Global News Podcast - Venezuelans protest against election result

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

The demonstrators in Caracas say the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's re-election was fraudulent. He has accused his opponents of trying to stage a coup. Also: the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is jeered by crowds on a visit to the scene of a deadly rocket strike in the Golan Heights, and a man's late graduation after a parrot sparks a rent row.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Rachel Wright and in the early hours of Tuesday the 30th of July, these are our main stories.

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has accused his opponents of trying to mount a coup as large crowds take to the streets to denounce his re-election as fraudulent. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced jeers from crowds on a visit to the scene of a deadly rocket strike in the occupied Golan Heights. On day three of the Paris Olympics, Ukraine has won its first medal and a 17-year-old Canadian swimmer has taken her second. Also in this podcast... Jonathan Clothier. This graduation was a long time coming.

Johnny Clothier, who's now 62, lined up alongside those in their 20s at the University of Bristol. At last, a British man graduates after many years, all because a parrot ruffled a few feathers. We begin in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. Where security forces have used tear gas against crowds protesting against Nicolas Maduro's presidential election victory. Although Mr Maduro has been officially declared the winner, the opposition has rejected the outcome as fraudulent. He's responded by accusing the opposition of trying to stage a coup. A number of countries, including the US, Brazil and Spain, have demanded transparency over the vote count, and nine Latin American nations have requested

an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States to discuss the results. Our South American correspondent, Ione Wells, is in Caracas and gave this assessment of the day's events. In Caracas, thousands of people have started walking towards the presidential palace to protest the disputed election results. There have been people on the streets and in their homes banging pots and pans in protest against the result that President Maduro and his government and electoral council announced on Sunday night after the presidential election. I spoke to some people on the street who were out protesting,

not deterred by the huge thunderstorm that was taking place in the city at the time. And when I asked them why they were protesting and what they made of the result that had been announced, they said, quite bluntly, they believed it was a fraud. And they said that President Maduro had no right to be in power. They said that they and loads of others that they knew had all turned out to vote for change, that they believed that was necessary for the country, that they needed a better economy, better employment, better opportunities for young people. Those voices of protest are growing.

There are, as I say, thousands of people descending on the presidential palace to protest this result. President Maduro himself has accused the opposition of trying to instigate an attempted coup by disputing the results of this election. But it isn't just the opposition who are disputing the results. There is a growing number of governments abroad who are refusing to recognise the results of this election unless the government can provide proof of the numbers that they published overnight. Ione Wells in Venezuela. Next to the Middle East, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to give a severe response to Saturday's strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 young people.

Israel blames Hezbollah, an accusation denied by the group. As Mr Netanyahu visited the site of the attack in Majdal Shams, protesters gathered outside the building he was in, shouting out, and Bibi is an assassin, angry that not enough has been done to protect the mainly Druze area from such strikes. Surrounded by leaders of the Druze community, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate. We are embracing the families who are going through indescribable suffering. These children are our children. They're the children of us all. The state of Israel cannot and will not let it pass. Our response will come and it will be severe. Fears of a large-scale Israeli retaliation in Lebanon have grown.

Germany, Britain and the Netherlands have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon urgently. Several international airlines, including Air France and Lufthansa, have suspended flights to the capital, Beirut. So how likely is it that Israel will retaliate? A question for our correspondent in Jerusalem, Mark Lowen. I think the expectation is that there will be a retaliation, possibly quite soon. We actually expected something last night, overnight, Sunday into Monday, but there was a strike which was fairly limited in scope, a drone strike in southern Lebanon that killed two Hezbollah fighters and

injured three others. But Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure to hit back hard, partly from within his coalition, from far-right ministers within the coalition who want a strong retaliation, and partly also from people who have been evacuated from the north of Israel. 60,000 people have been evacuated in recent months because of the continual cross-border fire with Hezbollah, and there is a desire to deal decisively with the militant group. But that said, there is also so much pressure on both sides not to escalate this into all out war. And there are some reports that Israel intends to hit back, but in a limited way, so as not to bring the situation to an all out escalation. And of course, we still have the ongoing situation between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

How is this likely to affect any kind of truce that could happen there? Well, we were getting to a point where there was sort of soundings coming, particularly from Washington, that a ceasefire deal was drawing closer, although Benjamin Netanyahu's government had been placing additional demands on Hamas for a ceasefire. And critics were claiming that he was basically stringing out this war for his own political survival, because when the guns fall silent in Gaza, well, eventually his political career could end. So the two fronts of this war are intrinsically linked, of course. And the pressure from Washington on Israel is increasing because they know that actually a ceasefire in

Gaza is unlikely to happen while the tension on the northern border with Hezbollah increases. Also, Israel's military is stretched in Gaza. You know, munitions are running low. So is Israel going to want to really open up a second military front while the fighting in Gaza continues? So it's a hugely complex picture and a hugely dangerous moment for this region. Mark Lowen in Jerusalem. As we just heard, the attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights was in an area inhabited by members of the Druze community. The history of the area and of the people who live there is quite complex, as our correspondent in Jerusalem, Paul Adams, explains. In 1967, when Israel fought and won the Six-Day War against its Arab neighbours, it captured several key bits of territory. The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt,

the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Around 130,000 Syrians fled or were driven from their homes on the Golan. But those who remained were almost all members of an Arab minority known as the Druze. Their religion has its origins in Islam, but is quite distinct. Until 1967, they were citizens of Syria. Now, suddenly they found themselves living under Israeli rule. The Golan Heights, a rocky plateau which rises up north and east of the Sea of Galilee, was now Israeli-occupied territory. In 1981, the government of Israel passed a law which basically annexed the whole area. Up till now, only the United States, under Donald Trump,

has recognised Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. As for the Druze, they had the chance to become Israeli citizens. Over the years, some have taken it, but only around 20%. Others, even now, still think of themselves as Syrian. They speak Arabic and Hebrew equally fluently, but mostly they see themselves as Druze, part of a wider community that still exists elsewhere in Israel, in other parts of Syria, and also in Lebanon. And this is the identity they're most proud of. When I asked Hossam, a young man I met in Majdal Shams, about his identity, he said simply, we see ourselves as the people of the Golan Heights. It doesn't matter

what our passports say. Now the Druze find themselves caught in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The rocket strike which killed 12 young people was shocking and deeply painful. The Druze don't want to be part of this war. They just want to live in peace at home on the Golan Heights. Paul Adams. In the last six months in power, US President Joe Biden has outlined ambitious plans to reform the conservative dominated Supreme Court. Mr. Biden says they will restore trust and accountability for the nine justices. They include a term limit and overturning the recent ruling which gives Donald Trump

presidential immunity. He spoke about that ruling at an event on Monday in Austin, Texas. Most recently and most shockingly, the Supreme Court established in Trump versus the United States a dangerous precedent. They ruled, as you know, that the President of the United States has immunity for potential crimes he may have committed while in office. Immunity.

This nation was founded on the principle there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law. And for all practical purposes, the court's decision almost certainly means that a president can violate their oath, flout our laws,

and face no consequences. Mr Biden's proposals face little chance of getting through the deeply divided Congress. Rebecca Kesby spoke to our correspondent Will Grant, who's in Washington, and asked him for more on President Biden's comments. Writing in the Washington Post, President Biden set out three key reforms to what he said would restore trust and accountability to the court. First of those is a constitutional amendment that he's calling the no one above the law amendment. Specifically, he says that that would include the line that the Constitution does not confer any immunity from federal criminal

indictment, trial, conviction or sentencing by virtue of having previously served as president. A reference there clearly to the decision six to three in favor of a broad interpretation of presidential immunity laws. Second, term limits for Supreme Court justices. There would be a Supreme Court justice chosen every two years by the president, only able to serve up to 18 years, and third, a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices. That's a reference to the fact there have been these various scandals about gifts and about certain perks that have been given by friends and associates that have caused such controversy here in the United States. But well, given that Congress is so divided at the moment, isn't it?

Is there any chance that he can get these reforms through Congress? And would there be an alternative route? I think very little as things stand. All the proposals require 60 votes to pass the Senate. Well, in the current setup, Democrats only hold 51 in that chamber. A constitutional amendment requires even more more two-thirds support for both houses. So it really does look very, very tough, particularly when we take into account comments made by Senator Lindsey Graham recently, who really made it clear that he had no intention

of supporting the president on this. I can't see there being any cross-party kind of planning or any cross-party support, or certainly not enough for him to get it through in the current state. Whether or not there is a watered-down version that he's prepared to give a little, take a little, that kind of a thing, we'll have to see. But in its current form, I think it looks very, very unlikely. Will Grant in Washington. Still to come... Food wasn't getting in and they were starting to go hungry

and they were resorting to quite, you know, difficult choices. For example, pets were being eaten. With millions of people in Sudan facing a looming famine, we hear from the so-called Khartoum Aid Kitchen that's providing meals for 20,000 people. you can listen to them without ads. Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the ruling African National Congress party. In January, he was suspended after backing and then leading a new rival party.

It dented the ANC's share of the vote in the May elections, preventing it from getting a majority in Parliament. The ANC's Secretary-General, Fikele Mbalula, said Mr Zuma's conduct was irreconcilable with the ANC constitution. Former President Jacob Zuma has actively impugned the integrity of the ANC and campaigned to dislodge the ANC from power, while claiming that he had not served his membership. Furthermore, former President Zuma has been running on a dangerous platform that casts doubt on our entire constitutional edifice. So was Jacob Zuma's expulsion inevitable? A question for our correspondent Shingai Nyoka. It was a foregone conclusion that this is the decision that the ANC disciplinary committee would arrive at and so the disciplinary hearing

was held last week. It was just a day conducted virtually. And today we heard those results that essentially they found that he violated the party constitution. He had been charged with two counts of misconduct and he was found guilty on both of those accounts. They said that he prejudiced the reputation of the ANC by working with another party. You know, a lot of people thought it was quite bizarre that on December 16th last year, Jacob Zuma stood up on the platform of the formation of another party, Mkonto Esizwe, and declared that he would be voting against the ANC and that he'd be campaigning against them. And so this really has been six months of a process that people really knew would end with him being expelled. Now, as you say, he stood on a platform with the

MK party who are the official opposition now. But Jacob Zuma himself cannot be an MP. Tell us about that. Why can't he? And what do you think is going to happen to him now? Well, Jacob Zuma cannot be a member of parliament because he has a criminal conviction, unrelated conviction. He was found guilty of contempt of court. He was sentenced to 15 months. He won't be eligible to be a member of parliament until the next elections. And so what happens to Jacob Zuma now? He has 21 days to appeal. And his MK Party representative said that this was a canagary court, that he was punished and

sentenced in his absence. Jacob Zuma had wanted that these hearings be held in public. And of course, the ANC got their worst result in 30 years in the recent elections. How does% of the vote. Jacob Zuma's MKB party got about 15% of the votes. I think the ANC really looks at this as an opportunity to purge what it calls the extremist right-wing people within its party, those that are allied to Jacob Zuma, and an opportunity to rebuild and renew the ANC. Shingai Nyoka. Next to Sudan, where the Sudanese army has been fighting against the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces since April last year, plunging the country into chaos. It's already the world's worst humanitarian crisis and millions of people face a looming famine.

Sudanese-run aid groups have been crucial in warding off the worst for now. One of them is called the Khartoum Aid Kitchen and it provides meals for 20,000 people in and around the Sudanese capital. The organisation kindly sent us some audio clips about their work to bring what they're facing to the world. The BBC's James Cotnell reports. Food kitchen volunteers sing a Sufi spiritual song as they sort through fava beans for the meal they're preparing. For many, it will be the only time they eat all day.

One of the volunteers is so malnourished he has started to lose his sight. At this food kitchen near an army base in Al-Fitihab in Omdaman, under siege by the rapid support forces, people are only just clinging on to life. Mahanid El-Balal, one of the founders of Khatum Aid Kitchen, explains what happens next. Food wasn't getting in and they were starting to go hungry and they were resorting to quite, you know, difficult choices. For example, pets were being eaten, so it's cats and so on. So it's a horrific situation that no-one ever wants to be in.

People dying of hunger? Yes, yeah, people were dying of hunger, especially the elderly. The siege thankfully now is broken and after that we were, as Cartoon Maid Kitchen and other groups were able to get in and get some aid and now the situation is better there. But what they lived through was a literal hell. This gunfire is a daily soundtrack for so many in Sudan, a percussive, destructive reminder of the danger all around.

Reem, a young medical graduate, is one of many whose life was changed forever by the fighting. Her story starts as she and her family fled. As we were driving away from the checkpoints, the militiaman decided to open fire. A bolt went through the car and into my side, nearly missing my kidney. I don't know why they decided to shoot at our car after agreeing to letting us go. It was too dangerous to get to a hospital, but Reem did make a full recovery.

Now she's a volunteer, helping to get medicines to those who need them. A long line of people queue up for some bread and some stew under the oppressive Sudanese heat. These food kitchens, which are keeping so many people alive, are largely funded by Sudanese, in exile and at home, all giving what they can as famine looms. Mahanid El-Balal from Khartoum Aid Kitchen told me about one person he won't forget, a Syrian woman who fled the war in her own country only to meet another conflict in Sudan.

Now you have the situation of actually not only just living with shells falling near your house and so on, living through hunger. I imagine it's a very difficult situation for someone to have to go through something like this twice. And that will apply not just to that Syrian woman, but maybe people who've fled from Darfur or the Nuba Mountains, where there's been other conflicts in Sudan. South Sudanese who've come to Sudan seeking refuge and are fleeing once more. Yeah, yeah, it's a hot spot. So there was refugees from Tigray, refugees from South Sudan.

And then they found themselves in the middle of a war without the support network that maybe a lot of Sudanese may already have. And these are some of the most vulnerable groups. And in fact, in some of our kitchens, we do have a lot of South Sudanese. Back in the food kitchen in Al-Fitrhab, they're still singing. Anything to keep their spirits up. Right now, in many parts of Sudan, faith, solidarity, and of course those food kitchens,

are about the only things keeping people going. That report by James Copnell. In northern England, two children have been killed and nine more have been injured, six of them critically in a stabbing at a dance class. Police in Southport near Liverpool say two adults who were trying to protect the children have also been critically injured. Nick Garnett reports. The beginning of the school holidays.

A dance and yoga event for primary school children, most of whom were young girls, to Taylor Swift songs. No wonder it was fully booked. At 10 to 12, just before it was due to end, someone walked in and attacked. People who were nearby say he got out of a taxi and refused to pay. Colin Parry works in a building opposite from where the dance class took place. They were screaming.

He said, it's not your normal scream when kids are playing somewhere. I called the police. There was many people on the phone at that point because it was like a bomb had gone off. One of my colleagues that works with me, James, he'd brought one of the girls out of the building and she didn't look good. Poor kid.

She was covered in blood. He was covered in blood. The area where the attack happened is 90% families, I was told by one neighbour. Everyone on the street either has children of their own or are grandparents. Mothers and fathers who'd left their young ones to enjoy the holiday club raced here when they heard what was happening. One neighbour said she'd heard a scream for help from the mother of a girl who'd been stabbed. Her daughter was barely conscious. The injured were taken to three hospitals on Merseyside

and at the scene, the investigation is still continuing. The road is littered with medical equipment used to treat those who'd been hurt. Merseyside police say a man who lived about 15 minutes' drive away from where the attack happened was arrested shortly afterwards. A knife was found. He was taken away for questioning. This evening, they confirmed he's just 17 years old. Nick Garnett.

Staying in Britain and police have charged the former BBC presenter Hugh Edwards with making indecent images of children following an investigation. Mr Edwards was until last year one of Britain's most prominent journalists. The BBC's media correspondent David Sillitoe reports. A statement from the police this afternoon say Hugh Edwards was arrested in November of 2023 and charged on the 26th of June of this year on three counts of making indecent images of children. It's claimed a series of 31 photographs were found in a WhatsApp chat on a mobile phone, six relating to the most serious

Category A offence. A conviction at Crown Court of possession of a Category A image could lead to a prison sentence of three years. Now, the offences are alleged to have taken place between December of 2020 and April 2022, and Hugh Edwards, of course, did resign from the BBC in April of this year, but the BBC's highest profile, highest paid presenter hadn't been on air since July of last year. A court hearing will take place on Wednesday. Westminster magistrates. David Sillitoe. On day three of the Olympic Games, the fencer Olga Karlin has won Ukraine's first medal, taking bronze in the women's individual sabre. In the men's team gymnastics final, Japan snatched victory from China in the last routine

after China's Sue Wade slipped off the high bar twice. In the swimming pool, 17-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada won gold in the women's 400m individual medley, her second medal of the Games. I heard more on the day's events from the BBC's Paul Saras, beginning in the pool. The 20-year-old Australian Molly O'Callaghan beat her compatriot Ariane Titmuss to gold in the 200-metre freestyle. South Africa's Tatiana Schoenmacher took gold in the women's 100-metre breaststroke and David Popovich won the men's 200 freestyle for Romania. And so many of the younger athletes at the games

involved in the pool at the other end of the scale two sporting giants met at Roland Garros. They did indeed yes the 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal was beaten in straight sets by his old rival Novak Djokovic. Up next for Djokovic a third round meeting with the German Dominic Kepfer while Nadal remains in the men's doubles with his partner Carlos Alcaraz. That terrifying Spanish duo taking on the Dutch pair of Talon Grigsbord and Wesley Kulhoff on Tuesday. And Paul, it was a particularly good day for Japan. Yes, it was. Yes, their men retained the gymnastics team goal they won on home soil three years ago. And Yuta Horigome became double Olympic champion in the men's street skateboarding.

The Japanese are top of the medals table after day three with six golds. And the US women's basket team launched their bid for an eighth consecutive gold medal. Yeah, an eighth consecutive gold medal. It's astonishing. That run goes all the way back to Barcelona in 1992. Their win over Japan earlier on Monday was their 56th in a row at the Olympic Games, an astonishing record for Team USA. They take on Belgium next. And what else has made headlines on day three? Great Britain's Tom Pidcock retained his Olympic cross-country mountain biking title.

That's despite suffering a puncture which left him at his worst 40 seconds behind the leader. Pidcock caught and passed the French rider Victor Koretsky at the start of the final lap and held on to become the double Olympic champion, much to the chagrin of the local fans who of course were supporting Victor Koretsky. Pitcoats medal was one of six for the British team on Monday. The equestrian eventing team retained their title from Tokyo too. The reigning champions New Zealand thrashed China to set up a semi-final against the USA in the women's rugby sevens. Canada will take on Australia in the other semi-final.

All Sarah's on day three of the Olympic Games in Paris. Elsewhere, the water quality in the River Seine is still causing concern. On Monday, a second day of practice for the swimming leg of the triathlon was cancelled because of raised pollution levels after heavy rain. The water levels were also very high, causing faster currents. The men's triathlon event is scheduled for Tuesday. Our Paris correspondent Andrew Harding reports. The weather here is looking a little dicey. Scorching heat, thunderstorms and rain are all forecast over the next few days. But in Paris, Olympic officials seem confident that men's triathlon event will go ahead,

starting with a 1,500-metre swim in the River Seine. Lambis Konstantinidis is the Olympic planning director. The tendencies that we have, the trends that we have are very positive. They will be meeting at 4am to look at the latest figures to ensure that everybody is comfortable with the water quality that we will propose. And if that's the case, then we will give the green light to the competition. If not, then plan B involves postponing the men's event for a day or so, the same for the women's triathlon. But if that doesn't work out, then plan C means abandoning the swimming element of the triathlons altogether. Former triathlete and BBC commentator Annie Emerson

says that would be a great shame. Triathlon is a massive sport in France. There are so many places that it could have been held. So if it doesn't go ahead, I think it would be a great disappointment for the whole sport overall. France has invested heavily to make the River Seine swimmable for the first time in a century. It's part of a broader push for a greener Olympics. But climate change is already putting the Games under strain. Andrew Harding in France. A man has finally graduated from university 41 years after a parrot ruffled a few feathers. Johnny Clothier was told he couldn't attend a ceremony at the

University of Bristol in southwest England in 1983. This was because his flatmate's bird had trashed their student accommodation and a fine hadn't been paid. Dan Johnson takes up the story. Jonathan Clothier. This graduation was a long time coming. Johnny Clothier, who's now 62, lined up alongside those in their 20s at the University of Bristol. It was fab. It was really fab.

I kind of did. It was fab. It was really fab. I kind of did it as a joke. He was barred from the ceremony when he completed his architecture course in 1983 because £64.80 was outstanding on his student accommodation. Johnny and his flatmates had been kicked out when their parrot made its mark, having been left on its own. It's all a bit young ones, really. One of our crazy flatmates had a parrot

and we just quietly went off for a bit of the Easter holidays and left the parrot in the house. Did the parrot have a name? We can't remember. No-one can remember its name? We think it was called something really dull like Peter. I studied biology. He was finally capped last week alongside his youngest son, Carter.

It's been a great three years. And your graduation wasn't in question. Your bills were paid. Oh, absolutely, in full. Partly by my dad, to be fair. It means every member of this family has now graduated from the same university. Bristol University has kind of been the glue

that sticks us all together. So there's no resentment at how long they made you wait for this? No, none at all, none at all. It's just worked out brilliantly. Dan Johnson reporting. And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it,

you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll. The producer was Liam McSheffery. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Rachel to go. plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.