FTS 10:30 26-08: Venezuela held a successful 2nd Popular Consultation
26/08/2023
FTS 10.30
*Palestine: Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital evacuated amidst Israeli attacks
*Australia gives millions of workers right to disconnect
FTS 10.30
*Palestine: Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital evacuated amidst Israeli attacks
*Australia gives millions of workers right to disconnect
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In Venezuela, the electoral commission of the communes affirmed that the public consultation
00:15on Sunday was successful.
00:19In Palestine, authorities evacuated patients and the displaced from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
00:23Hospital as Israeli attacks intensified in central Gaza.
00:29In Australia, millions of workers now have the legal right to disconnect, allowing them
00:33to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours contact from employers.
00:38Hello, welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Adresso Studios in Havana,
00:48Cuba.
00:49In Venezuela, the electoral commission of the communes gave an updated account of the development
01:06of the second popular consultation, affirming the democratic exercise was successfully developed.
01:11From the office of the Ministry of Popular Power for the communes, the electoral commission
01:15declared that the voting process in this second popular consultation was successful,
01:20achieving the activation of 100% of the polling stations nationwide.
01:24During the day, a total of 4,505 communal circuits chose the prioritized projects in
01:31their communities.
01:32Among others, they voted on projects to improve the drinking water system, roads, housing,
01:36electricity, health, education, sewage, productive units, environment, public transportation,
01:41sports facilities, and gas.
01:48During an exclusive interview for our news platform, Telesur, the master in philosophy
01:53of war, Fernando Rivero, expressed that this second popular consultation allowed deepening
01:58and radicalizing the participatory democracy of the country.
02:02Well, an extraordinary experience with great participation of our people, but also this
02:09process has endorsed the hope in the end of the real, concrete possibility of deepening
02:14democracy, radicalizing democracy, which is nothing more than placing public affairs in
02:19the hands of our people, which is something fundamental in the Simone Bolivar National
02:24Project.
02:25If there was something that Commander Chavez proposed as part of the strategy for the radical
02:30transformation of Venezuelan society, IT was precisely participation, and this effort today
02:36has to do with it.
02:38Rivero also highlighted the massive participation of the Venezuelan people in the second 2024
02:43referendum despite the context of blockades, sanctions, and international aggressions against
02:47the country.
02:48Let us say that this process that we see today is in tune with the wishes of the people,
02:54with the construction of the great transformations that were precisely endorsed last July 28th.
03:00If our people did anything, it is to endorse the need to change what needs to be changed
03:05in order to advance towards a society of equals, to overcome the great problems, and, of course,
03:11to overcome the great problems as well.
03:14And this must be said because it is a consultation that takes place within the framework of an
03:19international context, marked by the blockade, by the aggressions against the country.
03:24But even so, our people understand the importance of this process, and it is precisely part
03:29of the importance of this to combat, let us say, all the attacks that are detrimental
03:34to the will of the people.
03:36The second national consultation of communes held on August 25th in Venezuela constitutes
03:41an exercise of popular power and democratic participation.
03:44More details from our colleague, Gladys Quezada.
03:47Early in the morning, before the voters arrive, the electoral supplies are prepared.
03:54The ballots are counted.
03:56It is verified before the witnesses that the box is empty and sealed.
04:01This is how the second popular consultation of the communes begins at the José Martí
04:07Center in Sarria, Caracas.
04:10The same happens all over Venezuela.
04:16In this opportunity, more participation of the people is requested since it is known
04:20that it is the community who has the vote that has the responsibility to take their
04:24project what they want to benefit.
04:28Well, it is very important because it is for the well-being of the community, and it is
04:33the well-being of all of us, and therefore it favors the community.
04:40It is 8 o'clock in the morning and the day begins.
04:43Here, they vote three projects that were already nominated in the communal assemblies.
04:49While in the Libertador Avenue, other communes decide amongst seven projects to attend the
04:55water, sewage, elevators, and other problems that afflict this urban communal council.
05:02It is noon on Sunday and the sun is shining, but even so, they come.
05:10The second round of project proposals, where the people are the ones who say how and where
05:16to invest these resources, is of great importance because it is about the resources.
05:23It is about the pockets of the citizens that with this revolutionary government will not
05:28have to be taken out, but it is the government that together with the government will respond
05:35to this need.
05:41It is the integration of the future of the community.
05:44It is to see a new vision that we are not sitting down, we are all working together
05:48so that we can have a good project so that we can continue to grow.
05:52What is the most important thing to vote for?
05:56In Alta, Florida, the communal center Negro Luis Villafania also takes to the polls the
06:02pressing needs of their communities.
06:04Of their seven projects, some are directed to repair infrastructure, others to deal with
06:10possible climatic crises, and one wants to found a grandparents' club.
06:16They are the aspirations of a diverse and complex communal circuit.
06:21The main needs of each one of the territories is an atypical territory since it is conformed
06:29by 14 territories that one territory does not have the same reality of the other because
06:34they are seven territories of the neighborhood sector and seven territories of the upper
06:38middle class sector.
06:40However, there are people who believe first in our revolutionary process because in that
06:45we have been very empathetic.
06:47No, our president Nicolas Maduro calls us to conform our communal organization, but
06:52with conscience with conscience to really make revolution within the territories.
07:01Before when we were not consolidated as social organizations, any politician or politician
07:06of office would come and tell us well we are going to give you or we are going to paint
07:10a curbstone and it turns out that we do not want a curbstone painting, we want a school
07:14so now we know how to defend the cloak and dagger as Chavez taught us.
07:19The night falls and after the arrival of voters ceases, the center closes.
07:24It is now time for the count in front of the table witnesses, street leaders and other
07:30social leaders of the communal circuit.
07:33From what is decided here, solutions will come, novelties that will help to build a
07:38society where everyone has a voice and a place.
07:43Gladys Quezada, Telesur, Caracas, Venezuela.
07:46They are shouting.
07:50Let's now take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok at Telesur English
07:54where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
08:00We'll be right back, stay with us.
08:13Welcome back, in Palestine patients and the displaced are evacuating from the Al-Aqsa
08:42Martyrs Hospital amid the siege of the Israeli Occupation Army in the center of Gaza Strip.
08:46Sino-Israeli forces seized an evacuation order nearby the hospital located in Deir al-Bala
08:50and attacked surrounding buildings triggering panic among the population.
08:55Medical authorities reported they have admitted 650 patients in the hospital but just 100 cases
09:01remain in the facility including 7 in intensive care units.
09:05Just in the last couple of days, over 100,000 inhabitants of that city have been displaced
09:10further reducing the cramped and overcrowded area considered humanitarian in which most
09:14of the nearly 2 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
09:22I am injured and receiving treatment here in the hospital.
09:25Our homes were destroyed and I cannot move.
09:28They want us to evacuate.
09:29I am injured and I do not have a safe place to go to.
09:32Where could I possibly go?
09:35I am afraid that the hospital might be targeted.
09:38I cannot bear another injury.
09:39I would rather die than get injured again.
09:41I am paralyzed and cannot move my arms and legs.
09:47The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, rejected again on Sunday the new conditions
09:52that the Zionist Israeli government is trying to impose for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
09:56for which it withdrew from the round of talks in Cairo without any agreement on the matter.
10:01In statements to Palestinian media, Hamas political bureau member Osama Hamdan described as false
10:06any consideration of the imminence of an agreement since the Zionist entity did not
10:12stick to the proposal for a suspension of facilities presented on July 2.
10:16In a statement, Hamas stressed that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire, a complete
10:21withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the free return of residents to their areas, aid and reconstruction,
10:27and an agreement on a serious exchange of hostages for Palestinians held in Zionist jails.
10:36The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, expressed his concern over
10:41the increasing number of exchanges of hostages across the border between Lebanon and Israel.
10:45Due to hasty escalation of hostilities on both sides of the blue line, the head of the
10:51international organization, through a statement released by his spokesperson, expressed his
10:55concern over the significant number of deaths, displacements, material and environmental
10:59damage caused by the conflicts in both countries.
11:02The official also called for an immediate cessation of the confrontation for both sides
11:06to implement Security Council Resolution 1701 on the settlement of the Israeli-Lebanese
11:11conflict.
11:12Similarly, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process reiterated the
11:17need for a ceasefire in Gaza following the rise of violence on the blue line.
11:23Meanwhile, in Pakistan, insurgent groups killed at least 22 people in a discriminatory action
11:30in the south of the country.
11:32The incident took place in Balochistan province when a group of 25 armed men demanded that
11:38a number of people traveling in several vehicles show their identity documents.
11:41Authorities confirmed that the perpetrators shot all those travelers from Punjab province
11:46and two from Balochistan.
11:49So far, no insurgent group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although police said the crime
11:54was linked to a series of other murders and kidnappings that have been reported this year.
12:03Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed the new parliament on the situation in the
12:07country, its relationship with Turkey and other international issues.
12:12Regarding the nation's prolonged severance of relations with Turkey, the president said
12:16that Syria had no problem in discussing the issues of refugees and terrorism raised by
12:20Turkish officials.
12:22He stressed that regaining normal relations with Ankara will result from the withdrawal
12:25of Turkish forces and that the solution requires openness and not politeness.
12:31Syrian President Bashar al-Assad considered that every day that passes without progress
12:34the damage accumulates, not only for Syria but also for Turkey.
12:44What Turkish officials continuously declare is related to the issue of refugees and terrorism,
12:50while what Syria consistently declares is related to the withdrawal from Syrian territories
12:55and also the issue of terrorism.
12:58We do not believe that we have a problem with any of these four topics, whether they
13:02are Syrian or Turkish issues.
13:05There should not be a problem, according to what some Turkish officials have stated, with
13:10the Syrian issues as long as there are no bad intentions, as they say.
13:15When an agreement is reached on these topics, a joint statement should be issued through
13:19a meeting between the officials from both sides, at a level to be determined later.
13:28Thank you for coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube channel at TELUSLINGLISH,
13:31there you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories, special broadcastings and more.
13:36Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
13:39world's most recent events.
13:41Fun short break, don't go away.
13:58Welcome back.
14:04In Australia, as of Monday, a law will allow millions of workers to disconnect from their
14:09work duties outside working hours.
14:11According to the law passed by Parliament last February, workers in companies with more
14:15than 15 employees may refuse to answer emails or phone calls from their bosses or other
14:20people linked to their workplace.
14:23In case of non-compliance with this law, employers and companies could face fines.
14:27This measure aims to improve workers' health by establishing a balance between private
14:31and working life.
14:33Definitely, I think it will actually bring a lot of things into perspective in the sense
14:41that you'll see what you need to prioritise first and then based off that, yeah, the productivity
14:48will raise because you're not being micromanaged, you're not having someone breathing down your
14:53neck after hours as well as in hours, and like I said, you know what you need to do,
14:59just do it.
15:00Yeah.
15:01The thing in the modern society now is even though you disconnect, you get connected with
15:06social media and other things as well, so I think at least when you are disconnected
15:12with work, you are kind of disconnected with a lot of stress, anxiety and all those deadlines
15:17and all those kind of things, so at least it gives some space as well to think, to reflect.
15:22So disconnection is, yes, totally important.
15:25French judicial authorities extended the detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Dourov after he was
15:31arrested at a Paris airport for alleged offences related to his messaging service.
15:35The French Agency for the Prevention of Violence Against Minors had issued an arrest warrant
15:39for Dourov as part of a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes including fraud, drug
15:43trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism.
15:47Later, the examining magistrate in charge of this investigation extended his pretrial
15:51detention which could last up to 96 hours at most, according to sources close to the
15:56case.
15:57Pavel Dourov could be released or brought before the magistrate in view of a possible
16:00indictment.
16:08Related to the Dourov case, former U.S. intelligence officer Edward Snowden expressed on a post
16:13on Social Media X that the arrest of Dourov is an assault on the basic human rights of
16:17speech and association.
16:19He also accused President Emmanuel Macron of stooping to the level of taking hostages
16:22to gain access to private messages, and affirmed that this arrest damaged not only the dignity
16:27of France but of the entire world.
16:31Moreover, the company said that Telegram CEO Pavel Dourov has nothing to hide and that
16:38he travels frequently around Europe.
16:40They also state that Telegram complies with European legislation including the Law on
16:44Digital Services and that its moderation is in line with industry standards and is
16:49constantly improving.
16:56In Germany, thousands of people demonstrated against the far-right in their run-up to the
16:59regional elections scheduled for September 1st in the eastern German states of Thuringia
17:03and Saxony.
17:04More than 30,000 people demonstrated in both regions a few days before the regional elections
17:08in which, according to polls, the German far-right AfD party is on the rise.
17:14Others protested demanding the defense of democracy and rejecting the presence of fascism
17:18in the German parliament.
17:19For its part, the Compact Citizens Alliance asked the other parties to completely exclude
17:24any alliance with the AfD.
17:26It is worth noting that none of the country's political parties with a possibility of sitting
17:30in parliament agrees to form a coalition with the right-wing party.
17:44In Brazil, wildfires extended to the southeast of the country, triggering highest-level alerts
17:57in 30 cities.
17:59Forest fires have spread across the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state,
18:03filling the skies over the capital with smoke after a series of climatic phenomena that
18:07hit the country.
18:08The government of Sao Paulo state created a crisis cabinet to coordinate firefighting
18:13efforts.
18:14Brazil has been victim of extreme weather events, the most recent ones being a massive
18:18forest fire in the Pantanal wetlands, and a once-in-a-century flood in the state of
18:22Rio Grande do Sul, which left more than 170 people dead.
18:30Historically in the months of August we have had around 600, 700 fires.
18:35This year there have been 4,700 outbreaks here in the region as a result of this severe
18:40drought.
18:41We really have to take advantage of this meteorological condition, the arrival of the cold front that
18:46has alleviated the situation and we have to race against time, because this cold front
18:51is very brief, it will begin to lose strength during the week and the heat will return.
18:58And Minister Marina Silva said that the country is waging a war against forest fires.
19:12We must deploy all efforts to deal with an extreme weather situation that even involves
19:17the criminal action of those who intentionally set fires.
19:22But there is an unusual situation, you start to have in a week, practically in two days,
19:27several municipalities burning at the same time.
19:30This is not part of our experience curve in our track record of so many years of dealing
19:34with fire.
19:48In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Manit delayed a celebration for the return of dozens of
19:53precious artefacts from museums and private collectors abroad.
19:56In this regard, Hun Manit stated that the 70th return status symbolically reunited the
20:01Cambodian people with their ancestral souls.
20:04From the artefacts which were displayed at the Peace Palace, the seat of the country's
20:08government, 14 arrived from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in early July, with many of
20:14the pieces returned having been looted during the 1970s.
20:18The Prime Minister also informed that from 1996 until last month, 1,098 pieces had been
20:24returned to Cambodia and assured that they will continue working to bring more home.
20:35And this will have come to the end of this news brief.
20:36You can find this and many other stories on our website, Tales from English.net.
20:40Also join us on social media, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
20:45For Tales from English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos, thanks for watching.
20:54Tales from English.