Transcripts For ALJAZ News 20240712

Turnout as georgians and now texans join the wave of americans lining up to cast their ballots 3 weeks before the u. S. Election. Cyprus scraps its controversial citizenship or Investment Program after an undercover investigation by aljazeera. And the netherlands becomes the latest european country to ramp up its coronavirus restrictions as infections keep rising. Hello abortion obamacare guns and gay marriage some of the topics featuring on day 2 of the confirmation hearings of president trumps u. S. Supreme Court Nominee Amy Kearney Barret republican and Democratic Senators each have 30 minutes to ask her about subjects that a touch points to Many Americans the full senate could vote by the end of the month on whether to appoint her just ahead of the u. S. Poll on november the 3rd but that declined to say whether she would recuse herself from any cases related to next months president ial elections. She also sidestepped questions on abortion by Dianne Feinstein the most senior democrat on the Senate Judiciary committee its a contentious issue which is a no one reason why it would be comforting to you to have an answer but i cant express views on cases or precommit to approaching a case any particular way well that makes it difficult for me and i think for other women also on this committee because this is a very important case and it affects a lot of people millions and millions of women and you could be a very important vote. On capitol hill so she appears to be not wanted to be drawn on a number of issues. Interestingly enough just in the last half hour shes been speaking with cory booker who of course democratic senator from new jersey ran for the president ial nomination for the democrats earlier this year and she was asked whether or not she believes that there is implicit rachel bias in the Justice System her answer was coached in terms of well in something as big as the u. S. Justice system then she couldnt believe that there wouldnt be imparted some sort of racial bias as cory booker said so youre saying yes there is bias and she said yes because its so big then she couldnt believe that that wouldnt be the case that was quite an interesting line and probably as far as shes going committing yourself on any political issues she has repeatedly to faired to ginsburg during her confirmation hearing when asked to comment on certain cases that might well end up in front of the Supreme Court saying that there were no previews and no trailers essentially coming up from her because when she gets a case in the court she wants to look at the law she wants to look at the constitution and then make a decision or not not be on all the noise around it not based on her own personal decision but essentially the strictly interpret in the constitution would apply to the law its an act that is is pushed through the several hours of of hearings and presumably will push again through the hearing on weapons the she denied certainly it was suggested by the senator from illinois that this was a political staging point for her to say that she wasnt going to comment on any cases because it was politically prudent to get through something that another senator disputed but she did talk about the whole idea of being appointed by donald trump to push forward his agenda he said that several times on twitter he said that he want to have a Supreme Court that would overturn roe v wade which of course is the main abortion law in the United States that would possibly help him if the election because. Contested and had to go to the Supreme Court for a decision same happened in 2000 she 1st of all said that she would nor decisions had not based on what the executive branch wanted and was not under pressure whod given new assurances she was then asked if she would recuse herself if it came to a question on the election and she give this response. To the rises totally crazy actually. Senator leahy i want to begin by making 2 very important points and they have to do with ca and with any election dispute that may or may not arise i have had no conversation with the president or any of his staff on how i might rule in that case it would be a gross violation of Judicial Independence for me to make any such commitment or for me to be asked about that case and how i would rule and i also think it would be a complete violation of the end of the judiciary for anyone to put a justice on the court as a means of obtaining a particular result and that in the meantime its emerged that dozens of members of Amy Kearney Barretts faculty at the university of notre dame have signed an open letter calling on her to withdraw from the nomination. This letter was written a few days ago but just being made public now on the 2nd day of a confirmation hearing 88 of our colleagues at notre dame suggesting that she step aside they say this is a treacherous time in American Public life this should really be up to the next president to make the decision when i say the next president i mean the pivot wins the election in november the 3rd and if that meant for heart of the if the Vice President joe biden won the election and then she would lose her seat in the court that would be unfortunate d but it would help heal some of the divisions in the United States they say that she would be well regarded by fair minded people across the whole of the country the reality is were well into this process no this is the 2nd day in fact in 2 days time at the committee will vote its almost certain its going to approve to the full senate that her nomination go forward for a vote and then the full senate will vote somewhere around october the 22nd which would mean that equally but it would take up her seat as the next justice of the Supreme Court of the United States before the 2020 president ial election on november 3rd alan fischer thank you very much. Well as exactly 3 weeks to go tell us president ial election democratic nominee joe biden is out campaigning in the battleground state of florida biden has been addressing older voters many of whom backed Dole Champaign 2016 thats been used to already the entire story in my view Donald Trumps presence. The fact that hes never been focused on what matters hes never been focused on you hes handling of this pandemic his banner radek just like his presidency has been and it has prevented florida seniors and people all across the country from getting the relief that they need dollar charge hasnt just been willing to not do the work i think is that beyond that im not sure he cares about really really any real hope but as a rushing to cast their ballots ahead of novembers u. S. President ial election its an unprecedented rate some 10 and a half 1000000 people have already mailed in or dropped off their votes weeks before election day despite president Donald Trumps unfounded claims that mail in voting leads to fraud the numbers are growing but not without problems and we got our reports. On the 1st day of early voting in Georgia People lined up for hours to cast their ballots in some counties voters reported waiting more than 10 hours but it isnt just in person voting that shattering records across the country as people make their voices heard more than 10 and a half 1000000 ballots have already been mailed in or dropped off a number that could see voter turnout the highest since 1908 despite fears over the coburg 19 pandemic long waits and technical issues in some states early voting is hitting historic numbers for me as a younger person i am relic ready and willing to get out here and brave the cold air the cold that i had to make it and i got it down it was so much at stake and president trumps unfounded claims that mail in voting could lead to massive fraud there are problems the Republican Party in california installed dozens of their own ballot drop off boxes virtually indistinguishable from boxes sanctioned by the state officials call them unofficial and illegal and have insisted they be removed those official ballot drop boxes go through a number of steps that are required in law and regulations for installation for security for placement so having these unofficial ballot drop boxes that anybody can go to on main and and not meeting all those requirements is just not appropriate according to the u. S. Election Assistance Commission the popularity of 1000000 votes has been growing for years but this year it may play into the hands of democratic president ial nominee joe biden here in florida the number of early votes reveals a potentially worrying statistic for President Donald Trump the number of democratic voters who have cast their ballots early tops republicans by more than 350000 this is a state the president must win Many Republican voters dont trust mail and voting so those numbers will change is election day draws near or at the biden campaigns push to get people voting early seems to be working make a plan to. Early and then get involved i know youre busy i know that i know youre stretched so thin but this action is still important not to do every single thing we can florida is the 1st state to begin sorting its mail in ballots but like other states the votes will to fishley be counted until election day for now only the computers know the results of what will be a historic president ial election and to gallacher aljazeera miami florida. And al jazeera expose a has forced the government of cyprus to scrap its new critic of passports for Investment Scheme the president of the parliament is also stepping down on vatican to the unit found senior politicians willing to help a foreign criminal buy a cypriot passport and access to e. U. Citizenship our Investigative Reporter David Harrison reports from nicosia. An emergency meeting of the cypriot cabinet was held at the president ial palace following the release of the aljazeera investigation. Because. There were some of the same york about using the power on those in the program we already see. That if you go to the top our own. As a flurry of developments followed the cyprus attorney general said he was launching a full investigation into the evidence gathered by al jazeera. What has been published in the last few hours by the Aljazeera News Network is causing outrage anger and concern among the people i have given clear instructions to the Police Leadership from the outset to conduct a full fora and indepth investigation into the possibility of anyone committing criminal offenses undercover reporters from aljazeera as Investigative Unit posed as representatives of a fictional client a wealthy businessman who was sentenced in absentia to 7 years in jail for bribery and Money Laundering and he is seeking a cypriot passport our reporters were led through a network of enablers ended with a meeting with demetrius salukis president of the cypriot parliament. Without motion. For support. I dont know politically for sure. When confronted with the evidence so the rest tonight wrongdoing and claim that he was suspicious of our undercover reporters from the start. Who are not easy in their various who are easy or the. Own affairs to guess this could be a guess who hears them or they look to me trysts a lyricist has since announced that hell be stepping down from his duties until the investigation is complete opposition member of parliament Christakis Giovanni was also implicated in the documentary is look this is. What your looks today in a statement he announced he is resigning from his post as member of parliament and from all his positions in the opposition party. For years there have been suspicions in the European Union that the cyprus Investment Program was allowing criminals to enter europe with the proceeds of their crimes the revelations of our investigation have shaken the Political Leadership of this country after years of failed attempts to tighten the rules the scheme will now be abolished and it seems the attorney generals investigation will examine the full extent of the wrongdoing David Harrison aljazeera cyprus for more on this investigation you can visit our website aljazeera dot com forward slash investigations and you can also see the full program the cyprus papers under cover which will next aerate 0100 hours g. M. T. Wednesday thats just under 3 hours from now still to come this half hour. Protest as demand protection of indigenous rights on the anniversary of Christopher Columbus is landing in latin america. And im Nicholas Hawk of the coast of senegal find out next how migrant communities abodes like me to make it to the European Union crossing not the mediterranean things but didnt plan to go should. Right its been warm enough in perth the temperatures coming down now the next frontal system just drags across the tip of Western Australia its not a huge change and most of the weather is staying in the water as a 1st at about 24 degrees the streak of blue those heading across the Great Australian bight towards well tasmania i know its been wet and they dont want any more rain but its coming your way theyll be some throw off into victorian maybe parts of New South Wales where theres been some good spring rains so far farmers of loving it at the moment but the concentration the well is heading down towards new zealand after tasmania the change of season the opposite way round in china has been a part of the snow falling not far away from hop in this frontal system here tails back into the middle of china in a fast to warmer for the South China Sea of course for tropical cyclones develop weve got now coming on land in vietnam and spreading its rain almost as far as hong kong whereas a gale warning flying in between the 2 warmish a bit of rain but nothing particularly significant if you went across to india a similar sort of story destruction in the sudden move into the monsoon means that this thing here which is a tropical depression has already cause flooding in Andhra Pradesh and it will do so as it was across to the west coast. My name is ablaze where this is going to lead call it theyll hold. Me up to plan good string you know wanted me to want to know you all ends up with money managerial is resilient and is just so full of surprises when a serious thing is yes to every normal. My nigerian. On aljazeera. You. Told. From one of the top stories here on jazeera president trumps nominee for the u. S. Supreme court has told senators she gave no commitments to the white house on how she would vote on obamacare or any election dispute. A record 10 and a half 1000000 people have already cast their votes in the u. S. President ial election polling day isnt for another 3 weeks but in person voting began at 122 polling stations in texas. And sophos is scrapping of citizenship for Investment Program following an undercover investigation by aljazeera that exposed high ranking officials willing to help a convicted criminal taint in you citizenship. Turning to the corona virus pandemic now and daily case numbers are rising in 33 states across the u. S. With a surge in hospital and mis admissions the country reported more than 40000 new infections on monday meanwhile 2 major treatment trials there have hit stumbling blocks a participant in a johnson and johnson vaccine trial has fallen ill and the company says it will take days to uncover the cause and the u. S. Pharmaceutical firm ellie lees says tests of an antibody treatment have been paused over an as yet unspecified safety concern irans total of daily coronavirus deaths has again reached one of its highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic on tuesday at least 254 people were reported to have died in the last 24 hours the authorities have imposed strict new restrictions but not everyone is complying those are barriers in terror on where hospitals are overstretched. This is batman hospital its one of the 118 hospitals here in the capital which has been turned exclusively into a facility which deals with covert 1000 patients there are over 500000 people in iran who have been infected so far and over 29000 people have died 4500 people are currently in Critical Condition across 31 provinces which have all been declared red zones by the Health Ministry now in the capital tehran which is one of the hardest hit provinces the Health Officials have said that as of last friday the hospitals will no longer be receiving any nonemergency patients and that they will set up field hospitals if the cases of patients continue to increase as they have for the past few weeks meanwhile ordinary iranians who are living under crippling economic sanctions imposed by the United States are desperately trying to make ends meet in very difficult circumstances its becoming increasingly difficult to expect people to say home when they receive no Financial Assistance from the governments. The netherlands is imposing new restrictions ofter record daily increase of nearly 7400. 00 grit of arse cases from wednesday and bars and restaurants will be closed and to limit patrols social gatherings start fashion is in amsterdam or hospital intensive care units will be at capacity. Alarming numbers here and then add a learned nearly 50000 in a week time thats double the number of the previous week more than this happened thousands just today and this means that this reality is only very slowly taking in the sinking in here in the netherlands so people have been reluctant to follow the rules and also the government has been accused of being far too lenient inconsistent and clear the measure for all very fall imperiling the government called it an intelligence lockdown basically urging the people just to take responsibility themselves for keeping the distance and following the rules and that obviously didnt happen and also didnt work so now in the last couple of weeks or so especially hospitals doctors who are ringing alarm bells saying theyre running out of capacity theyre struggling the netherlands has a very limited number of i. C. U. Bats around 1400 and with this rapid increase of patients thats number it is going to be reach very quickly deaths and injuries continue to rise as armenian and as eerie forces battle each other over the disputed nagornokarabakh region thats despite the russia brokered cease fire which came into force on saturday i got a car back is officially part of azerbaijan but controlled by Ethnic Armenians to negotiate who has more from the is there a city of me got you here. Gorse in armenia is the closest town to now go knock out over and horse thousands of people displaced by fighting with us are big john many are right here with all other cloths on their back young volunteers sort donation boxes to help provide their basic needs. They do shifts some of the volunteers its students but we have School Children as well they come in early in the morning and they do not want to leave we urge them to have some rest but they keep staying and work constantly on the other side of the conflict children and their families forced from their homes and territories city in azerbaijan take shelter in a school in the town of. Local aid agencies or for help in Refugee Centers including supplying baby food and diapers many of these as areas have been displaced at least once before during the war in the early ninetys then Armenian Forces occupied 7 cities and as are a jump across the knock on a car of our problems and that among the hottest there providing food medicine and everything but we must go back to our home this is how it has to be id rather eat a piece of onion and bread but in my own home a ceasefire which came into force on sunday has been violated from the 1st hour it started both sides accuse each other of operating fire the cease fire acreage in moscow last week was supposed to allow the handover of bodies of soldiers as well as prisoners of war supervised by the International Committee of the red cross that hasnt happened we are in continuous discussions with them proposing passing proposals back them for years. Operational and law to stickle agreements need to be agreed on in place and the safety of our teams guaranteed for such an operation to take place we are however not involved in the political negotiations. As our bridges close ally turkey says in addition to a cease fire the International Community should urge Armenian Forces to withdraw from what it calls us our vigilance occupied territories based on the un and e. U. Recently sions turkey has announced its full support for azerbaijan both diplomatically and militarily i mean as Prime Minister nicolas question yet said i want to tarry in crisis can only be prevented if the International Community officially recognizes the right of not going to cut of our people to selfdetermination and the point of recognizing its independence question here and also said that the Turkish Forces are in the south coca says in order to continue the policy of what he calls the genocide of their many and people he also accused work here for quitting syrian mysterys to fight for his or big jump. On the capital back you have repeated but the night that then there has been no response from the leadership in unca why dont view held in both capitals as that question ian is trying to Gain International support by inwall intricate directly in this conflict seen after solo aljazeera get or as of into hundreds of boats carrying more than a 1000 migrants have landed in the Canary Islands over the past week the red cross says the Spanish Islands havent seen numbers like that since 2006 mostly west african migrants made a dangerous 1600 kilometer journey from the coast to set a goal from dhaka nicholas haq reports. Ebro my job is not ready to give up his dream playing football in europe he believes he can succeed where his own goals have failed 10 years after they went missing trying to make it as baines Canary Islands by boat job is getting ready for the journey you do out of eleusis you get out if you leave field with worries in the prevention you want make it you need to take risks you need to be brave. Im a man im willing to risk my life whatever the outcome for me europe is. It is a feeling shared by these young men just arrived in spains Canary Islands they come from guinea senegal or algeria not flee war but political and economic instability now in the hands of spanish Border Guards who will decide on their fate while agreements between the e. U. And countries such as libya tunisia and morocco mean there are less migrants crossing the mediterranean the Spanish Interior Ministry says they are facing an unprecedented surge of african Asylum Seekers coming through the Atlantic Ocean with a 530 percent increase in arrivals this year alone. Its like. This is where the drink sometimes there are. Back to shore. Dangerous drink watch human traffickers that. Shortage. Job is packing his bags some clothing his football boots and a prayer before leaving leeds the blessing of the elders traveling to europe costs thousands of dollars a small fortune for these families. Mothers sell their land even their jewelry with the support of fathers and from one day to another we see young men leave in the pursuit of happiness. He has taken this journey before and failed. Faced with the shame of returning home empty handed hes convinced this time he will succeed. And ahead is the prospect of a new life. Nicholas hawke aljazeera car. Protests are being held in several latin american countries on the anniversary of Christopher Columbus his arrival in the region many indigenous groups see the explorers conquest of the americas as a form of genocide under schapelle reports. For Indigenous Peoples across the americas commemorations of Christopher Columbus and his socalled discovery of their lands have always been seen as a celebration of spanish conquest with this years anniversary of the explorers arrival in the americas activists in bolivia decided that this statue of spains Queen Isabella a sponsor of his expeditions needed a change look at is a good i must look what i had by putting a skeleton isabella we should better i call and ask and even within is a woman in a skirt to recognize that colonizes should was a genocide there was no need to discover America America and brady had established sites. In the chilean capital santiago members of the mob which a community for police their ancestors resisted spanish colonialism and they continue to demand protections from governments. In mexico city ahead of columbus day authorities removed a bronze statue that had been in place for decades and fenced off another to keep protesters away this yes it be ample its a good time particularly today to open the debate on historys settlers of what this day really means or what it means for america theres a meeting of cultures but there was not necessarily a discovery. Government Officials Say the statue has been removed for restoration but many hope it wont be returned something into that colonialism its been 500 years of colonialism and we still have a colonized way of thinking its in such a way that we still have people like him as heroes why is this person here and why do we have carlos the 5th in front of the National Art Museum in a year in which many statues of colonizers and slave traders have been toppled around the world it appears discussions about columbus and calls to decolonized public spaces in latin america are becoming more common and should help aljazeera peru has opened the ancient ruins of much of picchu for one japanese tourists who had waited almost 7 months while trapped in the country by the pandemic the government open the World Heritage site especially for jesse he bought a ticket to the ruins in march but before he could visit he was stranded in a nearby town by virus restrictions and border closures so it is due to reopen to the rest of the public next month. I am one of the top stories on our jazeera cypresses abolishing its nutritive citizenship for Investment Program following an undercover investigation by aljazeera it exposed high ranking officials expressing a willingness to help foreign convicted criminals obtain a cypriot passport and e. U. Citizenship the countrys attorney general has announced a probe into possible criminal offenses after the revelations Donald Trumps nominee for the us Supreme Court has faced questions on help