FTS 16:30 30-08: Guatemala's President elect assured that the measure suspending his party "is null"
Guatemala's President elect rejected a court ruling denying his party to appeal its legal annulment//In the United States, Florida police authorities reported two people dead following hurricane Idalia's landfall in Florida. Idalia downgraded to category 1 and is currently going over Georgia// In Gabon, a military faction seized power and dissolved governmental institutions, ousting president Ali bongo who remains in house arrest. So far, people show support for the mutinous group. teleSUR
Transcript
00:00 Hello, welcome to From the South.
00:14 I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Atresu Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:18 We begin with the news.
00:20 On Tuesday, the Guatemalan Court of Appeals denied the action with which the Semea movement
00:24 of President-elect Bernardo Arrebalo sought to stop Judge Freddy Arellana's order to
00:28 suspend the party.
00:30 According to Arrebalo, the appeal intended to show that the Special Prosecutor's Office
00:35 against impunity and Judge Arellana were acting against the electoral law, in what the President-elect
00:40 described as an "illegal political persecution" against him.
00:43 However, the members of the Chamber unanimously denied the appeal.
00:47 The temporary suspension of the Semea movement by the electoral authorities is a new stain
00:53 for the electoral process in Guatemala.
00:55 Their uncertainty is growing for months before the inauguration of the new ruler.
01:00 However, according to Semea's lawyer Juan Guerrero, the party is shielded by a resolution
01:04 of the Supreme Court which orders not to suspend the political organization at least until
01:09 the end of the electoral process, next October 31.
01:17 In Argentina, Labor Minister Raquel Olmos called on labor unions to monitor and identify
01:22 companies that do not comply with measures announced by Economy Minister Sergio Maza.
01:28 She also informed that fines will be applied to companies that do not honor the payment
01:32 of 60,000 pesos bonus for workers, which equals just a little over 150 euros at the country's
01:37 official rate.
01:39 In statements to different radio stations, the head of the ministerial portfolio made
01:43 clear that those who receive the benefit will not be able to buy dollars, as she offered
01:48 more details on the measures supported by officials and measures unquestioned by the
01:52 opposition.
01:53 The minister also recalled the origin of the emergency that forces them to take these periodic
01:58 actions.
02:04 The price index is going up, and that price is the result of the devaluation imposed by
02:10 the International Monetary Fund due to the debt contracted with the fund during Mauricio
02:17 Macri's administration.
02:20 What we are doing with this amount to be paid in two months is that this increase in the
02:26 price index, in the case of lower-income workers, will not have to be absorbed by these workers,
02:33 but will have the help of an additional income.
02:38 In Chile, President Gávez Boric authorized a new national surge plan ahead of the 50th
02:42 anniversary of the coup that toppled the government and led to the disappearance and killing of
02:47 thousands.
02:48 The measure marks the first time since the end of the Pinochet regime that the Chilean
02:53 government has tried to find those who went missing, an effort that until now has largely
02:58 fallen to the surviving family members, mainly women, who protested when hunger strikes and
03:05 took their cases to court.
03:07 The plan will centralize and digitize the enormous volumes of judicial cases and other
03:13 archives gathered across government agencies and human rights organizations using special
03:18 software to cross-reference information.
03:20 It will also finance the exploration of sites where victims may be buried or where excavations
03:26 have been pending for years because of a lack of funding.
03:34 In Chile, by decree of President Gávez Boric, two days of national mourning are enforced
03:38 as from Wednesday in honor of the late leader of the Communist Party of Chile, Guillermo
03:43 Tejier.
03:44 In a message from La Moneda, Boric highlighted his devotion to Chile during all his life
03:49 and his tireless efforts to build a more just society.
03:52 Throughout this Wednesday, Tejier and Coffin will remain at the former headquarters of
03:57 the National Congress in the community of Santiago Central, where militants, friends
04:01 and the population in general will continue paying posthumous tribute to him.
04:06 The president of the PCCH was three times member of the Chamber of Deputies between
04:10 2010 and 2022.
04:12 In his youth, Guillermo Tejier was committed to the Popular Unity campaign to bring Salvador
04:17 Allende to the presidency.
04:19 After Venezuela and all prices fell, a group of friends left noisy and crowded Caracas
04:47 for bare plainlands in Yaracuy to raise cattle, on the premise that Venezuela has a future.
04:53 Since that moment, they turned an abandoned land into green crop fields and became self-reliant
04:58 while helping others.
04:59 In this new episode of the series Venezuela on the Move, Arianna Zivori and Jesus Romero
05:06 tells us their story.
05:17 Some are pure breed, known as gier, and others are grass breeds of two types of cattle, called
05:22 giralando.
05:23 Carlos came to this multifunctional farm years ago.
05:29 He used to live between buildings and the heavy traffic of the capital city.
05:33 I didn't know what agriculture was.
05:35 I was in the suburbs doing masonry work and other things.
05:39 I met some friends and they invited me to rescue this land.
05:42 We started planting corn, sweet potatoes, and then little by little we learned about
05:47 cattle raising, because we didn't know anything about that.
05:51 First we had a cow, then two, and so on.
05:55 Currently there are 120 animals, 25 of which are exclusively for milking.
06:00 From them they obtain a very good quantity of milk.
06:03 This type of work makes them love their land unconditionally.
06:08 I have met friends who have traveled to Colombia, Peru, Chile, and I have family outside of
06:14 Venezuela.
06:16 But I do not change my Venezuela for any other country.
06:20 Venezuela is Venezuela, and Venezuela has a future.
06:24 If it's about the future, Frank finds it here.
06:28 To manage production, they hire more staff according to every season's requirements.
06:34 Every worker has a salary every day.
06:37 Being unemployed now is a terrible sin.
06:42 This cooperative has been created and run by its members who, with the help of their
06:46 families, have managed to grow crops, including feed for the cattle, while tractors continue
06:53 at full speed.
06:56 When we came in here, it was bare.
07:00 And you are already seeing more or less what we have done in 16 years.
07:07 Whatever is left, we use it for investment.
07:11 The investments are for a genetic improvement project for small and medium-sized producers.
07:18 Almost two decades ago, this project started with state financing.
07:22 We are the same, with oil prices at 100 and with oil prices at zero.
07:28 At zero, meaning no foreign currencies.
07:30 Today, in 2023, in spite of the crisis, the blockade, in spite of so many circumstances
07:36 that have been affecting us here in the country, we are already 100% self-sufficient.
07:43 Very proud of the work.
07:44 They tell us that everything produced here contributes to national food security and is
07:49 also for self-consumption.
07:52 The fields where Las Tres Heras Cooperative is located are part of one of the Venezuelan
07:57 states that was founded by Ezequiel Zamora in 1859.
08:02 An independentist that vindicated countrymen's rights.
08:06 Jesús Romero, Irene Asibor, and Telesur, Yaracuy, Venezuela.
08:09 It's like a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok @TelesurEnglish, where
08:14 you will find news in different formats, news updates, and much more.
08:17 Other stories coming up, stay with us.
08:25 Welcome back to From the South.
08:27 This Tuesday, Canada has issued a travel alert to its LGBTQIQ+ nationals visiting the United
08:33 States because of the discrimination and harassment risks they may face due to recently passed
08:38 state laws in the US.
08:40 Ottawa issued a warning based on the 500 bills that have been submitted to Washington that,
08:44 according to US civil society organizations, restrict the freedom of this community.
08:48 Currently, every three of these bills, especially harmful to transgender groups, have become
08:53 law.
08:54 States enacting the legislation can ban performances, limit access to public venues, sports, or
08:59 cultural events, and even deny access to health services.
09:02 Hurricane Italia has now done great to Caterina as it left the US state of Florida and moved
09:26 into Georgia.
09:27 The storm center moved through southeastern Georgia on Wednesday afternoon and reached
09:31 Jacksonville.
09:33 Flash flooding warnings are in effect for these and the East Carolinas.
09:37 More than 278,000 people in Florida and 52,000 in Georgia were reportedly without electricity
09:43 as of 11.30 a.m. local time.
09:45 Two people have been reportedly dead in Florida as Italia passed through that state.
09:50 Authorities described the storm and its potentially deadly high surging waters as a once-in-a-lifetime
09:55 event for the area.
09:56 The storm came ashore near the community of Keaton Beach, Florida early Wednesday as
10:01 a respiratory-free hurricane.
10:02 This afternoon, the eye of Hurricane Italia has left the state of Florida.
10:12 The state is still being impacted by the storm's bands, and we're seeing that particularly
10:18 in the northern part of the state.
10:21 So far, there have been 262,000 accounts that had lost power have been restored, and there
10:28 are more than 250,000 accounts that are currently out of power and in need of restoration.
10:35 There are, as of now, no confirmed fatalities, and those fatalities are things that get confirmed
10:43 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement through medical examiners.
10:46 We do not have any confirmed fatalities yet.
10:50 An increasingly rapid melting of glaciers due to global warming could lead to a disastrous
10:55 chain reaction of broken ecological balance and biodiversity loss.
10:59 Experts call for laws and regulations, as well as more public efforts to protect them.
11:04 The two ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland account for approximately 97 percent of the
11:09 world's total glaciers.
11:10 In January this year, a study published in Journal of Science showed that in addition
11:14 to these two large ice caps, about half to more than 80 percent of other glaciers around
11:19 the world will completely melt and disappear by the end of this century.
11:23 Meanwhile, the accelerated melting of glaciers has caused a large amount of freshwater resources
11:28 to flow into the ocean in a short period of time, diluting the salt in seawater.
11:32 In addition, new diseases have emerged with the melting of the glaciers.
11:43 Initially hundreds of migrants cramped in Lampedusa Island were transferred to mainland
11:47 to relieve congestion at the Migrants Reception Center in that island.
11:51 Italian authorities are transferring in military planes some 1,800 people from a temporary
11:56 shelter on the island of Lampedusa to the mainland.
11:59 The shelter, with a capacity for 400 people, has reached over 4,000 in recent days following
12:06 the arrival of tens of small boats.
12:08 Lampedusa suffers a strong migratory pressure that local authorities judge unsustainable.
12:14 The last landing took place this Wednesday when patrol boats of Guardia di Finanza and
12:19 Frontex Group boarded a 15-meter fishing boat carrying 270 immigrants, including a woman
12:24 and a minor, in waters near the coast.
12:33 We have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
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12:45 world's most recent events.
12:46 If you want a short break, don't go away.
13:04 Welcome back from the South.
13:05 On an early Wednesday morning in Gabon, a group of military personnel, calling themselves
13:09 as members of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, seized power
13:13 and dissolved governmental institutions.
13:16 The military ousted President Ali Bongo, who inherited power from his father, Omar Bongo.
13:21 In a televised address, the troops denounced that the elections of August 26 were not transparent,
13:27 credible, nor inclusive.
13:28 They also announced the closing of the borders, the dissolution of all the institutions of
13:32 the Republic, including the Senate, the Assembly, and the Constitutional Court.
13:36 The coup leaders informed that Bongo remains with his family and confirmed the arrest of
13:40 some people, among them Nur ad-Din Mongo, son of the President.
13:45 All other detainees are accused of high treason against the institutions, corruption, and
13:49 financial embezzlement.
13:55 Gabon is located in the western shores of Central Africa and its capital city is Libreville,
14:01 a former French colony.
14:03 Gabon's main economic sector is oil production and export.
14:06 The nation became a full member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1975,
14:10 but terminated its membership in 1995 to rejoin the organization in 2016.
14:15 Despite its constitution, it establishes that a president must serve for a seven-year term.
14:20 Former President Omar Bongo owned and backrolled the nation for 41 years until his son Ali
14:26 was elected after his death in 2009, ensuring the Bongo family a 55-year dominance in the
14:31 nation.
14:36 After the announcement of a military faction seize power in Gabon, videos and pictures
14:40 of Gabonese people packing the streets to celebrate the ousting of President Ali Bongo
14:43 on Timba, in Libreville, crowds cheer as soldiers pass by as they voice their concord with the
14:50 mutinous forces that now put an end to the 55-year rule of the Bongo family.
14:54 The military takeover also comes as people and troops question the elections of August
14:59 26, and the former leader announced the results.
15:01 This is the sixth coup d'état in an African country in the last three years.
15:11 The city of Toledo, in the heart of mainland Spain, is hosting this Wednesday the informal
15:15 meeting of European Union defence ministers.
15:17 The recent crisis in Gabon, Niger and the conflict in Ukraine top the morning agenda.
15:22 The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph
15:27 Borrell, has referred to the situation generated over the last few hours in Gabon, stating
15:32 that they will meet to address it.
15:34 The European Union's top diplomat anticipated that the Gabonese military actions could bring
15:38 instability to the region.
15:40 By its nature, the European Union defence ministers' meeting is not a decision-making
15:44 body, only issuing recommendations.
15:54 In Niger, several hundred women demonstrate in front of the French military base in the
15:58 capital, Niamey, with kitchen utensils and brooms demanding the departure of French soldiers
16:03 from Niger.
16:04 Bagging plates, spoons and other kitchen utensils together, the demonstrators try to attract
16:09 the attention of the press in the country.
16:10 "It's not the men," they say, "it is the Nigerian women who do not want French troops
16:15 in the country."
16:16 They also carry anti-French posters.
16:19 The women's demonstration is preceded by others demanding the same, departure of French
16:23 troops from the country.
16:25 More than 1,500 French soldiers are still present in the former French colony.
16:29 We have come to the end of this news break.
16:36 For more you can find this and many other stories on our website at www.terrestrialinglish.net.
16:39 You can also join us on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
16:45 For Terrestrial English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos.
16:47 Thank you for watching.
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