Venezuela rejects extension of U.S. Executive order. // Food insecurity extremely high in Gaza. // Armed groups attack Haiti’s National Police Academy. teleSUR
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 In Palestine--
00:11 [AUDIO OUT]
00:14 --humanitarian catastrophe.
00:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:22 Venezuela rejected the extension of the executive order
00:25 being used by the United States government since 2015
00:29 to justify its aggression against the Bolivarian nation.
00:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:36 And in Haiti, several armed criminal groups
00:38 attacked the National Police Academy in Port-au-Prince
00:41 amidst the sharp escalation of violence.
00:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:49 Hello, and welcome to "From the South."
00:50 I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:53 We're beginning with the news.
00:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:01 At least six Palestinians were killed on Wednesday
01:13 in Israeli airstrikes and shootings
01:15 targeting civilians and their homes in the central Gaza
01:18 Strip, according to local and medical sources.
01:21 Additionally, an Israeli shelling
01:22 targeting a house sheltering displaced people,
01:25 predominantly women and children,
01:27 west of Nusayrat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip
01:30 resulted in five civilians' death and several injuries.
01:34 Meantime, another Palestinian was killed,
01:36 and nine were wounded when the Israeli military fired
01:39 at civilians waiting for aid near the Kuwaiti roundabout
01:43 south of Gaza City.
01:45 The injured were transported to the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
01:49 Earlier, four Palestinians were killed,
01:51 and over 20 others were injured when the Israeli occupation
01:55 forces opened machine gun fire on civilians desperately
01:58 waiting for aid trucks at the Nablusi roundabout
02:02 west of Gaza City.
02:03 Jordan condemned on Wednesday the Israeli government's
02:11 ongoing settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian
02:14 territories.
02:15 The condemnation by Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
02:18 and expatriates came after the Israeli government's decision
02:21 to approve the construction of approximately 3,500 new
02:25 settlement units in the West Bank.
02:28 The ministry stated that these unilateral and illegal measures
02:31 violate international law, including Security Council
02:34 Resolution Number 2,334 and other relevant
02:39 international references.
02:41 It also emphasized that such actions undermine
02:44 the prospect for peace and the establishment
02:46 of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem
02:50 as its capital.
02:51 The ministry reiterated the call for the international community
02:54 to fulfill its responsibilities by halting
02:57 these ongoing violations of international law,
03:00 underscoring the urgent need for international protection
03:03 for the Palestinian people, especially
03:05 with the approach of the month of Ramadan.
03:07 The United Nations Relief and Work Agency
03:14 for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA,
03:17 has described the food shortage in Gaza
03:19 as a nutritional crisis and part of a wider
03:22 humanitarian catastrophe.
03:24 UNRWA's Spokeswoman Tamara Al-Rifai
03:26 said from Cairo that the situation is so dire
03:29 and desperation so high that any drug crossing becomes
03:33 an attraction for the hungry.
03:35 According to Al-Rifai, 90% of the population in Gaza today
03:40 faces a high level of acute food insecurity.
03:43 She said access to northern Gaza has been a real challenge.
03:47 The UNRWA Spokeswoman added that Israeli authorities have
03:50 rejected more than half of the United Nations' request
03:53 to bring food, medical supplies, and clean water to the north,
03:57 and the UNRWA has not been allowed to reach
04:00 the area since January 23.
04:02 At least 30,717 Palestinians have been killed
04:06 and 72,156 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza
04:11 since October 7.
04:13 But what do the experts say about the famine declaration
04:25 in Gaza?
04:25 The resolution of famine existence
04:28 requires analysis through a technical process,
04:30 and only government authorities and top United Nations
04:33 officials can declare one.
04:35 Food insecurity experts working on the Integrated Food Security
04:39 Phase Classification, or IPC, identify a famine
04:43 in an area on the basis of the existence of three conditions.
04:47 First, at least 20% of households
04:49 must face an extreme lack of food.
04:52 The second requirement is when at least 30% of children
04:55 suffer from acute malnutrition.
04:58 And third, and last, the conditions
05:00 are presented when at least two adults or four children
05:04 for every 10,000 people die each day from starvation or disease
05:09 linked to malnutrition.
05:12 But in an update report of the situation in Gaza
05:15 presented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
05:18 of the United Nations based in the IPC projections,
05:21 it is stated that the 100% of the population in the area
05:26 is on IPC Phase 3 or above, which
05:29 means that households either have food consumption
05:32 gaps reflected by acute malnutrition
05:34 or are marginally able to meet minimum food needs,
05:37 but only by the food.
05:39 And the third requirement is that households
05:41 must meet minimum food needs, but only
05:44 by depleting essential assets or through crisis coping
05:48 strategies.
05:49 Main findings in the report as of 7 February
05:52 are that the entire population in Gaza
05:55 faces high levels of acute food insecurity inside of a situation
05:58 of crisis or worse.
06:01 At the same time, over 50% around in emergency phase,
06:04 and at least one in four, which would be 500,000 people,
06:08 have a lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion of coping
06:12 capacities.
06:13 Let's take a short break, but remember
06:19 you can join us on TikTok at Telesol English, where
06:21 you will find news in different formats, news updates, and more.
06:24 Other stories coming up.
06:25 Stay with us.
06:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:34 Welcome back.
06:41 Venezuela rejected the extension of the executive order
06:45 being used by the United States government since 2015
06:48 to justify its aggression against the Bolivarian nation.
06:51 In a statement released by the foreign ministry,
06:54 Caracas pointed out that this order violates
06:56 all norms of international law.
06:58 It also affirmed that this decision demonstrates
07:01 that the declining leadership of the United States
07:03 is not capable of deciding a coherent foreign policy that
07:07 was not based on economic terrorism, blackmail,
07:11 or disrespect.
07:12 On the other hand, the Bolivarian government
07:14 has stressed that the Venezuelan people will not
07:16 bow down in the face of these aggressions,
07:19 and that their morale, conscience, and perseverance
07:22 are the solid base on which they will
07:24 continue to achieve victories.
07:28 [AUDIO OUT]
07:30 The president of Brazil, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva,
07:33 congratulates the government of Venezuela
07:35 on the announcement of the date of the presidential elections.
07:39 The Brazilian president, during a meeting
07:41 with the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez,
07:43 stressed that Venezuela needs a democratic election
07:46 to regain a space for participation in world forums.
07:50 The head of state gave a message to the Venezuelan opposition
07:53 and urged them not to imitate the Brazilian opposition, which
07:56 usually denies electoral processes in a clear allusion
08:00 to Bolsonaroism.
08:01 Lula made reference to the extreme right-wing leadership
08:05 in naming a substitute to participate
08:07 in the presidential elections.
08:08 [AUDIO OUT]
08:14 I just told you that here in this country,
08:15 they prevented me from participating
08:17 in the 2018 elections.
08:19 And instead of crying, I nominated another candidate
08:22 to participate in the elections.
08:23 [AUDIO OUT]
08:26 In Venezuela, the elections are scheduled for July the 28th.
08:30 I learned about that yesterday.
08:31 Now, your question is whether the elections
08:33 will be honest or not.
08:35 I hope the elections will be as democratic as possible.
08:37 [AUDIO OUT]
08:40 And according to what President Maduro told me
08:42 at the meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
08:44 he will summon all the observers of the world that
08:47 want to observe the electoral process in Venezuela.
08:49 [AUDIO OUT]
08:51 In Argentina, workers of the Secretariat of Culture
08:54 denounced actions by the government of Javier Milley
08:57 to lay off 1,200 employees in the sector.
09:00 The State Workers Association warned
09:02 that Milley's government will perpetuate a new wave of layoffs
09:06 when it lays off more than 1,200 employees from the Secretariat
09:10 of Culture.
09:11 The union assured that two high-level government executives
09:15 have told them about the measure and that it
09:17 will be made official in the next few days.
09:20 Workers of the Secretariat of Culture
09:22 also accepted that in many areas there have not yet
09:26 been any submissions and the work of the employees
09:29 is unknown.
09:29 [AUDIO OUT]
09:35 The truth is very distressing.
09:37 We belong to a former ministry that has become a secretariat,
09:40 and it has 4,000 workers.
09:41 They propose 30% cuts without any problem,
09:44 as if people were numbers, as if behind each person
09:46 there was not a family, when in reality what we have here
09:49 are workers who guarantee rights, who guarantee access
09:52 to culture.
09:52 And without any reason or anything,
09:54 they gave us a contract for three months to evaluate us.
09:57 They didn't appoint directors.
09:59 They said that the evaluations are sort of done.
10:01 They know who they have to fire.
10:03 Who do they have to fire?
10:04 Everybody is needed here.
10:07 Argentina's Integral Medical Assistance Program
10:09 is the one that suffers the most damage from the measures imposed
10:13 by the government of Javier Milley.
10:15 Pensions and family benefits are the two items
10:18 with the largest drop in public spending by the government
10:21 so far this year.
10:22 The total amount of the cuts made by the government of Javier
10:25 Milley in both items amounts to 1,682 million Argentine pesos.
10:31 The Argentinian Institute of Fiscal Analysis
10:33 stated that the collapse of real spending on pensions
10:37 could be halted with exceptions, tax benefits,
10:40 and sources of financing that guarantee fiscal balance.
10:43 The Peruvian parliament approved,
10:50 with the support of right-wing branches,
10:52 the return of bicameralism and the immediate election
10:56 of congressmen.
10:57 With 91 votes in favor, the full Congress
11:00 approved in a second round of votes
11:02 on Wednesday the reinstatement of the upper and lower chamber
11:06 after three decades.
11:07 The new legislature will be made up
11:09 of 130 deputies and 60 senators for a period of five years
11:14 and with immediate re-election.
11:16 The decision will be effective after the elections of 2026.
11:20 With such a ruling, Congress disobeys
11:22 the result of the popular referendum held in 2018
11:26 that rejected the return to bicameralism.
11:29 In Italy, more than 29,000 people
11:35 were reported missing in 2023.
11:38 Of them, almost 22,000 are minors and over 17,000
11:42 are foreign children.
11:44 The office of the extraordinary commissioner for missing people
11:48 warned that 75% of the cases are people under 18 years of age.
11:53 They also reported that the foreign minors
11:55 came from Tunisia, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast,
11:58 and Afghanistan.
12:00 On the other hand, the authorities
12:01 warned that a significant number of these missing children
12:05 joined the ranks of criminal organizations,
12:07 are victims of human trafficking,
12:09 or of organ smuggling.
12:16 The foreign ministers of Russia and Nigeria
12:18 met in Moscow to discuss future relations
12:20 between the two countries.
12:22 After the meeting, Nigerian Chancellor Yusuf Tugar
12:25 detailed that the relationship between the two nations
12:28 will continue to grow.
12:30 Similarly, Tugar assured that his country
12:32 is in a suitable position to have a strategic relationship
12:36 with Moscow.
12:37 For his part, Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov
12:40 said that Nigeria is a priority partner for Russia
12:43 and on the African continent.
12:45 Likewise, Lavrov confirmed that Moscow
12:47 will continue to provide assistance
12:49 to the countries of Sahara region and Sahel.
12:52 Russia is making, and in any case
13:00 will continue to make a constructive contribution
13:02 to the efforts of the Africans and the entire world community
13:07 to stabilize the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region.
13:11 It will provide assistance of the countries of the region
13:13 to increase the combat capability of their national
13:15 armed forces, to their security forces,
13:20 and to the law enforcement authorities
13:22 in order to counter the threats they still face.
13:26 We have a final show break coming up.
13:28 But before we invite you to join our WhatsApp community
13:31 for our English-speaking audience,
13:32 you can scan the QR code on screen to join directly
13:35 and share the link to reach more people.
13:37 Constant news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean,
13:39 as well as the rest of the world.
13:41 Stay connected and informed with Telesur.
13:43 Final show break.
13:44 Don't go away.
13:44 Welcome to "From the South."
13:56 Haiti's multi-dimensional crisis worsens by the hour,
14:00 as paramilitary groups control over 80% of the capital
14:03 and prevent Prime Minister Ariel Henry, currently in Puerto Rico,
14:07 from returning to the country.
14:09 The Prime Minister's hopes to return to Indole as flags to Haiti
14:13 are currently banned.
14:15 In late February, Henry left the nation
14:17 to travel to Guyana for a CARICOM summit,
14:20 where he announced general elections for August 2025.
14:23 From there, the Prime Minister traveled to Kenya,
14:26 where he signed with President William Ruto an agreement
14:29 to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti.
14:32 However, since last Thursday, the crisis
14:34 has worsened, with the report of several shootings in Port-au-Prince
14:38 and the release of thousands of inmates.
14:40 The violence has caused the displacement
14:42 of more than 15,000 people.
14:45 On Sunday, government authorities
14:47 declared a curfew and a state of emergency.
14:50 The head of the armed criminal groups in Haiti, Jimmy Charizier,
14:54 known as Barbecue, threatened a bloody civil war
14:57 if the Prime Minister does not resign.
14:59 The United Nations Security Council
15:07 is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday
15:08 on the situation in Haiti ravaged by gang violence that
15:12 threatens civil war unless Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns.
15:16 As United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
15:19 this week called for urgent action,
15:21 in particular by providing financial assistance
15:24 to the multinational security support mission.
15:28 United Nations representative in Haiti, Marisabel Salvador,
15:31 will brief the Security Council on the developments
15:35 remotely at its closed-door meeting
15:37 scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
15:39 Armed gangs which control large parts of Haiti
15:42 announced last week a joint effort to overthrow Henry.
15:45 And since then, the airport, prisons, police stations,
15:49 and other strategic targets in the capital Port-au-Prince
15:52 have come under attack.
16:04 Haitians face water shortages and escalating violence
16:07 with paramilitary groups in the capital.
16:09 Metropolitan Port-au-Prince is facing
16:11 a shortage of drinking water.
16:13 The crisis persists again, where several families
16:16 in the neighborhood fill their containers
16:18 despite the sharp increase in the prices
16:21 of this vital liquid.
16:22 In less than three days, the price of water
16:24 has risen 25% due to the closing of several water distribution
16:29 stations in the city.
16:31 As with water, some basic necessities
16:33 have experienced an excessive increase in price
16:36 since mid-February.
16:37 In the meantime, Dominican Republic Civil Aviation Board
16:45 issued a resolution in which immediately suspends
16:48 the operations of passenger and cargo flights
16:51 to and from Haiti.
16:52 In this sense, the Dominican government
16:54 is based on Article 9 of the International Convention, which
16:58 allows the states to reserve air traffic in circumstances that
17:02 compromise safety.
17:03 Commercial flights from the Dominican Republic
17:06 have been suspended since last Friday
17:08 due to the increase of criminal groups' violence in Haiti.
17:11 In the context of the ongoing violence in Port-au-Prince,
17:18 Kenyan President William Ruto told US officials
17:21 that his troops could be ready to leave within 72 hours
17:25 to support Haiti.
17:27 These statements follow the signing
17:29 of a bilateral agreement between Kenya and Haiti.
17:32 The White House, while counting on Kenya's commitment,
17:35 rules out any deployment of US forces,
17:37 pledging to accelerate the multinational support mission.
17:41 However, despite the urgency of the situation,
17:44 financial obstacles stand in the way of Kenyan troop deployment.
17:49 President Ruto stressed that without adequate funding,
17:52 his troops would not be able to leave the country.
18:01 Senegalese Parliament passed on Wednesday
18:04 an amnesty law covering acts linked to deadly protests
18:07 in the last three years.
18:08 The controversial text was approved with 94 votes in favor
18:13 and 49 against, and is aimed at calming the crisis sparked
18:17 by the presidential election delay.
18:19 The law has faced criticisms that it
18:22 is shielding perpetrators of serious crimes,
18:25 including homicides.
18:26 The amnesty is part of President Macky Solt's response
18:29 to the turmoil sparked by his last-minute postponement
18:33 of the presidential election, originally
18:36 scheduled for February 25.
18:38 The law would grant an amnesty for all offenses of crimes,
18:42 whether tried or not, committed between February 1, 2021
18:47 and February 25, 2024, relating to demonstrations
18:51 or having political motivations.
18:59 China affirmed on Wednesday about the increase
19:01 of tensions in the South Sea due to the violation
19:04 of territorial sovereignty by the Philippines.
19:07 Through channel spokesperson Mao Ning,
19:10 the Asian nation accused the Filipinese
19:12 of violating sovereignty and asserted
19:15 that this led to the collision of ships from both countries
19:19 in the Southern Sea.
19:20 China said that sovereignty in these waters are historical
19:24 and have been established according to international law
19:27 endorsed by the Charter of the United Nations.
19:30 The diplomatic added that the United States is using
19:32 the Philippines in the Southern Sea
19:35 to increase the hostilities between both Asian nations that
19:38 have increased since the beginning of the term of office
19:41 of the new president backed by the United States.
19:44 We have come to the end of this news brief,
19:51 but you can find this and many other stories on our website
19:54 at Telesurenglish.net and join us on social media,
19:57 Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
20:00 For Telesur English, I'm Alejandra Garcia.
20:03 Thank you for watching.
20:04 (electronic music)