04/12/2024
FTS 12.30
*South Korea: Defense Minister resigns amid unprecedented crisis
*Palestine denounces ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza
FTS 12.30
*South Korea: Defense Minister resigns amid unprecedented crisis
*Palestine denounces ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines is working on restoring the national power grid
00:19after failure led to a nationwide power outage.
00:28South Korean lawmakers presented a bill on Wednesday to impeach President Yun Su-kyo
00:34following the declaration of martial law.
00:42And the Gazan civil defense spokesperson denounced the appalling situation in the northern region
00:46of the enclave, ensuring that the Israeli regime is mounting an ethnic cleansing operation.
00:58Hello, and welcome to From the South.
01:03My name is Belén de los Santos.
01:04I'm from Atenasor Studios in Caracas, Venezuela.
01:05We begin with the news.
01:06We begin with the information.
01:23The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines reported they are working since early Wednesday morning.
01:28They are restoring the national power grid after a failure led to a nationwide power
01:33outage.
01:34Cuba's national electric company specified that the power grid was fully disconnected
01:40at 2.08 a.m. local time due to the unexpected shutdown of the Antonio Guitera's thermoelectric
01:46power plant.
01:47Reporting on the progress of recovery efforts, the company unveiled that in the capital,
01:52Havana, 12 hospitals and 21 circuits already have service.
01:57In this regard, the Ministry of Energy and Mines informed subsystems are already in place
02:02and working throughout the country, with the national system gradually being restored.
02:07The entity explained that this time, conditions are more favorable than in previous incidents
02:12since recovery efforts are not being affected by meteorological events.
02:23In this context, the Cuban Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feito, informed
02:29that labor and teaching activities in the country are suspended due to the electric
02:33service failure, stressing that no worker salaries will be affected.
02:38Feito also pointed out that the decision will be in place while the emergency lasts, and
02:43that all vital services will be maintained.
02:53In other news on Tuesday, the Venezuela National Assembly approved in first discussion the
03:01draft budget law for the financial year 2025 presented by the Executive Vice President
03:07Delsi Rodriguez.
03:08The legislative body highlighted the truly revolutionary character of the project that
03:14marks the beginning of a new cycle in the political, social and economic life of the
03:19Bolivarian nation.
03:21The president of the legislative body, Jorge Rodriguez, recalled that the current good
03:24health of the economy is the product of the resistance of the people and the norm that
03:30the parliamentarians are now discussing was born from the popular power.
03:35Parliamentarian Jesus Faria will now be in charge of referring the bill to the Standing
03:40Committee on the Economy, Finance and National Development.
03:44Vice President Delsi Rodriguez arrived at the National Assembly with good news.
03:55In spite of the illegal blockade by the United States, Venezuela's economy grew in 2024
04:01and will continue its upward curve by 2025.
04:07The ECLOC had projected a 5 percent growth for the year 2024 and 8.5 percent is the GDP
04:13growth for the first three quarters of 2024.
04:23The International Monetary Fund remained timid as always and we can already affirm that 14
04:28consecutive quarters of economic growth have been achieved in Venezuela.
04:39Why is it important to highlight it?
04:41Because unlike other countries, Venezuela is the rude victim of a siege, of an unprecedented
04:47economic aggression.
04:55Growth was expressed not only in Venezuela, but also in Latin America.
05:03And so we see that Venezuela will grow more than Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,
05:10Peru and Uruguay according to ECLOC projections for the year 2025.
05:21Venezuela will once again be among the countries that grow the most in the region.
05:25You know that our opinion aid is of course, difficulties of course, vulnerabilities of
05:29course.
05:30A country under siege as Venezuela is under siege of course, but also what a great victorious
05:35resistance that our economy has had, mainly by its people.
05:44The presentation of the budget of about $23 billion for 2025, almost 80 percent of which
05:50will be destined to social issues, is the triumph not only of the economic aspect, but
05:55also of peace, which will be defended against the plans of the Venezuelan ultra-right wing
06:00that are being dismantled.
06:04We have to tell those extremists to their face, there is a national union in the defense
06:08of Venezuela, so do not dare, do not dare because this people is tired of them, of those
06:13who have falsely assumed the condition to speak in a derogatory and denigrating way
06:17about Venezuelan women.
06:29And to that extremist lady with terrorist plans against the electrical system, against
06:34the gas distribution system, we say that we Venezuelan women are here, that we Bolivarian
06:39women are here to defend this homeland.
06:47The special emphasis of the resources will be directed to the communal power.
06:53A healthy, self-sustainable economy with an emphasis on our people, and with special attention
06:59to the people's power, that is the mandate you have as deputies.
07:08The democratic opposition wants peace.
07:10Nothing matters more to us than peace.
07:12The democratic opposition rejects the use of violence in politics.
07:16It energetically repudiates foreign sanctions.
07:25The democratic opposition is committed to the best future for Venezuela, a future of
07:30generalized prosperity, so that peace, democracy and well-being for all may be the sign of
07:352025.
07:43In our most enthusiastic endeavor, the economy tied to social issues is the key.
07:51A survey reveals that 60% of the private sector perceives that the economic situation
07:58will improve in a year.
08:00The National Assembly approved in first discussion the two bills requested by the Vice President.
08:11And now we have a short break coming up, but first, remember you can join us on TikTok
08:14at Telesur English, where you will find news in different formats, news updates and much
08:19more.
08:20We'll be right back, stay with us.
08:43Welcome back to From the South.
08:45In Peru, the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice met on Tuesday in Lima
08:51to analyze the ultra-conservative offensive, the economic, social and climate justice in
08:55the region.
08:56Within the discussions, the evasion of tax commitment of the great Latin American fortunes
09:01gained special relevance.
09:0310% of Latin American millionaires concentrate 71% of the wealth in the entire region.
09:09However, they only pay 5.4% in taxes, according to figures from the Economic Commission for
09:16Latin American and the Caribbean, ECLAC.
09:19In this regard, meeting participants are organizing initiatives to offer alternatives to this
09:24very unequal model.
09:30And in the United States, economists predict an economic earthquake if Trump's planned
09:35mass deportation of illegal immigrants is carried out.
09:38Enrique Melo from New York City tells us more.
09:44The massive deportations promised by President-elect Donald Trump, according to experts, could
09:50have catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy.
09:55There are so many constructions, so many bridges, so many things that are thanks to the work
09:59of our people, for the Hispanics who have immigrated for many years.
10:03A U.S. citizen will not come to earn 15 or 20 dollars an hour.
10:07The U.S. citizen will want to earn more.
10:11According to a report by the U.S. Immigration Council, the deportation of more than 11 million
10:18undocumented immigrants would cause a loss of up to 1.7 billion dollars in gross domestic
10:24product, a number that would put the U.S. at the same level as the 2007 recession.
10:36The effort and labor that these immigrants put into this economy is huge.
10:40California, Florida, and here in Virginia, we are not going to see white people doing
10:47these jobs anymore because that is where the migrant population is.
10:56And when it comes to labor, mass deportations would eliminate more than 30 percent of construction
11:02workers, 28 percent of agricultural workers, and a quarter janitors.
11:13Businessmen who have a fear about losing these working hands, we also invite them to join
11:17this joint struggle.
11:18And that is where we are going to have to approach these small businesses.
11:31Because the big corporations like General Motors or Ford are already resenting these
11:35declarations.
11:36I believe that all this is a political, economic, electoral game and we will soon see how everything
11:42moves after January 20th.
11:52According to the U.S. Immigration Council, more than a million entrepreneurs are undocumented
11:57And in 2022 generated more than $27 billion in revenue, as well as jobs.
12:03New York immigrants hope Trump won't judge the many for the wrongdoings of the few.
12:09I ask the president to touch his heart, that all of us who are here are not bad.
12:17We are people who deserve opportunities and that they give us the chance to work.
12:26Only half of my clientele that I advise at the business level are people who work with
12:30an ITIN number, that is, people who do not have a valid social security number, but who
12:35nevertheless have companies, businesses and employ many people.
12:43According to the report, undocumented immigrants paid nearly $47 billion in federal taxes and
12:49more than $29 billion in state and local taxes in 2022.
12:58Although the study shows that the contribution of undocumented immigrants to the U.S. economy
13:03is indisputable, the possibility of removal from the country for many remains a latent
13:09fear.
13:10So experts recommend having an immigration lawyer in case of facing a deportation raid.
13:23We now move on to other topics.
13:25South Korean lawmakers presented a bill on Wednesday to impeach President Yun Sung-kyo
13:30following his declaration of martial law, which triggered a clash between the parliament
13:34and the military.
13:36The motion to impeach the president was filed after the South Korean parliament rejected
13:41Yun's bill to ban political activity and censor the media in the country.
13:46Concurrently, civic and labor groups held a vigil to demand the resignation of the South
13:51Korean president, who had already faced accusations of authoritarian leadership from his opponents
13:57and from within his own party.
13:59Amid tension, six hours after legislators presented a proposal to impeach the president,
14:04President Yun Sung-kyo rescinded the declaration of martial law.
14:15In this context, South Korea's Chief of General Staff Admiral Kim Yong-so ordered the military
14:21to be vigilant and maintain discipline in the face of potential threats amid the country's
14:25current crisis.
14:26Kim asked his troops to protect the safety of citizens first and foremost, and to maintain
14:32a firm posture of preparedness in the face of possible attacks from their northern neighbors.
14:38This order was given after the National Assembly lifted the martial law decreed by President
14:43Yun Sung-kyo, precisely appealing to possible aggressions from Pyongyang, which were dismissed
14:49by all sectors of the country.
14:51The president's opponents claimed that his administration has wanted to use North Korea
14:57to hide the constitutional violations committed.
15:01Furthermore, the South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jong-un resigned amid the unprecedented
15:08crisis in the country.
15:10The chief of staff was deploying troops and has apologized to the people, holding part
15:16of the responsibility for the martial law that has generated this political crisis.
15:21The government, alongside with the United States, promised to defend the international
15:25order based on rules.
15:27Precisely, the president and the former defense minister were the main allies in the military
15:32operations conducted jointly by Washington and Tokyo in the Korean Peninsula, thus contributing
15:39to raising the risk of a nuclear confrontation in the area.
15:43Now we have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to visit our YouTube
15:51channel, there you will be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories, special broadcastings
15:57and more.
15:58Hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the
16:02world's most recent events.
16:04Final short break, don't go away.
16:21Welcome back from the South.
16:33We go now to the Middle East, as the Gazan civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basar denounced
16:38the appalling situation in the northern region of the enclave, ensuring that Israeli regime
16:43is mounting an ethnic cleansing operation.
16:47The spokesperson assured that the northern strip has been the target of Israeli operations
16:52for the last two months, destroying entire families.
16:56The diplomat denounced constant shellings on residential areas and homes full of women
17:01and children.
17:03He further explained that although they are not working with a significant figure of military,
17:08their presence in the north is more necessary than ever.
17:12Basar further claimed that Israel does not alert civilians before launching its criminal
17:18incursions.
17:26We continue in Palestine, as the Safed governorate records more than 321 violations by Israel
17:33in the occupied West Bank in the month of November alone.
17:36The allegations include the destruction of nearly 300 century old olive trees in several
17:43villages in the Palestinian city of Safed, as well as more than 125 military incursions
17:51in which they looted homes and businesses and invaded properties, territory and crops,
17:57along with the illegal detention of 21 people.
18:00All of these as part of the Israeli expansion in the Palestinian territory.
18:04According to the document, the Tel Aviv regime executed 21 road closures and 43 checkpoints
18:11in order to isolate the Palestinian population.
18:28We go now to other topics.
18:29The Guarania musical genre from Paraguay was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
18:35by UNESCO on Tuesday.
18:37The organization's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
18:41Heritage announced the decision during its 19th session, which is underway in the Paraguayan
18:48capital AsunciĂłn.
18:49The Guarania was declared a cultural heritage of the country in 2010 and later, in 2011,
18:56set August 27 as Guarania Day in homage to the birth of its creator, José Asunción Flores.
19:04This musical genre is characterized for being melodious, with a slow and rhythmic beat,
19:09and for expressing themes related to love, nostalgia for the homeland, the heroism of
19:14Paraguayan people, social problems and poverty.
19:24And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
19:27You can find these and many other stories on our website at TELUSREINGLISH.NET and also
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19:32We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and also on TikTok.
19:36For TELUSR English, my name is Belén de los Santos, thank you for watching.