23/10/2024
FTS 8.30
*Cuba: govt. achieves synchronization of the National Power System
*Israeli NGO denounces ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza
FTS 8.30
*Cuba: govt. achieves synchronization of the National Power System
*Israeli NGO denounces ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00The second day of the 16th BRICS Summit is underway in the Russian city of Kazan, where
00:18more than 20 world leaders and 30 delegations are discussing strategies for building a new,
00:24fairer and more democratic international order.
00:29In Cuba, the government achieves the synchronization of the national electric system, while continuing
00:34with the efforts for the recovery of the electric service at national level.
00:42And in Israel, the human rights organization B'Tselem denounced an ethnic cleansing in
00:47northern Gaza.
00:53Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:58We begin with the news.
01:13The second day of the 16th BRICS Summit has begun in the Russian city of Kazan, where
01:17more than 20 world leaders and 30 delegations are discussing strategies for building a new,
01:22fairer and more democratic international order.
01:25Under the motto Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security,
01:30the heads of state and governments of more than 8 billion citizens in the world participate
01:35in the summit.
01:36In addition to the inaugural event, the first day of the summit featured important bilateral
01:41meetings where issues related to peace in the Middle East, opportunities to boost the
01:46economies of the Global South and alliances to strengthen the security of sovereignties
01:51were discussed.
01:52Heads of state, such as the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, and the President of
01:56Bolivia, Luis Arce, are expected to arrive.
02:04In this context, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, arrived on Tuesday in the
02:08city of Kazan to attend the BRICS Summit, where he seeks to broaden participation with
02:13a view to the world economic development.
02:15Upon his arrival, the President stressed that Venezuela participates in the international
02:20activity as part of the immense efforts of its leaders for the construction of a new
02:25multipolar order.
02:27Nicolás Maduro made references to Venezuela's perspective in contributing to the new global
02:32era.
02:33Moreover, the heads of state underlined that this is the first time that Venezuela attends
02:37as a guest to a BRICS Summit and added that it is part of the energetic gear of the new
02:44And to go deep into the relevance of this multilateral event, we invite US-based journalist
03:04and activist Yamir Shabour, member of the Troika Collective.
03:07Hi, Yamir.
03:08Welcome to From the South.
03:09Hi.
03:10Andrea, right?
03:12Yes.
03:13Andrea, thank you for having me on From the South, I'm sure.
03:19You're welcome.
03:20Thank you for joining us today.
03:22So let's start with what to expect from the BRICS Summit in the face of the uncertain
03:27international scenario marked by war, conflicts, and politically motivated unilateral measures
03:33imposed by powerful nations to developing countries?
03:38Well, so I think right now what's occurring in Russia is a gathering of many of these
03:45countries in the global south.
03:47As we know, BRICS is something that has been around for about almost two decades.
03:54I mean, started in 2006 with a union of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and then also South
04:01Africa.
04:02And that's how you get the acronym BRICS, that basically it's a south by south cooperation
04:09economic block in order to fight the hegemon of the US dollar, which is mostly the trade
04:16worldwide.
04:17So this is a way for countries that have big economies, like such as Brazil or such as
04:23Russia or China, in order to come together and figure out ways to diversify the world
04:32economy in order for their economies not to rely on the US dollars.
04:36And this type of proposal has attracted many other different countries in the world economy,
04:44whether it's countries in Latin America like Bolivia or Venezuela, which are more left
04:51leaning and anti-imperialist countries, or those that are not so towards the left.
04:57I believe you have countries like Saudi Arabia that want to also be part of the BRICS, and
05:04many other different African states as well.
05:08So this right now is very interesting at a time where we're seeing how we see capitalism
05:14in crisis, how we're seeing the dollar being plunged right now.
05:20And due to this, we see wars happening, manifesting, whether we see it in the Ukraine or in the
05:26Middle East, what's happening right now with the genocide being imposed by the state of
05:33Israel with the help of the United States.
05:36So we're seeing this kind of being a way of trying to respond to all of these economic
05:46crises that we're seeing worldwide.
05:49Yamir, how could this summit mark a before and an after in economic redefinition?
05:56I think this right here, this summit could bring about multipolarity.
06:02It could bring about an alternative to the U.S. dollar, basically trying to figure out
06:10ways of how global South countries could create a different form of trade, which is outside
06:19of the dollar, in order to bring about the multipolar world in order for other countries,
06:29whether they have projects for their countries or even in their regions, whether we could
06:34say like in Iran or in China or the Middle East or as well as Latin America, be able
06:46to have the space, the economic space in order to have the social and political space
06:52to create development for their countries and their regions.
06:58In Latin America, this summit is especially remarkable.
07:02Just a couple of days after the closure of this summit from New York, where you are at
07:06this moment, the National Assembly will vote on the resolution presented by Cuba against
07:10the U.S. blockade.
07:12Can the BRICS support Cuba's claim?
07:17For sure.
07:19I believe that right now what we're seeing with the BRICS, and especially when we're
07:24seeing with this BRICS summit in Russia and seeing that these Latin American states, Bolivia,
07:33Venezuela, having Nicolás Maduro there being one of the first Venezuelan presidents to
07:40ever attend a BRICS summit, and also Cuba demonstrating how this is also very important
07:49for Latin America in the sense of how Latin America is right next to the United States.
07:55It's south of the United States and because of the whole so close, I think there's a saying
08:04in Mexico, so far from God and so close from the United States.
08:09I say this type of phrase is because a lot of countries in Latin America rely on the
08:15U.S. dollar, most of the economies, and this is why the United States could utilize its
08:21influence in many countries due to our neoliberal policies that have the business and the commerce
08:31in every country rely on the U.S. dollar.
08:35This is also another reason why the United States could utilize its economic system and
08:41could weaponize it against countries they're in disagreeance with, whether that's sanctions
08:47on Venezuela, sanctions on Nicaragua, or the longstanding 60-year blockade on Cuba, the
08:56genocidal blockade on Cuba that they have tried to suffocate Cuba for so long because
09:02Cuba decided to have its own path in 1959 with its glorious revolution.
09:09But because of that, Cuba has been punished and the United States utilizes its economic
09:14system and the BRICS could give help to Cuba, could demonstrate states, countries like Cuba
09:23and like Venezuela and like Nicaragua that are affected by economic blockades.
09:30It could help them create alternatives in order for them to rely on a new economic system
09:37in order for their projects, whether that's the Cuban revolution or the Bolivarian revolution
09:43or the Sandinista revolution, to flourish within the region and also within their respective
09:50countries.
09:51And as we see, next week is the annual UN general vote on the Cuban blockade.
10:01And we always see every year, as we saw last year, how there was many countries that are
10:10in support of Cuba's right and self-determination and are against the blockade.
10:18And these are countries also that are not always like socialists or leftists, but they
10:24support that Cuba should not have this blockade, while you always have the same two countries,
10:30the United States and the state of Israel, that vote in favor for the blockade.
10:36And then last year also you had one country that abstained, which was Ukraine.
10:40Of course, it's an ally of the United States and Israel in this whole global chess piece.
10:48But with this BRICS summit, I think that this also, you know, like when we have this thing
10:54coming up on the UN vote, this also helps Cuba's case and helps Cuba garner more support
11:01for next week with other states from the global south in order to support the efforts of the
11:09Cuban people to finally end and get rid of this 60-year-old genocidal blockade.
11:17Thank you. Thank you, Yamir. Thank you for your time here in From the South.
11:21Thank you. Thank you for having me.
11:24We were listening to U.S.-based journalist and activist Yamir Shabour, member of the
11:27Troika Collective, in the context of the 16th BRICS summit held in the Russian city of Kazan.
11:33And after this interview, let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok
11:37at The Lesson English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and more.
11:45We'll be right back. Stay with us.
12:07Welcome back to From the South. In Kazan, Russia, the BRICS summit continues on its
12:12second day. So let's see some details from our correspondent Yunus Suner.
12:17Hi, Yunus. What are the highlights of today?
12:21Good afternoon from the city of Kazan, here in the Russian Federation, where the 16th
12:26summit of the BRICS Alliance is continuing. Today, the day started with a group photo of the leaders
12:34who then continued to their first restricted and then expanded meeting.
12:39Parts of the meeting were open to the public, where the public, the global opinion, the global
12:45public could listen to their speeches. The introductory speech was held by the Russian
12:51President Vladimir Putin, of course, as the president per tempore, who mentioned the
12:59outlines, the strategy of Russia in the presidency and acknowledged that they achieved 85 percent of
13:06the goals they had set in the beginning of the presidency. He underlined that the BRICS Alliance
13:14forms the future of humanity and also emphasized, proposed that there is a huge number of
13:24countries who would like to join the Alliance, that the Alliance cannot neglect that interest.
13:31At the same time, it needs to strike a balance with the BRICS effectiveness. Thus, it needs to
13:38find the modus, how to define which countries can enter the Alliance, what. So, the proposal of the
13:47Russian President Vladimir Putin should be included in the final declaration of the summit.
13:53Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke about this expansion topic and he said that he
14:01observed great efficiency of BRICS integrating the new members, which have taken part in this
14:09session the first time with their presidents, that is Iran, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt
14:18were all present in the session. Other topics in the discussion were presented by the Chinese
14:25President, for instance, who demanded that in Ukraine there should not be a further escalation.
14:31Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, remembered that China and Brazil had initiated a process
14:39to find a diplomatic solution, but she also emphasized the concept of indivisible security,
14:46that is, all agreements need to take into account Russia's need for security, that means Russia's
14:53need for security from NATO expansion. Of course, this is how it's meant here in Russia and how it's
15:00understood in Beijing as well. Further topics were, as already before the summit were announced,
15:07the trade in national currencies, which was urged by the Brazilian President Lula, who connected
15:13himself from Brazil via Zoom because he had an injury, and also supported by the Indian
15:20Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who proposed that India already had a cross-border payment system
15:28that others might consider to use. The Russian President, of course, also underlined the need
15:34for using national currencies and cross-border payment systems, which was also applauded by Dilma
15:41Rousseff, the chairwoman of the new development bank, the bank that is connected to BRICS.
15:47That bank was another focus. Here, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that there
15:53will be a new investment platform within the NDB, that means the NDB will provide further
16:01funds for developmental investment, and he was applauded by other representatives from Africa,
16:10from South Africa, who said that NDB was actually a reaction to the failure of the Bretton Woods
16:16system, of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the Western-dominated financial
16:22institutions. So, this is another topic. And an additional one was the issue of artificial
16:29intelligence. Here, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a BRICS alliance for artificial
16:37intelligence to prevent its use in illegal ways. This is a diplomatic reference, of course, to the
16:45use of this technology, both in Ukraine, but also in Palestine, by Western forces against
16:52civilian population. And he was supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who used the formula
16:59that we need a revolution in the understanding of productive forces, and proposed to share
17:07technology, to share the science of artificial intelligence. This was another important issue.
17:14After the leaders, the different sections of the BRICS alliance, BRICS Business Council Club,
17:22and the BRICS Women's Representation, among others, BRICS Regional Cities Association,
17:27they all presented their reports, as well as Dilma Rousseff, their yearly reports of activities,
17:34also in preparation for the next year's presidency by Brazil. And today, the meeting,
17:41the summit will continue. Meanwhile, the leaders have several bilateral meetings with each other.
17:48For instance, the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has arrived. He will meet here Russian
17:54President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Lukashenko,
18:01among others, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will also keep on having
18:06bilateral contacts. So, it's also a good opportunity for the leaders to meet up
18:11personally and to exchange their views on different bilateral and global matters.
18:17This is going to continue with tonight, with the ceremony, an official ceremony, and tomorrow,
18:23on the third day of the summit, will be the part BRICS+, where the countries will come to talk,
18:30who would like to join or would like to have a partner status in the alliance.
18:36Thank you, Yunus, for all the details. We will contact you again soon.
18:40We were with Yunus Zuner, Special Envoy in Kazan, Russia, where the BRICS Summit continues on its
18:46second day. We have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
18:51channel at Tell Us Your English, there you'll be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories,
18:55special broadcastings and more. Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay
19:01up-to-date on the world's most recent events. Final short break, don't go away.
19:31Welcome back to From the South. In Israel, the human rights organization Bet Israel denounced
19:48an ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza. The well-known Israeli non-governmental organization
19:53claims that the relentless offensive, in addition to starving thousands of people and depriving the
19:59sick of medical care to levels that defy comprehension, has isolated northern Gaza
20:04from the world. The organization emphasizes that it is clearer than ever that Israel intends to
20:10forcibly displace the residents of northern Gaza by committing some of the most serious
20:15crimes under international law. In this regard, the organization also called on the international
20:20community to act immediately to stop the mass killings and the sufferings of civilians.
20:29We have come to the end of this news brief, but you can find this and many other stories on our
20:33website at TellUsYourEnglish.net and join us on social media. We are on Facebook,
20:38Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok as well.
20:42For Tell Us Your English, I'm Alejandra Garcia. Thank you for watching.