06/02/2025
FTS 12.30
*Federal Court blocks Trump's order on birthright citizenship
*Israel leaves UN Human Rights Council
FTS 12.30
*Federal Court blocks Trump's order on birthright citizenship
*Israel leaves UN Human Rights Council
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Argentinian government announced the modification of the gender identity law
00:14three days after the people held a massive march for diversity and against
00:19fascism. A US federal court issued a preliminary ruling to hold back from
00:27implementation President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.
00:31And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel informed the country's decision
00:39to withdraw the United Nations Human Rights Council following in the steps of
00:44the US administration.
00:50Hello and welcome to From the South. My name is Belén de los Santos. I'm from the
00:53Celso Studios in Caracas, Venezuela. We begin with the news.
01:11And now we begin with the information in Argentina. The far-right government of
01:14Javier Milley announced the modification of the gender identity law
01:18three days after the people protagonized a massive federal march for diversity
01:23and against fascism. Precisely the spokesperson of the presidential office
01:27Manuel Adorni informed that the government would postpone the hormone
01:31treatment that is now allowed after the age of 16 only with parent's consent and
01:36integral medical assessment to after 18 years old. After the president himself
01:40shared a series of fake news regarding the current identity law, many see this
01:45as a repressive response after Argentina's massive anti-fascist march
01:50last Saturday.
01:53And in Peru, transportation workers went on strike in rejection of the management
02:03of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The protest, which brings
02:08together unions and other social organizations, demands improvement of
02:13works on the rough access roads to the city. At the same time, the National
02:17Transport Workers Alliance ratified the decision to paralyze work in Lima in
02:22protest against the murders of thousands of transport workers for refusing to pay
02:27quotas to extortionists. In this sense, the president of the organization assured
02:31that 20,000 urban service buses will participate in the protest and will
02:36march from the popular peripheral neighborhoods to the center of Lima. He
02:41indicated that small businessmen from the large textile production and
02:44commerce zone of Gamarra will also join the protest.
02:53And in Ecuador, the government has ordered the reinforcement of police
02:58control in the run-up to Sunday's presidential election and in its fight
03:03against drug trafficking. On Monday, President Daniel Navarro ordered the
03:07militarization of the country's ports with Navy personnel patrolling the
03:12access channel to the Gulf of Guayaquil. According to the head of state, the
03:18objective is to guarantee national security in the event of any
03:21destabilizing events and to prevent the trafficking of arms and drugs during the
03:26election. Navarro also ordered to increase military presence on the borders with
03:30Colombia and Peru and to close the border passages between next Saturday
03:35and Monday. It is important to note that this is the first time that borders will
03:39be closed during elections.
03:44By mandate of the joint command of the armed forces, we have been
03:51ordered to militarize the ports. In compliance with this order, the Ecuadorian
03:56Navy, through its Coast Guard command, has intensified its controls at sea,
04:02especially of merchant ships docked in the main ports of Guayaquil.
04:11The president of the National Electoral Council of Ecuador, Diana Atamayn, confirmed the
04:15complaints against candidates to the Assembly for the National Democratic
04:19Action Movement. According to Atamayn, there is a complaint for electoral
04:24infringement for use of public funds against candidate Yadira Valles and
04:28another candidate of the movement National Democratic Action for a similar
04:33act. Atamayn also referred to the campaign of candidate Daniel Novoa and
04:37made accusations against the National Electoral Council for not pronunciating
04:41on alleged violations, adding that if these infractions were proven, it would
04:47even be a criminal case. More than 13.7 million Ecuadorians will go to the polls
04:53in a context marked by power struggles and polarized scenario.
05:03And in other news, the first vice president of the United Socialist Party
05:07of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, informed that the opposition received more than
05:111.8 billion dollars from the United States Treasury Department alone. During
05:16his TV show, Cabello pointed out that not only the USAID financed the
05:21Venezuelan extremist opposition, but it also had funding from the Treasury
05:26Department in Washington. He also assured that in the presidential elections of
05:30July 28th, the government of the United States financed the political parties of
05:35the extreme right wing for their de-civilization campaigns against the
05:39country. In this sense, the political leader ratified his denunciation to the
05:43extreme far-right for receiving financing from the USAID to attempt
05:50against the peace of the country.
05:54This is worth gold with this cover. This is worth gold. Here is the source of
06:08financing, who they gave money to, and it is not the United States Agency for
06:13International Development. This hurts more to the American citizens because it
06:19is the Treasury Department. The proofs are at your disposal. I am going to read
06:25some of them. Here you have them. More than 1,800 million dollars delivered.
06:31We continue in Venezuela as political parties are preparing for
06:39the parliamentary and state elections to be held on April 27th. This is the case
06:44of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which together with its
06:47leadership, militants and supporters will define its candidates from the
06:51grassroots. Leonardo Urieta tells us more.
06:55The United Socialist Party of Venezuela installed its Congress to
07:00define the strategy with which the bases will elect their candidates for the
07:03elections in conjunction with the people, the communes and the social movements.
07:09All this is the people, it is participatory democracy and the
07:15expectations are to build solidity, true democracy, not the democracy of the
07:19elites. The decisions that will surely strengthen the revolution will
07:23strengthen the Venezuelan state. The PSUV is the largest party in the
07:32country and is committed, once again, to upholding principles such as gender
07:36equality and promoting a central role for the new generations. Venezuela has a
07:42woman's name and therefore women must occupy the spaces they deserve because
07:46the work, the commitment, the loyalty that we put into all the projects we are
07:51entrusted with allows us to emerge victorious.
07:57The protagonist participation of our people and their youth is a co-participant of this
08:01beautiful dream of this world that we are about to build.
08:08President Maduro, as the main leader of the PUSV, explained the importance of the
08:13participation of young people in politics and the general objectives with
08:17which they will work in this new electoral campaign.
08:24No one knows more than anyone else we are all equal in the brotherhood of a dream of
08:30building a beautiful Venezuela, a free Venezuela.
08:37For militants and leaders of the PSUV, the participation of the democratic
08:43opposition sectors in this process is a sign of the soundness of the institutions.
08:49There are two types of opposition. There is the loyal opposition and the
08:53opposition disloyal to democracy. Here in Venezuela they are very marked. We have
08:57an opposition that has been constituted loyal to the rules of the game that are
09:00in our Constitution and we have an opposition that has tried to access
09:03power outside the rules of democracy.
09:09Opposition parties that have disassociated themselves from the actions of the extreme
09:13right reiterated that they will comply with all the processes for their
09:17participation in the next elections.
09:22When the fourth phase of the 93 that have been published by the electoral power is in
09:25progress, today we can say that formally and officially our political
09:36organization is participating in each one of the phases that are included in
09:40this electoral chronogram.
09:45277 deputies to the National Assembly will be elected in these elections. In addition to 24
09:50governors, citizens over 18 years old are called to vote.
09:55We go now to Colombia as army troops have clashed heavily
10:04with the National Liberation Army, the YELAN, and the Northeastern Department of
10:08Norte de Santander. The Minister of Defense, Iván Velázquez, has confirmed
10:13that the fighting is taking place in the rural area of Lourdes. According to the
10:18office, one member of the Juan Fernando Porras front was neutralized and at
10:22least two have been captured, reporting also the seizure of arms and ammunition.
10:27The operation is being carried out jointly with the Air Force, the National
10:32Police, and the Attorney General's Office, and is aimed at taking control of
10:36Catatumbo and neutralizing the criminal actions of the guerrilla group, according
10:41to the Defense Office.
10:46And now we have a short break coming up, but we'll be right back. Stay with us.
10:52Welcome back to From the South. We continue with the information. A U.S.
11:13federal court issued a preliminary ruling to hold back from implementation
11:17President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. Precisely,
11:22Maryland's Federal Courts District Justice Deborah Boardman decided to
11:27issue the injunction indefinitely after listening carefully to the arguments in
11:32favor and or freezing the decree. The justice further noted that the Supreme
11:38Court has always protected birthright citizenship, adding that President
11:43Donald Trump's order disregarded the 14th Amendment. Trump's decree had been
11:49already on hold nationwide due to a separate lawsuit filed by four states at
11:54a Washington court to stop the order.
12:01And meanwhile in Guatemala, the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was
12:06rejected by protesters who described it as an attack on national sovereignty
12:11since, among other measures, the Central American country committed to detain
12:15migrants with the objective of reaching the United States. Let's see.
12:21The visit of the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Guatemala has
12:28been denounced as a new attempt to interfere in the region by the Guatemala
12:32chapter of the anti-fascist international. In the first place, we must
12:38consider that the mere presence of Marco Rubio in Guatemala is an attack
12:42against the sovereignty of the country. I can tell you that once the United
12:46States puts its hands on other countries, it is not to help.
12:53Protesters remind Marco Rubio of the dark legacy left by the United States in 1954
12:58when he orchestrated the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz, who inherited
13:02inequality and injustice in Guatemala. Let us remember that Guatemala was
13:09invaded in 1954 by American imperialism. We know perfectly well what a military
13:15invasion of our country is.
13:21Officials from both countries assure that the visit is diplomatic, focused on dealing with
13:25migration, the fight against drug trafficking, and other strategic alliances.
13:31We believe in a new migration model that allows us to efficiently and
13:36humanely address the phenomenon of migration, promoting solutions to the
13:40causes that have forced so many Guatemalans to leave their communities,
13:44their families, their country.
13:50The country's president ruled out having discussed the safe third country
13:55category. The protesters do not rule out that it could have been part of one of
13:58the imperialist impositions. We reject the fact that Guatemala assumes this
14:05commitment as a safe third country, not because we are against our Latin
14:09American brothers, but because there are simply no conditions, not even for the
14:12Guatemalan population.
14:17The protesters claim to be aware of the historical burden and the current
14:22context, which demand respect for national sovereignty and an evolution
14:26in policies that are negatively impacting the most disadvantaged.
14:49We go now to the ongoing situation in the Middle East. The Minister of the
14:52Foreign Affairs of Israel, Gideon Saar, announced on Wednesday that the country
14:57will leave the United Nations Human Rights Council following in the steps of
15:01the US administration. The minister accused the Human Rights Council of
15:05making efforts to demonize the Tel Aviv regime by passing over 100
15:10condemnatory resolutions. The Israeli withdrawal comes amid recent
15:14international pressure aimed at holding the Israeli authorities accountable for
15:19the genocide in the Gaza Strip.
15:26Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Israeli occupation army continued its aggression
15:31against areas and camps in the northern occupied West Bank. The new aggressions
15:36affected the towns of Yenin, Tul Karem and Tubas with attacks on Palestinian
15:41citizens and the destruction of homes and the infrastructure of regions and
15:46The Zionist troops carried out detonations in residential blocks in the
15:50Yenin camp, as well as the burning of houses and the detention of dozens of
15:55Palestinians. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation transformed the city of Tul
16:00Karem and its camp into military barracks and forced 75% of the population to move,
16:06according to Palestinian media. In total, 30 people were martyred in these attacks.
16:16Now we have a second short break coming up, but we'll be right back. Don't go away.
16:38Welcome back to From the South. We continue with more information.
16:41Australian Parliament unanimously passed a bill condemning hate crimes
16:46across the nation. The bill obtained 117 votes in favor and 13 against, and it
16:53aims to safeguard new traits such as race, religion and gender. Thus, the
16:58approved regulation amendments stipulate mandatory prison sentences for crimes of
17:02terrorism and exhibition of hate symbols. The policy has come out in view of
17:07increasing attacks by some religious groups that had committed several
17:12offenses as vandalizing and burning infrastructures or schools belonging to
17:18different ideologies.
17:26The government has pursued these changes because we are very concerned about the
17:31rise of anti-semitism in our community. We want to send an unambiguous and clear
17:36message that civic society and the New South Wales Government oppose it in all
17:41circumstances. But I want to make it equally clear that the suite of reforms
17:45that we're introducing will apply to everybody. Racism has no place in modern
17:51Australia. This legislation applies to all people of all faiths. It is never
17:56okay to attack, to demean, to incite hatred or fear against a fellow
18:02Australian on the basis of their race. It is the definition of racism.
18:10And as thousands gathered in New Zealand's north to celebrate the country's National
18:15Day, Maori protests took place across country. On Wednesday, the eve of the
18:20holiday, hundreds of Maori protest staged a silent demonstration by turning their
18:25backs on the government ministers. The National Day marks the 1840 Treaty of
18:31Waitangi between Maori chiefs and colonising British troops, widely seen
18:36as the birth of modern New Zealand. This year's commemoration come at a time of
18:41increased tensions as the government pursues policies considered by some to
18:45be anti-Maori, including a bill which would reinterpret the Waitangi Treaty.
18:51More than 80,000 people were expected to travel to Waitangi, including Prime
18:56Minister Christopher Luxon, who was criticised for avoiding the event and
19:01attending another one in the South Island.
19:09In other news, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of
19:12people killed in clashes in the city of Goma rose to 2,900 according to the
19:18United Nations. The organisation has declared that the battle for the key town
19:23of Goma, which the M23 and Rwandan troops seized last week, has left at least 2,900
19:30dead, far higher than the previous figure of 900. In this context, Vivian
19:35Banda-Per, Deputy Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic
19:39Republic of the Congo, stated that so far 2,000 bodies have been collected from
19:45the streets in recent days. The UN official also said prices had more than
19:50doubled and that decomposing corpses were still being found in certain areas.
19:54She added that the freeze of the USAID threatened to hamper the work of
20:00humanitarian partners in the region.
20:05Yes, our latest assessment, and these numbers come from the country team, were
20:10actually actively helping the M23 collect bodies and give them as decent
20:17a burial as they can manage, is that so far 2,000 bodies have been collected
20:23from the Goma streets in recent days and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the
20:28Goma hospitals. We do not think that this is, that number would not go up. We
20:34expect this number to go up. And in Nigeria, a fire at an Islamic boarding school in
20:40the town of Kauranomoda left at least 17 people dead. Local media reported that
20:46the fire broke out in a study room when students were sleeping. So far, rescuers
20:51managed to evacuate around a hundred students. The president of Nigeria, Bola
20:55Ahmed Inubu, expressed his condolences for the fatal casualties at the school
21:00and assured that safety must be the most important issue for owners. The head of
21:05state ordered educational centers to prioritize the safety of students and
21:09urged to comply with safety regulations.
21:17And in Morocco's tourist hub of Marrakech, a contemporary African art fair
21:27has energized the local creative scene. The annual 154 Contemporary African Art
21:33Fair has drawn collectors, curators and art enthusiasts from across the world,
21:38showcasing works from 30 galleries spanning 14 countries, both African and
21:44European. Named in reference to Africa's 54 countries, the fair was launched in
21:49London in 2013, before expanding to New York in 2015 and Marrakech in 2018. Among
21:56the works exhibited were those of Ethiopian, Sudanese, Nigerian and Ghanian
22:02artists, ranging from experimental photography to ceramic and figurative
22:06paintings.
22:09For Gallery 38, it's very important to be present at this fair because first and
22:22foremost, it's a fair that puts the spotlight on artists from the African
22:26contemporary scene. As it happens, we've been a player from the outset who really
22:32wants to promote the African contemporary scene. So, on the one hand,
22:36we're completely aligned in terms of our objectives, and on the other hand, our
22:41participation in this fair enables us to meet a public that we don't necessarily
22:45have access to all year round.
22:50So, it's a platform that is perhaps the first platform that has internationally
22:58exhibited artists from the African continent and the African diaspora. So, we
23:03started in London in 2013, where we launched the first edition of 1 to 54
23:09London, and we continued after we realized that there was a real interest,
23:13a real commitment, and interest in contemporary art from Africa and the
23:18African diaspora. We thought we had to try and accelerate the inclusion of all
23:23these artists in the global world, in the art world in fact.
23:31And just like this, we have come to the end of this news brief. Remember, you can join us on
23:35TikTok and also on our website at TELUS for English and on our social media as
23:41well. For TELUS for English, my name is Belén de los Santos. Thank you for watching.