Indaba zesiNdebele Ekuseni - Voice of America
Indaba zesiNdebele Ekuseni - July 22, 2024
going to be busy right here right here on video. This is V.O.A. News. Tommy McNeel. He was President Joe Biden announced Sunday he is dropping his reelection bid against Donald Trump. V.O.A. White House bureau chief Patsy Wodaka-Swah reports that it sent political shock waves around the country and through an element of turmoil into the election just months before voters go to the polls. This was kind of expected, but it was also sort of a surprise. I mean, a large part of the Washington political circle have been speculating that he might announce it this weekend. But nobody knew for sure until it happened. That is V.O.A's Patsy Wodaka-Swahra. AP correspondent Julie Walker tells us Biden backed Vice President Kamala Harris. Democratic strategist Nathan Dashel says he made the right call. I think President Biden decided that he needed to put the country first, he needed to put the party first, and that the most important thing was defeating President for President Trump. He says it could not have been easy for Biden being pushed out by members of his own party, but endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris says a lot. Well, it's not certain that the nominee will be Vice President Harris. She surely starts off the strong position. Dashel says Harris' job now is more accurate than the president. The president will show up delegates ahead of the Democratic Convention next month so she wins the nomination. I'm Julie Walker. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington Monday leaving behind a brutal war to make a politically precarious speech before a joint session of Congress visit comms at a time of great uncertainty following U.S. President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race with efforts ongoing to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and the U.S. and the midst of a dizzying election campaign Netanyahu's speech has the potential to cause this array on both sides of the ocean. This is the only news. Russia and Ukraine on Sunday exchanged drone missile and shelling attacks. AP correspondent Karen Chama. The exchange of fire on both sides saw two people killed in the Russian occupied Donetsk region. While Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes wounded at least five people along the front line in the east. Russia said it had taken control over the U.S. Senate administration. It had taken control over the sides of the U.S. election. A U.S. campaign on both sides saw two people killed in the Russian occupied Donetsk region. While Ukrainian officials said it had taken control of two villages. One in the hard-key region and one in the Luhansk region. Overnight Ukraine's air defenses intercepted 35 of the 39 drones launched by Russia according to an air force commander. In addition, Russia launched three ballistic missiles and two guided air missiles which did not reach their targets according to the commander. I'm Karen Chama. Bangladesh's Supreme Court Sunday scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that had sparked nationwide protests by students that have resulted in a deficit in the U.S. Senate administration. In the U.S. Senate administration said it has resulted in a death of at least 114 people in recent days. Sean Hogan from Reuters. Bangladesh, Shatuni General Ayam Amin Adim said the jobs should be open to candidates on merit. The Supreme Court's Appellates Division, according to Article 104, gave a final solution to this quota system. That is 93% quota for general people, 5% quota for freedom fighters and their kin. Nationwide, unrest sparked following student anger against the quotas that included reserving 30% of government positions for families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government scrapped the quota in 2018, but the lower court reinstated it last month. About 3,000 migrants from around a dozen countries have left from Mexico's southern border on foot in an attempt to make it to the U.S. border. Some hope to make it before the November elections because they fear Donald Trump will close a border to asylum seekers if he wins. When migrant from El Salvador wants to get an appointment with U.S. board officials in hopes of entering the U.S. legally, a rising number of heat-related deaths in the state of Texas among residents who lost power during Hurricane Barrows pushed the number of storm fatalities to at least 23. AP's Julie Walker. It took more than a week to restore power for many Houston area residents, including Janet Jarrett, whose sister Pamela ended up dying the fourth day without power, the Emmy ruling it a heat death. We didn't have any air. She had a hard time breathing. Her sister used wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube. I wish I could have took my sister somewhere else, but it was hard to get her in my car. Experts say it may be weeks, even years before the full death toll is known. Barrow knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses, and it came during a heat wave. I'm Julie Walker. For VUA News.com, I'm Tommy McNeil, VUA News. U.S. President Joe Biden announced he's ending his campaign and will not seek re-election in November. draft orders have been issued to ultra-port the docs men in Israel. Some of Netanyahu's ultra-orthodox coalition partners say they will pull out of the government, which could bring down Netanyahu's coalition. And it's been 55 years since humans first walked on the moon. That's one small step for man. Today is Monday, July 22nd, and this is VUA's Intern National Edition. I'm Scott Walterman. That's a broadcast from French television as the news of the U.S. President Joe Biden. That's a broadcast from French television as the news of the U.S. President Joe Biden. I'm Scott Walterman. That's a broadcast from French television as the news of the U.S. President Joe Biden. He's dropping out of the presidential election runs across the world. Four years ago, as he ran for the White House, Biden saw himself as a one-term president, a savvy conduit from the chaotic years of Donald Trump to a new generation of democratic leaders. Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else. There's an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country. That was Biden at a campaign event in March 2020 with a group of much younger politicians vying to be his running mate, including Kamala Harris, who ultimately got the nod. It was widely seen as his main mission dislodged Trump from the White House, then bow out with elegance after one term. Biden, who is now 81 years old, will indeed be a one-term president, but under tumultuous circumstances, long simmering worries about his age and mental sharpness have exploded to doom him when he decided to go for that second term after all. Turning us now to give us some details of what's happening at the White House, his VOA's White House bureau chief, Patsy with Acasora. What do we know of the decision process that led to this announcement? One, we know that he has been under extreme pressure from leading Democrats, as well as ordinary Americans. Over the weekend on Saturday, there was a small demonstration in front of the White House demanding that President Joe Biden pass the torch. More than 25 lawmakers, Democratic lawmakers, have asked him or have conveyed their concerns publicly about the viability of his candidacy. And President Joe Biden, himself, has been mulling over this in his vacation home in Delaware since Thursday when it was found out that he had a positive COVID diagnosis. This was kind of expected, but it was also sort of a surprise. I mean, a large part of the Washington political circle have been speculating that he might announce it this weekend, but nobody knew for sure until it happened. Do you think that he's going to address the nation and make a speech to the American people? Yes, he has promised that he would do so. He said he will speak more about his decision, more in detail sometimes this coming week. Now, in his announcement, he also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to pick up the torch in the race, even though Joe Biden said that he offered his full support and endorsement for Harris to be the party's nominee. Politically, even though this is meaningful, technically the process will not be determined by Biden or Harris. It will be determined by the delegates who are scheduled to meet at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, next month on August 19th, because the way American democracy works is not that one man, one votes in the polling vote, and then whoever gets the most votes wins, the American people vote in what's called primaries and caucuses, and then the candidate who gets the most votes, they will be determined by the delegates choosing or pledging their vote to that candidate in their respective national convention. And Democrats are set to meet next month, so even though Biden have said that he endorsed his Harris, it's not automatic, it's not legally automatic, that will be, you know, the guaranteed support for Democrats, particularly if there are other candidates between now and the convention that says that they are also interested to be the party's nominee. White House bureau chief Patsy Widakaswara, Harris, America's first-ever female vice president, could be nominated to take the top spot on the Democratic Party ticket for President of the United States. Senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Prusiti looks back at President Trump. Harris' roots and her past four years in office. Please raise your right hand and repeat a history-making moment in the United States in 2021. As former senator Kamala Harris became the nation's first female vice president, it is my honor to be here. To stand on the shoulders of those who came before. Harris is also the first Black American to serve in the nation's second highest job. She's broken so many glass ceilings for so many women. The daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, Harris was born in Oakland, California. A mural of her appears at the school she was bused to as a child, as part of racial integration efforts. A graduate of Howard University, Harris became the first black woman to serve as California's attorney general. During her years as vice president, Harris has been vocal about the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision that had made abortion legal nationwide. During his term, former President Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices to the High Court. This is an important word proudly, takes credit for overturning Roe. So make no mistake, if Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state. The vice president also applauds continuation of the Affordable Care Act and the reduced price of insulin achieved by the Biden administration. Raise your hand if you have a question, please. I'll tell you a little bit. Early on, she was tapped to lead the administration's efforts at the border. But the Biden campaign ended up on defense with immigration a key issue in the 2024 election. Now undocumented spouses of American citizens who have been in the country for 10 or more years can stay in the country while they apply for a green card. Speaking to pro-immigrant groups of Trump Americans, Trump's words, that someone who vilifies immigrants, who promotes xenophobia, someone who stokes hate, should never again have the chance to stand behind a microphone and the seal of the President of the United States. Harris has become more President rallies like these on the campaign trail after President Joe Biden's stumbling performance in the June debate with former President Donald Trump. We beat Trump once and we're going to beat him again. Period. With President Biden's withdrawal from the race on Sunday, if Harris is nominated, she would again make history as the first black and Indian-American woman to run for the nation's highest office. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. President Biden gave the endorsement to Vice President Harris. It doesn't mean she will automatically become the nominee. So let's dig into that. Joining us now to talk about that aspect of the story is Charles Chamber Lane from Chamber Lane PR. He served as a spokesman and communication strategist for three U.S. senators and a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. I don't think it's a surprise, but still nonetheless, if not shocking, unsettling maybe? I mean, if you're a traditionalist and you're someone that has watched politics or followed politics for the last 50-40 years, this makes absolutely no sense to you. I mean, I think -- I feel -- I've been involved in politics for almost 20 years -- for over 20 years. And I'm one of those guys that kind of follows traditions and people are telling me, you know, Biden's going to drop out or he's going to drop out and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, this is never going to happen. And I just didn't think that something like this could happen this day and age because of the political apparatus that you have to set up, the funding, the education research and the staff being in place and the beliefs behind it, it takes all this to coalesce behind one candidate. It's a lot. I mean, when you win -- I don't care if you're looking at Clinton, you're looking at W. Bush, Bush 41, you know, it's just -- it takes a tremendous amount of people coming together to get behind a candidate to actually win. And to do that in a matter of a day or even a couple weeks before the -- I think it's three weeks before the DNC convention, it just seems improbable. But here we are. Here we are. A lot of people always talk about the money because she's part of the campaign. She can access the funds. Can you explain all that to us? Yeah, I think according to the rules that -- it's not as if one candidate can transfer money to another candidate. That's not the way the rules work. But because she's on the ticket, the Biden-Harris ticket, it stays the same. I think she just filed with the SEC today, so Biden for President just became Harris for President. I think that changed a little over an hour and a half ago. So officially as of right now, Biden for President is Harris for President. So all that's changing over, all the legalities behind it, it works. And so this is why Kamala Harris, as President for the Democratic Party, makes the most sense. Now, they're not -- you know, the time for coiness is over. I understand that they've been getting them on board. Yeah, and look, they've got the upper hand. It's not as if some sort of delegate list, contact list, or modeling exist, right? You've got to -- if you want to become President right now, you've got to seek out every delegate that exists. It's over 4,000 or something like that. And Biden has them all. So they've got a huge upper hand when it comes to voting. So, yeah, that's exactly what they should be doing right now. Well, they've had a couple of weeks. This has been in the works for a couple of weeks now. This isn't coming. I mean, right after he made the announcement, there were 40 press releases that were announced instantaneously. I can't see that. The reason why I can't see that is a long time communications person. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm here to make the Democrats look disorganized, right? This is akin to the Republicans in the House, like not being able to secure a speaker, right? Nobody wants that kind of damage, political damage. And here's the thing, Kamala Harris, Vice President, she's collateral damage because she's the Vice President, right? She's sitting there while this president is aware of the president's mental condition or health. Does she know that he wasn't fit for office and Republicans are already beginning to tie her to all the chaos that existed ahead of what happened today? Well, it's not boring. But that's the thing. And that's why this is -- I do not think that Biden intended for this to happen. And I think that's why this is one of the new york times article that just came out today that basically said he, over the last three weeks, he was trying to beat back all the stories and then on Saturday he finally gave up. He was like, because he had finally told folks, look, he was telling folks I'm running. I'm in it to win. But nobody was taking that for answer because there weren't people standing behind them. And I think that President Barack Obama is not saying it's about what the current leader is not saying. They weren't saying, hey, we're behind him and we're moving forward. And after all that pressure melted, he had to bow. And so I think this is all -- this is all a function of that kind of chaos happening and the media wanting to report on it. This is the sexy story. When a local party is in chaos, when a person's too old to be fit for office and they're stumbling in their words and they're tripping and falling, you're calling, I think he called someone Putin, wasn't supposed to be called Putin the other day. It's just right for stories. >> Well, it is the story. >> Exactly. >> Charles Chamberlain. Thank you so very much for your time. >> No problem. >> Charles Chamberlain from Chamberlain PR. Now, the last time an incumbent president did not seek re-election was in 1968. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson made the surprise announcement during a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office. >> I shall not see. And I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. >> The news that President Johnson chose not to seek re-election was shocking to many people at the time. Like now, there was a huge division in the country. The Vietnam War was raging, campus unrest was at its height with the anti-war movement and civil rights created a vast regional split in the nation. President Johnson also addressed that same speech. >> It is true that a house divided against itself by the spirit of faction, of party, of region, of religion, of race is a house that cannot stand. >> That was U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 telling the American people he would not seek re-election. So recapping the news from Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced he will drop out of the race for the presidency. We expect that he will also address the nation on television and radio sometime this week, which we will bring you here on the Voice of America when it happens. We're following these other stories from around the world. >> Hey, honey, honey, come here. >> 20,000 protesters hit the streets of Palma in Mallorca Sunday for a mass demonstration over tourism, demanding changes to a touristic model they say is harming the Spanish Mediterranean island. At least two people have been killed in Ukrainian strikes on the partly Russian-occupied dance region that, according to Russian state media, Ukraine authorities report that Russian strikes wounded at least five people in Ukraine overnight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Biden, on Monday, to make a politically precarious speech before joint session of Congress, the visit comes at a time with great uncertainty following U.S. President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race. The Israeli army on Sunday sent out its first batch of 1,000 draft orders to ultra-orthodox men in a move that could threaten the Israeli government. The move came after the report, said their exemption from service was illegal. The de Grantstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. A total of 3,000 draft orders will be sent to men who the army believes are not engaged in full-time study. The original exemption from armed service was for ultra-orthodox Jews who were studying Jewish texts full-time and believe that their prayer and study contribute to Israeli society. Several prominent ultra-orthodox students to ignore the draft orders, which could lead to their arrest. Moshe Roth, an ultra-orthodox lawmaker, says he does not believe many ultra-orthodox men will eventually serve. It's more of a declaration more than anything else. It doesn't add anything to the defense issue at this time. Israeli army officials disagree. They say there is a shortfall of at least 6,000 soldiers in the ongoing war between Israel and Israel. Many Israelis say it is also a matter of principle, and the court decision is meant to provide greater equality. Israeli Jewish men serve for two years and eight months and women for two years. Arab citizens of Israel are not drafted, although some do volunteer. Until the Supreme Court ruling last month, some 63,000 ultra-orthodox Jews received automatic exemptions from service. Some ultra-orthodox rabbis worry that contact with secular Israeli society may prompt at least some of the ultra-orthodox to leave their religion. Ariel Kellner, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, said he understands the army's need for more soldiers. But we are also committed that the paradigm that the ultra-orthodox community will feel comfortable in the army. The men who receive the draft orders have two weeks to report to the induction center to begin the process. Some of Netanyahu's ultra-orthodox coalition partners say they will pull out of the government, which could bring down Netanyahu's coalition. Other Israeli analysts say that as long as the number remains small, the ultra-orthodox parties will not leave the government. Linda Gradstein, VOA News, Jerusalem. Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that had sparked nationwide protest by students that have killed at least 114 people in recent days. Reuters correspondent Sean Hongen has more on this. Bangladesh, Attorney General Ayem Armin Adim, said the jobs should be open to candidates on merit. The Supreme Court's Appellates Division, according to Article 104, gave a final solution to this quota system. That is 93% quota for general people, 5% quota for freedom fighters and their kin, 1% for ethnic minority community, and 1% for third-gender and physically disabled. Nationwide, unrest sparked following student anger against the quotas that included preserving 30% of government positions for families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan. In the last year, it has been more than a half a year. It has been a half a year for people who voted for 30% of government positions for families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government scrapped the quota in 2018, but the lower court reinstated it last month. Adim told Reuters by phone that protesting students had said they were not involved in violence, and the government would find that more than a half a year. In this year, the media had reported scattered clashes earlier in the day. Demonstrations have also been fuelled by high unemployment among young people who make up nearly a fifth of the population. Military were patrolling with army checkpoints set up as the government had extended a curfew while bracing for the judgement. Internet and text message services in Bangladesh have been suspended since Thursday, cutting the nation's 170 million dollars per day. They were forced down on protesters who defied a ban on public gatherings. Bangladesh is trying to leave the country crowded outside an airline office in Dhaka on Sunday. Muhammad Khosa told Reuters he was trying to return to Saudi Arabia. His flight was cancelled and a new one cost him over $200. He says if he is stuck in Bangladesh for two more days, he will need to beg in the same time after a two-hour break for people to gather supplies. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The OA's international edition continues. I'm Scott Walterman. And finally... ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969, standing on the surface of the moon, the first human to do so. Those words, that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, endure as one of the best known quotes in the English language. This past weekend was the 55th anniversary of the First Moon landing. Nearly one-fifth of the world's population had skipped work or defied sleep to watch the astronauts first exploration of the moon. It happened at 252 AM GMT, July 21, 1969. Years later, Armstrong tried to put the event into perspective. The idea of achievement of Apollo was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited. Today, spacecraft from just four other countries have ever landed on the moon, the former Soviet Union, China, India, and most recently, just last month, Japan. The United States is still on average to have sent humans to the lunar surface. This has been international edition of "A Voice of America." On behalf of everyone here at BLA, thank you so much for being with us. For pictures, stories, videos, and more, follow BLA News on your favorite social media platform and online at veawaynews.com. In Washington, I'm Scott (upbeat music)