FTS 16:30 23-09: Israeli forces escalate attacks in Southern Lebanon

teleSUR English

23/09/2024 FTS 16.30 *Colombia calls for security summit with Venezuela and Mexico. *Latin American countries face devastating forest fires. teleSUR  These and many more stories now!

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to From the South. I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.

00:15We begin with the news.

00:17Israeli occupation forces killed at least 275 people in new airstrikes against southern Lebanon.

00:23Local media reported that occupation troops carried out this Monday new air raids

00:28against several Hezbollah resistance military centres as part of the escalation of hostilities.

00:33This is one of the most intense air raids in almost a year against the Lebanese resistance movement,

00:39which have also left more than 1,025 wounded.

00:43However, Israeli leaders promise harsher actions in the coming days.

00:48The Lebanese Ministry of Health warned that the death toll and wounded are mostly women and children,

00:54and also affirmed that at least 300 targets, including civilian areas, have been bombed.

01:05United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Lebanon could become another Gaza

01:10in the midst of escalating Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah resistance movement.

01:14Guterres referred to the recent detonation of communication devices in Lebanon

01:19and considered that such action shows that there is a potential for a much stronger escalation,

01:25which he fears could be a devastating tragedy for the world.

01:29The Israeli army and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across their border since October 8th last year,

01:35raising fears that the clashes could escalate into a full-scale war.

01:41Meanwhile, the Lebanese Information Minister Siad Makkari denounced on Monday

01:46the Israeli genocidal war on his country.

01:51The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word,

01:57and a destructive plan aimed at destroying Lebanese villages and towns and eliminating green areas.

02:04On Monday, Israeli Occupation Forces Spokesperson Daniel Hagari assured to go on the Israeli offensive

02:10at the Bekaa Valley, regardless what this might take the lives of innocent civilians.

02:19Today, for the first time in this manner, we have warned the residents of Lebanon,

02:25and I am warning now the residents of the Bekaa Valley,

02:30ahead of a targeted and large-scale strike that we will carry out in the Bekaa Valley.

02:35Our mission is to return the residents of the north to their homes in safety,

02:40and we will do whatever is necessary to achieve this.

02:44Palestinian authorities denounced the detention of over 10,000 civilians in the occupied West Bank

02:49by the Israeli Occupation Forces since October 2023.

02:53Several organizations defending the rights of Palestinian prisoners claimed

02:57that Tel Aviv troops have been conducting constant detention operations

03:01in various governorates of the occupied West Bank,

03:04an information backed by Palestinian authorities that further assured

03:08the Zionist regime commits abuses, aggressions and threats against detainees and their families,

03:14in addition to vandalism and destruction of citizens' homes.

03:17According to data from these entities,

03:19the Israeli Genocidal Forces have arrested over 10,800 people since October 7th, 2023.

03:31During the United Nations Summit of the Future,

03:33Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil, on behalf of the Group of Friends

03:37in defense of the United Nations Charter, reiterated the importance of respecting people's right

03:43to self-determination and called, once again, for a ceasefire in Gaza,

03:47the end of the Israeli occupation in the territory,

03:50and the recognition of Palestine as a member state.

03:55We reiterate our appeal for a ceasefire in Gaza,

04:00as well as for justice in the end to the illegal Israeli occupation,

04:05and our appeal for the Security Council to fully shoulder its responsibilities,

04:11including by favorably reconsidering the application of Palestine

04:17for fully-fledged membership of the United Nations.

04:21Remaining silent is not an option,

04:27as this will only embolden the occupying power

04:31as it continues to commit grave violations of international law and complete impunity.

04:39For his part, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a future of peace and tranquility

04:44during his speech at the United Nations Summit of the Future.

04:52China proposes that we need to build a future of peace and tranquility.

04:56In this changing and turbulent world, new risks and challenges keep cropping up.

05:01No country can stay unaffected.

05:03Greater solidarity and cooperation of the international community is not a choice but a must.

05:10Major countries in particular should lead by example.

05:14They should break geopolitical circles by pursuing the greater good,

05:17rise above bloc confrontation and serve as propellers for world solidarity

05:21and anchors for international peace.

05:24Let's take a short break.

05:25But remember you can join us on Tiktok at Elezor English

05:28where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and more.

05:32We'll be right back. Stay with us.

05:43Welcome back.

05:44On Monday, the government of Colombia requested a security summit with Venezuela and Mexico

05:49to debate on the risk posed by the Israeli software Pegasus and the scope of espionage.

05:54This way, Colombian Senator Antonio Correa reported that the Pegasus spy software

05:59purchased for $11 million by the government of Van Ducke from Israel

06:04aims at destabilizing progressive governments such as Venezuela and Mexico.

06:09Pegasus, developed by the Israeli corporation NSO Group,

06:13has become a high-level espionage tool capable of infiltrating mobile devices

06:19in an almost imperceptible way.

06:21President Gonzalo Petro described the acquisition of the spy software

06:25as a serious violation of the privacy of citizens

06:28so an investigation was initiated to determine

06:31whether crimes were committed in this alleged espionage operation or not.

06:44I believe that information must be urgently shared among brotherly countries

06:53so that we can determine who was the person or entity

06:55that took the $11 million in financial transactions and cash to Israel.

07:04Because this issue cannot be forgotten

07:06and it cannot be said that because we did not find legal traces, then there was no spyware.

07:15Furthermore, Senator Correa indicated that Colombia will provide all the warranties

07:19that exist before the investigation that will be carried out on the Israeli software Pegasus.

07:26The Colombian Congress has the responsibility

07:30and so everything that is within the constitutional and legal framework we will do

07:35and we will be working on that because it is our president,

07:40it is our democracy and it is the stability of a people like the Colombian people

07:45who decided and is accompanying the government of President Petro

07:50and so we have the responsibility that all the guarantees exist.

07:55That all the investigations happen and that there are no forbidden topics in our democracy.

08:01The President of Bolivia Luis Arce called on former President Evo Morales

08:05to leave aside the conditions and accept the call for a dialogue presented by the Ombudsman Office.

08:11By means of a televised message together with Vice President David Chocowanka,

08:15President Arce said that he does not plan to resign

08:19and condemned the actions of ex-President Morales.

08:22Furthermore, Arce urged him to respect the social pact materialized

08:27in the political constitution promulgated in 2019,

08:30which establishes a single continued postulation.

08:33The head of state indicated that Morales' refusal to dialogue

08:37only shows his electoral political obsession.

08:53The Ecuadorian government announced a week of power outages

08:57from Monday to Sunday in several time slots,

09:00despite the initial plan of an eight-hour blackout for four days a week.

09:04On a press release, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Gonsalves,

09:08expressed that it is necessary to redistribute power outages planned for the next couple of days.

09:15The Ecuadorian population mainly posted on social media

09:18to criticize the government's decision to warn at night of the changes in the outage program.

09:24The country has been facing blackouts since the end of 2023

09:28due to the lack of maintenance to the networks,

09:30the failure to comply with plans to increase electricity generation,

09:35as well as corruption problems and serious drought affecting hydroelectric plants.

09:44We have a second short break coming up,

09:46but before we invite you to visit our YouTube channel and tell us in English

09:50that you'll be able to re-watch our interviews, top stories, special broadcastings and more,

09:55hit the subscribe button and activate the notification bell

09:58to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.

10:01Final short break, don't go away!

10:10Welcome back to From the South.

10:12The Brazilian government deployed its armed forces in the Amazon region of the country

10:16to fight off climate terrorism.

10:18The Ministry of Defence ordered the commanders of the National Army, Navy and Aeronautics

10:23to ensure the efforts to count on the troops in the region.

10:27The military will provide support through the supply of teledetection images,

10:31the use of the fire panel with a specialized personnel

10:34and the training of the authorities involved in combating the fires.

10:38The National Executive further requested the military entity to quantify

10:42the necessary resources to plan and execute actions in the field

10:46and to designate a series of officers to form a joint command.

10:54In this context, in Argentina, after the fires that have destroyed more than 40,000 hectares

10:59in the province of Cordoba, social movements requested the national government

11:03to declare the country in a state of emergency.

11:06To date, more than 20 houses have been burned and dozens of people have been evacuated

11:11due to the blazes that have spread to other localities such as Ascoxinga,

11:16La Granja and San Marcos Sierras.

11:19Precisely in the latter, the fire, which began in August and has had large outbreaks,

11:24devastated part of the diversity of the region's native forest and burned some 12,000 hectares.

11:32Meanwhile, in Bolivia, firefighting operations continue with two heavy aircraft

11:37and three armed forces helicopters in the affected regions.

11:41The Bolivian Air Force reported that they currently have three heavy aircraft

11:46with a total discharge capacity of 30,000 liters per mission

11:50as part of the new phase of the Guardian Air Mitigation Plan.

11:54Operations concentrated on Sunday in the Monte Verde area

11:58as a prioritized region to safeguard the population.

12:05In Colombia, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management

12:09indicated that the maximum alert continues at the national level

12:13due to at least 14 active forest fires and more than 10,000 hectares affected.

12:18To date, authorities indicated that the Department of Tolima

12:21is the hardest hit area and emergency teams remain deployed to combat the fire.

12:27Russia ships largest volume of liquefied natural gas to China

12:31in a year, raising its crude oil supply by 25%.

12:35According to custom data from both nations, Russia supplied to China

12:39about 872,000 tons of liquefied natural gas in July,

12:44being the highest figure during the last 12 months.

12:47The information points out that Moscow's surge in crude oil

12:52The information points out that Moscow's surge in crude oil

12:55to China by over a quarter, reaching 2.21 million barrels per day.

12:59This increase occurs despite attempts of the Western countries

13:03to expel the Russian hydrocarbons from the global markets

13:07and damage its economy.

13:14Anura Kumara Di Sanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's 9th consecutive president

13:19before the head of the Supreme Court, Jaya Suriya,

13:24supported by a crowd outside the venue of the event.

13:27As part of the ceremony, Di Sanayake, also known as AKD,

13:31declared his commitment to the nation and the citizens of the South Asian island.

13:36The leader and candidate of the national people's power

13:39was elected president of Sri Lanka after a second counting of votes

13:43in the elections held last Saturday, with 38 aspirants to the highest office.

13:49Di Sanayake obtained 42.31% of the ballots counted.

13:54Opposition leaders Sayyid Prema Dasa, 32.76%

13:59and former president Ranil Wirame Singh, who was seeking re-election,

14:04came in third place with 17.27%.

14:14We are inheriting a nation in a deep crisis.

14:18This crisis cannot be overcome by a government, a political party,

14:23or an individual alone.

14:25I am not a conjurer or a magician.

14:28I am a common citizen.

14:30I have strengths and limitations, things I know and things I don't.

14:35However, my priority is to identify capabilities,

14:39acquire the knowledge I lack,

14:41and make informed decisions to lead this country.

14:44We have come to the end of this news brief,

14:46but you can find this and many other stories on our website at telesudyenglish.net

14:50and join us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok.

14:55For TELUSudyEnglish, I'm Alejandra Garcia.

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