1/02/2023
FTS 14.30
*Israeli chemical weapons cause miscarriages to increase in Palestine
*Belgium: farmers blockade European parliament
FTS 14.30
*Israeli chemical weapons cause miscarriages to increase in Palestine
*Belgium: farmers blockade European parliament
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In the United States, a secret memo detailed a year-long Drug Enforcement Administration
00:14 operation that sent undercover operatives into Venezuela to record and build drug trafficking
00:20 cases against the country's leaders, including President NicolĂĄs Maduro.
00:27 In Palestine, the Ministry of Health warned that the number of miscarriages increased
00:31 by 300% due to the launching of chemical weapons by Israel.
00:41 And in Belgium, farmers blocked the seat of the European Parliament with tractors in protest
00:46 against the fall of income in the sectors and the regulations imposed by the Community
00:50 Block.
00:58 Hello and welcome to From the South.
01:00 My name is Belén de los Santos and from the TeleSurf studios in Havana, Cuba, we begin
01:04 with the news.
01:05 A U.S. news outlet revealed on Thursday that the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA,
01:11 infiltrated agents in Venezuela to secretly record and build false drug trafficking cases
01:16 against the country's leaders.
01:18 According to AP News Agency, they obtained a 15-page memo from 2018 on an operation which
01:25 targeted a dozen officials, including Venezuelan President NicolĂĄs Maduro.
01:30 The document clearly stated that it was necessary to carry out this operation unilaterally and
01:35 without notifying the Venezuelan authorities.
01:38 The revelation threatens to shake already strained relations with the Venezuelan government
01:43 and could deepen resentment throughout Latin American countries towards Washington for
01:48 its history of meddling in internal affairs of the countries in the region.
01:53 In recent days, the President of Venezuela has accused the DEA and the CIA of undertaking
01:58 efforts to destabilize Venezuela, an accusation the CIA declined to comment on.
02:09 In Haiti, the escalation of armed violence by criminal gangs has caused the displacement
02:14 of thousands of people in the community of Petit-Biol, in the country's capital.
02:20 In recent days, the residents of the area have been repeatedly attacked by members of
02:24 the Vitellon paramilitary group, which is seeking to take control of the area.
02:30 According to an assessment drafted by the International Organization for Migration in
02:34 December of 2023, there were more than 310,000 internally displaced people in Haiti.
02:41 Ninety-four percent of these people in the country come from the Western Department,
02:46 being the capital, the most affected place.
02:48 The escalation of armed violence in Haiti has triggered a deep humanitarian crisis.
02:55 Yesterday, the criminal group arrived and started shooting everywhere.
03:01 There were people dead.
03:03 So this morning we went out and took shelter here.
03:08 We have no water, no food, no clothes.
03:10 We have nothing.
03:11 I called on the Haitian state to come and help us.
03:14 We really need help.
03:16 In Argentina, the Chamber of Deputies resumed on Thursday the debate on the bill promoted
03:20 by the government, better known as the "Omnibus Law", given its extension.
03:25 The debate was resumed after an overnight intermission that followed an intense legislative
03:30 day on Wednesday marked by the opposition's accusation that they still did not have the
03:35 official draft of the bill on which they were supposed to vote.
03:38 Outside the Congress, after hours of protests without incidents in rejection of the omnibus
03:43 bill being debated, the police advanced against the demonstrators and generated moments of
03:48 tension.
03:54 I am here to defend my country, because these people are thinking of sacking it.
03:59 They are thinking of selling it, in little pieces.
04:01 A little bit of Patagonia, a little bit of the Maldives island, a little bit of the Glacier
04:06 zone, a little bit of the Lithium zone, and so on.
04:13 In this context, the social leader Juan Grabois condemned the neoliberal project promoted
04:17 by the executive of Javier Millet and affirmed that the excessive security operation aimed
04:22 to instill fear in the citizenship.
04:26 We came here to show our solidarity with those men and women who do not think the same way
04:30 as we do.
04:31 But we came here to demonstrate and to repudiate the plan of hunger and misery planned by Javier
04:37 Millet, Villarreal, Burrich, Caputo, and Sturzenegger, which we hope does not count on the complicity
04:44 of the governors and the deputies and senators who entered the chamber through the parliaments.
04:51 In this context, human rights organizations denounced that forces of law and order violently
04:56 arrested four women while they were demonstrating outside the Congress against the so-called
05:00 omnibus bill.
05:02 In this regard, the announcement stated that after the session went into recess until Thursday,
05:07 self-convened demonstrators continued to arrive in the area of the legislative building.
05:12 In this way, among the demonstrators, a group of women sat in the street and sang the anthem
05:17 quickly and were surrounded by members of the federal police who violently picked them
05:23 up and dragged them into a police vehicle.
05:25 It should be noted that social movements also reported that during the day, forces of public
05:31 order violently repressed with sticks and pepper spray citizens who were demonstrating
05:37 peacefully.
05:43 Now let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok @TELUSARINGLIS where
05:47 you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.
05:51 Other stories coming up.
05:52 Stay with us.
05:53 [Music]
06:11 Welcome back to From the South.
06:29 In Palestine on Thursday, the Ministry of Health warned that the number of miscarriages
06:33 increased by 300% due to the launching of chemical weapons by Israel.
06:38 In this way, the medical staff warned about irregularities in the general public health
06:43 situation and during the gestation process that may have their origin in chemical affectations
06:48 caused by the use of weapons used by the armed forces of the Israeli occupation.
06:53 In this regard, authorities denounced that since October 7th, the Tel Aviv regime has
06:57 used weapons prohibited by international law, such as white phosphorus bombs, smoke bombs,
07:03 lightning bombs and other rockets and missiles launched.
07:07 In addition, the Ministry of Health pointed out that as a result of the insistent bombardments
07:11 perpetrated by the Zionist entity, pregnant women are exposed to many hours of walking
07:16 in order to be able to move to safer places.
07:25 And a doctor explains the causes of the massive increase in the number of miscarriages, explaining
07:29 that it is due to the chemical weapons used by Israel in the attack on the Gaza Strip.
07:34 Let's hear the statement.
07:35 "In fact, we are still living an unprecedented sanitary and humanitarian catastrophe we have
07:42 never lived, a catastrophe of this magnitude in our lifetime.
07:45 What is happening is a strong proof that they are using against us chemical weapons that
07:50 affect the general situation of public health and pregnant women, which unfortunately increases
07:54 the percentage of miscarriage which has reached 300% of what it was before.
08:00 We deal with miscarriage cases all the time and throughout the day coming from the displacement
08:05 sites that are hosting a large number of Palestinians who were inhabitants of the governorates of
08:10 the Gaza Strip, either from the north or from the south, who moved to schools and hospitals
08:16 as centers of refugees during daylight hours.
08:20 We received miscarriage cases and transferred them to other hospital centers, such as the
08:24 Emirati Hospital, for follow-up.
08:27 This is an irrefutable proof that they are using chemical materials to carry out their
08:31 attacks that we are not aware of, and therefore negatively affect public health in general,
08:36 and especially pregnant women, causing increase of these cases of miscarriage.
08:41 And we doctors have no choice.
08:44 We began to treat many cases of pregnancy, and we consider that the pregnancies are evolving
08:48 well and in a normal state.
08:50 But suddenly we are faced with the need to perform a medical process on the woman and
08:55 to a daughter scraping because of the spontaneous miscarriage.
08:59 These miscarriages indicate that they are caused by chemical materials that we do not
09:03 know.
09:04 It is nature, and therefore we cannot treat these cases.
09:07 We are facing an urgent need to cease the aggression, to stop attacking civilians, to
09:11 stop attacking women, mothers and pregnant women, who are permanent targets, with chemical
09:16 and non-chemical materials, which is why the hospital today is collapsed, with so many
09:20 cases that require transfer to another hospital, which in turn has no available capacity to
09:26 receive more cases of miscarriage, that it already has the cases of miscarriage have
09:31 increased in an alarming way, since they need special treatment of medical follow-up and
09:36 cleanings as well as treatment to avoid hemorrhage.
09:39 This situation deserves an urgent intervention of the United Nations and the World Health
09:43 Organization and other organizations to stop this kind of aggression and stop attacking
09:47 civilians and therefore lower the intensity of this scorching humanitarian crisis.
09:54 In this context, Shirin Khalil Atta Abu Dhanger tells us her story of how she suffered her
09:59 miscarriage and the treatment she received.
10:01 Let's listen.
10:02 I am Shirin Khalil Atta Abu Dhanger.
10:07 I am from Jabalia Camp in Gaza.
10:09 We were displaced from the north to the south because we were ordered to evacuate to Rafah,
10:13 which is safer.
10:14 I have a hip prosthesis.
10:16 During this displacement, they just stopped me in the street and detained me for about
10:21 half an hour in the rain.
10:23 When they called me, I went through a dead road, which caused an hemorrhage that continued
10:28 all the way to my family's house.
10:30 From there, I was transferred to the Emirati Hospital where I had a miscarriage.
10:34 Thank God for everything.
10:36 We came from the north walking.
10:38 We stayed for a while under the rain.
10:40 And as I told you, I went up a dead road.
10:43 They shouted at me and my daughter and I fell from the top of the hill.
10:47 And suddenly, I felt that something came off me and I saw the blood run over my legs.
10:52 We were walking from where the tents were to the gates at the entrance of Nusairah until
10:56 I met my relatives.
10:57 There, my brother put me in his car and took me directly to the school.
11:02 And at the school, there was an ambulance that took me to the Emirati Hospital.
11:06 There, I had a miscarriage.
11:08 For a moment, I thought that they had shot me with a silent weapon because of the hemorrhage
11:13 I had, with a gun or something like that.
11:16 I saw them armed and I still was very afraid.
11:19 And I prayed to God thinking that I was dying.
11:21 I let go of my daughter's hand and all day, I did not know what to do.
11:26 I was afraid to make noise so they wouldn't notice me.
11:29 Then, they ordered me to stand up, but when they saw me like that, they were afraid too.
11:35 So they started talking in Hebrew and among themselves, which I didn't understand.
11:39 When they released me, I felt that I came back to life.
11:42 And when I met the children again and Huffman, they all thought that I was wounded.
11:46 I also thought that I had been injured by some shot.
11:49 At first, I didn't notice my miscarriage.
11:58 And children in the Gaza Strip denounced the outrages and abuses suffered at the hands
12:03 of the Israeli occupation forces amidst the total devastation of their homes.
12:09 Relatives denounced that the Tel Aviv regime forces disrupted and kidnapped minors for
12:13 25 days in Rafat, demanding to know if their relatives are alive.
12:25 My mother is 40 years old.
12:26 She is diabetic.
12:27 One night, the youths came with some dogs to the house and they barked a lot.
12:32 They confronted me and my brothers and my mother.
12:35 The soldiers threatened us with their rifles and hit us on the floor.
12:39 My mother begged them not to hurt us.
12:42 They wanted to hit my mother in the head.
12:44 Then they called me and my brother and my mother got very scared and told her that neither
12:49 my brother nor I had anything to do with Hamas.
12:53 She screamed and begged them.
12:56 In this context, minors reported that they were kidnapped because of the aggression perpetrated
13:01 by Israel, not only against them but also against their family members.
13:06 The soldiers forced me to take off my clothes.
13:09 They left me alone with my underwear.
13:11 They left me cold from 12 o'clock at night until 4 o'clock in the morning.
13:15 We slept in the cold.
13:18 Then they took us to the prisons in Israel, where they tortured us and asked us if we
13:22 were from Hamas.
13:24 They interrogated us.
13:25 I answered them that I was still a child, that I didn't know anything about Hamas and
13:30 I don't want to know anything about Hamas, that I only went from home to school and from
13:34 school to home, that I only stayed with my mother and my brothers, that I did not know
13:39 anything about Hamas.
13:41 They did not believe me.
13:42 They told me that I was a liar.
13:44 They hit me with a stick on my legs and belly.
13:47 They light cigarettes and put them on my ears and on my legs.
13:51 Then they kicked us with their boots.
13:53 I can't stand the pain in my legs.
13:58 Children also say they had not heard from their relatives and demanded to come back
14:02 home safe and sound.
14:07 What I know about my family is that they are in the north and I don't know if they are
14:11 still alive or if something had happened to them, that God forbid.
14:15 I don't know how to communicate with them.
14:17 I don't have a number to call them.
14:19 I don't know anything about them in Rafa.
14:22 When the Jews released us, they left us lying on the Rafa Pass almost naked.
14:27 Then they threw us some clothes to dress up and forced us to walk.
14:31 Then the agency offered us the tent and said they had nothing else to give us.
14:37 We are penniless and have nothing to buy what we need.
14:41 I don't want anything.
14:42 The only thing I want is to go back home, to be reunited with my family and my parents.
14:47 I don't ask for anything else.
14:53 The continuous bombing and raids by the Israeli occupation forces have left thousands of Palestinians
14:57 killed and displaced, as well as multiple damage in Gaza Strip.
15:01 According to official reports, more than 27,000 dead and around 67,000 wounded have been reported
15:09 since the beginning of the genocide in October 7th, 2023.
15:16 And while many Western powers have frozen funding to the UN Agency for Refugees in Palestine,
15:21 the UNRWA, the Israeli government has not yet provided the UN with information on the
15:25 accusations involving 12 members of the agency in the terrorist attack of last October 7th.
15:31 During a press conference, the Secretary General's spokesman, Stefan Dujarric, declared that
15:36 the UN has requested written and truthful information on the evidence incriminating
15:41 12 agents, but that this has not been received.
15:45 In a preventive act, the agency has dismissed nine of those allegedly involved.
15:51 One is deceased and the other two are awaiting confirmation of their identity.
15:55 Likewise, the Internal Affairs Department has opened an investigation which is expected
16:00 to yield results in the next two to three weeks.
16:07 We now have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to join our WhatsApp
16:11 community for our English speaking audience.
16:14 You can scan the QR code on screen to join directly and also share the link to reach
16:18 more people.
16:19 Constant news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the rest of the
16:22 world.
16:23 Stay connected and informed with Telesurf.
16:25 Final short break, don't go away.
16:27 [Music]
16:45 Welcome back to From the South.
16:48 In Belgium, farmers' bloc which fractures the seat of the European Parliament in protest
16:53 against the fall of income in the sector and regulations imposed by the community bloc.
16:57 Farmers lit bonfires and parked their tractors in front of the site to protest as an extraordinary
17:02 summit of the European Council took place.
17:05 The main topic of this meeting of the EU bloc leaders is a deal on a financial aid package
17:10 for Ukraine and no discussion of the problems of the European farmers was planned.
17:15 For their part, the farmers are demanding a change in the pan-European agricultural
17:19 policy, the lifting of numerous restrictions, including environmental ones, and an end to
17:24 the uncontrolled import of cheap foreign products.
17:32 In the meantime, the leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal on Thursday
17:37 to provide Ukraine with a new 54 billion euros aid package for its war-ravaged economy after
17:44 Hungary backed down from its threats to veto the move.
17:47 European Council President Charles Michael announced the agreement that was reached in
17:52 the first hour of the summit that he was chairing in Brussels.
17:56 Michael stated at the news conference that this decision conveyed both a message for
18:02 Ukrainians and it shows our determination to be absolutely mobilized to support their
18:08 freedom, to support the future of Ukraine.
18:12 Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky welcomed it as a very important decision.
18:17 Ukraine could receive the first tranche of funds in March once the European Parliament
18:22 has approved the agreement.
18:29 Meanwhile in France, the agricultural sector continues protests for a second week in a
18:33 row.
18:34 On Wednesday night, a group of farmers blocked the A6 highway near Paris, demanding better
18:39 conditions for the sector.
18:41 During the day, police arrested 91 protesters after they tried to break into Rungi's food
18:46 market, largest one in Europe, located near the French capital.
18:50 In addition to moving on Paris, convoys were also attempting to encircle Lyon, France's
18:57 third biggest city.
18:58 Farmers' complaints range from rising costs to meeting carbon-cutting targets, fuel prices,
19:04 inflation, bureaucracy and Ukrainian grain imports.
19:13 Meanwhile on Thursday, security personnel at Germany's major air terminals were called
19:17 by the Berlin Union to stage a one-day strike to increase pressure on employers to implement
19:23 wage improvements.
19:24 The employees called to strike are in charge of passenger baggage and personal screening,
19:29 and without them, it is not possible to maintain the operation of airport security areas.
19:34 The situation has forced the airports in the cities of Brandenburg, Berlin, Hamburg and
19:39 Frankfurt to cancel flights until 10pm on February 1st.
19:44 The airline Lufthansa advised passengers with booked flights to stay away from the airport,
19:50 as there will be no domestic or international flights until at least 3am on February 2nd.
19:58 The responsible Secretary of the Union, Usai Darim, declared that there is a high participation
20:03 of the airline workers, and described the strike as a successful start.
20:12 Employers should also think about their employees and pay them adequately.
20:16 I have been a pensioner for some time and have had the same experience.
20:20 Employers don't like to pay money, so you have to do it from time to time.
20:27 On Thursday began a massive strike movement in Finland, which according to local authorities
20:31 paralyzed most of the air traffic and closed workspaces in protest against labour reforms
20:37 proposed by the government, which include cuts in social benefits.
20:41 According to the organisers, some 300,000 people are expected to participate in the
20:46 two-day strike.
20:47 In this sense, the national airline Finnair announced the cancellation of 550 flights,
20:53 affecting around 60,000 passengers.
20:57 On the other hand, several unions also warned that trains across the country, subways, buses
21:01 and streetcars in the capital will be paralyzed on Friday, while joining the call for strikes
21:06 in the energy sector, school and health services.
21:10 In turn, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has argued that the country needs an export-oriented
21:16 labour market model to boost competitiveness.
21:18 However, unions have vowed to paralyze the country to force the government to back down.
21:29 In the United Kingdom, police are on the lookout for a suspect who perpetrated an attack with
21:33 a corrosive substance in London, where nine people were injured.
21:38 The attack was directed at a woman and her minor children, whose calls for help alerted
21:42 three adults and three police officers, who in an attempt to rescue the family, were also
21:47 injured.
21:48 City paramedics immediately attended the scene to transport the victims to hospitals, as
21:52 well as firefighters and British police officers who are working to determine the type of substance
21:58 that was used against these individuals.
22:00 Detective Alexander Castle indicated that the injuries to the police officers are not
22:05 believed to be serious.
22:07 However, no information was released at this time about the health status of the other
22:11 injured.
22:17 In Greece, university students clashed with police Thursday during a demonstration against
22:21 plans by the conservative government to allow private universities to operate in the country.
22:27 Several thousand university students and supporters marched through central Athens before clashing
22:32 with police near parliament.
22:34 Police used tear gas against the protesters.
22:37 The center-right government of the Prime Minister, Griakos Mitsotakis, is pushing to pass several
22:43 key laws early in the new year, building on his landslide re-election victory in 2023
22:49 and his current huge lead in opinion polls.
22:52 The government argues that the measure will prevent thousands of Greek students from studying
22:58 abroad each year.
23:00 In recent weeks, the Greek administration has faced a series of protests from various
23:07 professional groups triggered by legislative reforms and the cost of living crisis.
23:17 And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
23:20 You can find these and many other stories on our website at tellusoreenglish.net.
23:24 And also join us on social media.
23:26 We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok.
23:30 For Tell Us Your English, my name is Belén De Los Santos.
23:33 Thank you for watching.
23:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]