspection of the affected areas.
04:48The phenomenon left more than 7,900 houses affected and at least six dead.
04:53In addition, the head of state activated the presidential command post in Cumanaycoa to
04:58tend to the families and closely supervise the progress in the reconstruction work being made.
05:06In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro asked the international community for help to materialize
05:11the peace agreement signed between the government and the extinct revolutionary armed forces of the country.
05:17During a ceremony of transfer of command of the general commander of the military forces,
05:21the president affirmed that the peace agreements rescind the national sphere as it involves issues
05:27such as the Amazon or the fight against drugs.
05:30The Colombian president will then go to New York on Thursday to attend the quarterly session
05:35of the Security Council of the United Nations, where the state of implementation of agreements
05:40signed in 2016 with the former FARC guerrillas will be discussed and where the head of state
05:46is expected to ask his extension beyond the 15 years initially convened.
05:51We ask the world that is thinking about war to help peace in Colombia because I believe that
06:02helping peace in Colombia helps peace in the world as well. Here is a laboratory of peace.
06:08In Guatemala, the former development committee known as CODECA took to the streets to demand
06:13the resignation of several officials linked to acts of corruption. This way,
06:17the protesters are requesting the resignation of the attorney general Consuelo Porras,
06:21along with other high-ranking officials whom they accused of interfering in the administration of
06:26justice. The committee also rejected any type of foreign interference in the internal affairs
06:31of the country. Therefore, they asked the government to remain firm in the defense of
06:36sovereignty as well as demanding for it to take actions to contain the inflation.
06:41Let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok at TELUSURI English,
06:45where you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.
06:48Other stories coming up, stay with us.
07:10Welcome back. Israeli occupation forces committed four massacres in the Gaza Strip during the last
07:2024 hours, leaving at least 52 Palestinians killed. Health authorities also reported more than 200
07:27civilians wounded, as authorities warned that both figures could be even higher,
07:31since many of the victims remain trapped under the rubble. Israeli troops continue to impede
07:36the entry of ambulances and civil defense teams to the targeted areas. According to the most
07:42recent health report, at least 38,295 Palestinians have been killed and another 88,241 injured since
07:51October 2023. In Palestine, the Israeli occupation army carried out new attacks on several towns in
08:00the West Bank occupied. In this regard, authorities reported that a young Palestinian was seriously
08:06wounded after being shot in the head and neck during an Israeli operation in the city of Tulkarem.
08:12On the other hand, a 14-year-old boy was also wounded in the foot after being shot in the city
08:17of Beit Furik. At the same time, the Zionist army stormed with a large convoy of military vehicles
08:23into the town of Beit Umar, where soldiers demolished houses and arrested citizens in
08:28other places in the occupied West Bank.
08:34On Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs denounced
08:39that the gas strip is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the humanitarian crisis due to the
08:44constant bombardments perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army. In this regard,
08:48the United Nations Agency criticized the new ground offensive carried out against the city of
08:53Kanjenis, which caused the displacement of 250,000 Palestinians and aggravated the crisis
08:59in the region, besides destabilizing even more the aid flows. On the other hand, the statement
09:05also denounced that constant aggressions against health facilities, counting nearly 453 attacks
09:11since October. The organization also informed that approximately 50,000 babies were born
09:17in the Palestinian enclave under traumatic and unhealthy conditions.
09:23The shortage of basic medicines and medical supplies is preventing the health staff in Gaza
09:33to attend properly to the sick and the injured, as it is evidenced by the testimony of this
09:38official from Doctors Without Borders Middle East section. In orthopedic surgery, we're seeing people
09:43who are injured in bombings, in shootings, in drone attacks. We're seeing people who are
09:51living in such poor conditions that they're cooking on the floor and the stove will explode,
09:55and so you see a lot of children who are injured as a result of that and burned. We can't do that
10:00if we don't have our supplies. We can't do the surgery to take care of those people if we don't
10:04have the supplies, and we aren't going to operate without anesthesia. China launched an investigation
10:11into the European Union's restrictions on trade and investment imposed against Chinese companies.
10:16The action follows the request submitted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for the
10:20import and export of machinery and electronic products. The investigation will focus on wind
10:26and solar energy, security equipment, among other products, and must be completed before
10:31January 10, 2025. The sanctions allow countries of the European bloc to carry out prior reviews
10:37and surprise inspections of operations by Chinese companies.
10:47In Indonesia, on Wednesday, search efforts for those trapped following a deadly landslide have
11:04intensified as more rescuers were deployed to search an unauthorized gold mine in Sulawesi
11:10Island. The incident took place on Sunday in the remote village of Bon Bolango, where more
11:15than 100 villagers were digging for grains of gold when tons of mud plunged down the surrounding
11:21hills and buried their makeshift camps. As a result, authorities have so far reported 23 deaths,
11:27with 33 people still missing. In this sense, the operation director of the National Search
11:33and Rescue Agency said that over a thousand personnel, including army troops, were deployed
11:38to increase the strength of search efforts.
11:44South Korean authorities reported that four people died following heavy rains over the last hours.
11:49Historic rainfall hit the city of Gunsan, reaching 131.7 millimeters in one hour. This
11:56figure represents more than 10 percent of the yearly average. The heavy rains caused major
12:01setbacks and disruptions to transportation in the south of the country. All train services have been
12:07suspended until at least 6 p.m. local time, and several flights were canceled. As a consequence
12:13of the extreme weather, authorities also reported flooding and landslides in several localities.
12:22We have a final short break coming up, but before we invite you to join our WhatsApp community for
12:27our English-speaking audience, you can scan the QR code on screen to join directly and share the
12:31link to reach more people. Constant news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the
12:36rest of the world. Final short break, don't go away.
12:47Welcome back to From the South. On Wednesday, Russia's parliament approved a bill that would
12:52raise income taxes for the rich in a move to return to national projects. The legislation is
12:57a major change from the flat rate tax that was widely credited with improving revenue collections
13:03after it was introduced in 2001. In this sense, the bill would impose a 13 percent tax for incomes
13:10of up to 2.4 million rubles a year, equivalent to 27,500 U.S. dollars. For incomes over that amount,
13:18a steadily higher tax rate would apply, with a maximum rate of 22 percent for incomes exceeding
13:2450 million rubles, or 573,000 dollars. The bill was endorsed in the final third reading by the
13:31State Duma, and hours later by the Federation Council. It must now be signed by President
13:37Vladimir Putin to become law. We really found consensus in those proposals to improve the tax
13:47system, based on the principle of fairness, as the President instructed us, based on the
13:52principle of stimulation. This is not a neutral tax system. This is a stimulating tax system,
13:57stimulating investment and the redistribution of funds from the richer to those who need
14:00government support. The most important thing is that these resources should be fairly allocated
14:05to the implementation of the tasks set by the President. In Russia, the government reported
14:11the discovery of a Ukrainian chemical laboratory in Donetsk. The Defense Ministry detailed that
14:16the facility was used to produce bond-toxic substances. The laboratory used a filtration
14:22extraction system, reactors, carbon dioxide bottles, protective equipment and other necessary
14:27equipment, all of U.S. and Polish origin. In this regard, specialists indicated that at least
14:33three kilograms per day of a substance prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention were produced
14:39at the site. In New Caledonia, a man died Wednesday during a shooting confrontation
14:49with the police, in what constitutes the 10th fatality in the framework of the protests that
14:53have been going on for two months in the French archipelago located in the Pacific.
14:58The Prosecutor's Office reported that the incident took place in the municipality of Montdoré,
15:03in the Catholic Mission of St. Louis, when the individual, who was a local resident previously
15:08convicted for participating in riots in 2016, attacked the agent with a firearm. The incident
15:15evidences how the conflict persisted in the territory even after the French President
15:19Emmanuel Macron announced the suspension of the constitutional reform project
15:23that provoked the initial outburst led by pro-independence sectors.
15:32In this same context, the newly elected deputy of New Caledonia, Emmanuel T. Gibault,
15:37pledged to take the demands of the indigenous Kanak people to the French Parliament.
15:42Gibault is the first pro-independence member of Parliament to be elected in the territory since
15:471986. It's the purpose of the campaign, it's the purpose of my commitment and ultimately
15:54to say we have conditions for resuming dialogue. We have to work together to take responsibility
15:59and engage ourselves. That's what it's about for me, offering a new space for new words,
16:05on the perspectives to be given to New Caledonia in the pursuit of the process of decolonization
16:10of the country. On Wednesday, Australian authorities reported that a chemical
16:15explosion generated a large fire at a factory in the Derrimut neighbourhood,
16:19located in the city of Melbourne. Local media reported that around 185 firefighters,
16:25in addition to aerial units and more than 30 firetrucks, responded to call to help the affected
16:31area. In the meantime, local authorities issued warnings to nearby neighbourhoods due to the
16:36extent of the smoke. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Michelle Cowling, or Fire Rescue Victoria,
16:42stated that there were no injuries but the cease of the fire and chemicals
16:46found mean crews could be at the scene.
16:59Nothing exceeding that, so this is a significant fire and as I said it is quite dangerous,
17:05it is a chemical factory, so urging people please stay away from the area.
17:13On Wednesday, 12 children were killed in South Africa when a minibus taking them to school near
17:18Johannesburg overturned and burst into flames. Authorities reported that the bus was hit from
17:23behind by a small pickup truck. According to officials in Johannesburg-Gauteng province,
17:28the driver of the minibus was also killed and seven other children were rushed to the hospital.
17:33South Africa has one of the most developed road networks of the continent but also has one of the
17:39worst road safety records in part due to reckless driving and unroaded worth it vehicles.
18:04On Sunday, Argentina will play its second consecutive Copa America final as it seeks to become the all-time
18:11leader in this tournament. In this sense, the Argentines, who also hold the Regained Champion
18:16Award in 2022 FIFA World Cup, are chasing the milestone of reaching their 16th win in the
18:22American tournament despite having lost in 14 final games. In 2021, they ended a 28-year strike by
18:30claiming the Copa America title in the last match against Brazil. Meanwhile, Leo Messi could say
18:36goodbye to the tournament by winning his second championship, a feat that Diego Maradona was
18:41unable to materialize after three participations. It is worth noting that the last team to win
18:47a back-to-back championship was Chile in the 2015 and 2016 edition.
18:52On the other hand, Spain will return to the Eurocup final on Sunday, 12 years after they were crowned
19:03champions in 2012 when they defeated Italy. Spain have played in four finals, winning three of them
19:09in 1964, 2008 and 2012. In this sense, they are the team with the most Eurocup titles tied with
19:17three trophies with Germany, who won in 1972, 1980 and 1996. It should be noted that if Spain
19:25wins on Sunday, they will be the historical leaders of this European event, and as an element to
19:31consider, no team has ever won 16 games in a row during a six-game tournament, so the Spanish could
19:37become the champions with a perfect performance.
19:47In Arles, France, the South African artist William Nekintrich presented his musical The Great Yes to the Great No,
20:09a thought-provoking play that explores issues like the struggle against racial and political
20:14oppression and the topic of refugees.
20:19With a mise-en-scène that evokes the most relevant problems of today, the play focuses on the conflict
20:25of racial and political despotisms, the refugees and the place of art in these struggles, both in
20:32the past and the present. Inspired by real events based on the departure of many refugees seeking
20:37to escape from Vichy, France in 1941, the piece seeks to discover and recall all those transatlantic
20:45crossings of the 17th and the 18th centuries, but it's about the journey, about the conflict on it,
20:51about the questions of colonialism which are still present, so very present in 1940s, in the writings
20:57CĂ©saire and Fanon, but still very much in the air we're in today, what is the relationship of
21:03refugees to countries they go to, who is the stranger you welcome to a house, who is the stranger
21:08you keep at the door. The author emphasizes that journey is accompanied by four musicians,
21:15on piano, cello, percussion and accordion, to bring the history to life and captivate the audience.
21:20In addition, seven performers singing in English, French and various South African dialects
21:25provide their brilliant voices to deliver the message. The heart of the production is the singing,
21:31the singing of a chorus of seven women singers and some other soloists, but primarily the engine
21:37room of the ship that takes us across the journey, but also that takes us down, not just laterally but
21:43vertically, finds a kind of a gravitas, are the six from seven remarkable singers that have come
21:48from Johannesburg, together with the rest of the cast to perform the great yes, the great no.
21:55William Kentridge's The Great Yes, The Great No is our co-presenter for all audiences by the Luma
22:00Foundation in Arles, southern France, in collaboration with the Lyrical Festival of Aix-en-Provence.
22:25We have come to the end of this news brief, but you can find this and many other stories
22:29on our website at telecityenglish.net and join us on social media, Facebook,
22:33Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well. For Telecity English, I'm Alejandra Garcia, thank you for watching.