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CNN 10
Preview of Upcoming Israeli Elections; Continued Struggles Of Venezuelans; 5G`s Potential Impact on Farming
Aired April 03, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: With less than a week to go before a major election in Israel, we`re spelling out its significance today on CNN 10.
I`m Carl Azuz. It`s great to see you this Wednesday. Israel is America`s closest ally in the Middle East. It`s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
was first elected to the job in 1996. He`s served on and off and on again since then and if this years vote goes his way again, he`ll become Israel`s
longest serving prime minister ever, but he`s facing a number of difficult challenges this time around. One of them is that the nation`s attorney
general says he plans to charge Prime Minister Netanyahu with corruption. The Israeli leader denies doing anything wrong and calls the investigation
a politically motivated witch hunt.
In fact, he`s made it a major campaign issue. His main opponent in the election, former Military Chief of Staff Benny Gantz calls it ridiculous
that an Israeli prime minister could serve while being charged with a crime. But if either one of these men is to serve after the election,
he`ll need to have the support of Israel`s Knesset, it`s parliament. There are 120 seats in the Knesset and the prime minister needs a majority, at
least 61 of those seats on his side. That`s not always easy to put together. Unlike the U.S. Congress which is dominated by Democrats and
Republicans there are more than 40 political parties running for Israel`s Knesset.
Most of those won`t actually make it in but analysts say 10 to 14 different parties will and the biggest one`s likely to have around 30 seats. So what
the prime minister has to do to have 61 or more of those seats on his side is get several of these different parties to work together. That coalition
building process can take weeks but once its all worked out after the April 9th election, the governing resumes.
Next today, people in Venezuela need healthcare, medicines, water, electricity, education and access to food. That`s what an internal United
Nations draft support says about conditions in the South American country. Around 32 million people used to live there but several million have fled
in recent years as the economy crumbled and political instability followed. The UN says it`s trying to work with Venezuela`s government to get help to
its people but the government says there is no crisis and its blocked or restricted aid deliveries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The alarming UN draft report says that up to 94 percent of Venezuelans are living in poverty, 94 percent for a
country that has arguably the largest oil reserves on the planet. The report also says that almost 2 million people are expected to leave this
country just this year because of the ongoing crisis. Across Venezuela there are still blackouts and also water shortages. We saw people here in
Caracas on the mountainside collecting water for their daily needs. This is how one person saw the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRANSLATED: As Venezuelans, we`re very upset. Listen brother, we don`t have power. We don`t have water. Sewers (ph) work
badly. It`s - - I don`t even know how to explain. If it was for me we would have forced this government out. Five people come forward, they get
killed and nothing is achieved.
MCKENZIE: Schools have been closed and workers have been told to go home early. Here in the capital the subway system isn`t working and people are
having to cram on buses just to get to and from work. The president of the country, embattled Nicolas Maduro is standing by the promises to bring back
the power and says schools will open next week. In a live television broadcast with cabinet members and other government officials, he blamed
the power outages on the terrorist attacks. Something he`s done before even though experts say the main issue has been investment and allegations
of corruption against the regime.
Despite anger on the street, the regime is trying to maintain its grip on power. The Loyalist Supreme Court saying that they want the opposition
leader Juan Guaido`s immunity to be stripped from him and so that they can move with potential allegations and even arrests in the coming days.
Guaido is calling for intervention from countries around the region and across the globe but at this stage, Maduro isn`t going anywhere. David
McKenzie, Caracas, Venezuela.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. First generation mobile networks also known as 1G were introduced in what decade? 1970s`, 1980s`, 1990s`, or 2000s`. It was
in the late 1970s` that 1G cellular networks made their debut in Japan.
And now four decades later, we`re at the dawn of 5G technology with roll outs in the U.S. expected this year. Download and upload speeds are said
to be much faster than 4G and the wireless industry says 5G will transform everything from education to medicine. What about farming? Tests going on
right now in the United Kingdom suggest 5G could dramatically change that industry but there are a number of challenges. One, 5G would have to be
installed in rural areas where there are fewer users and some places even 4G coverage is spotty.
Will companies be willing to install the additional cell towers that are needed where there aren`t as many people to use them? Two, security is a
concern. What could happen if a key part of the food supply is disrupted by domestic or foreign hackers? Three, what about costs? The system
you`re about to hear or is partly funded by the UK`s government. Will farmers and other places also get help? Or will they have to spend their
own money on this? So this look at 5G farming assumes everything goes as proponents hope it will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a connected cow. She and the rest of her herd sport colors with 5G connectivity which provide real time (inaudible) about
feeding patterns, health and behavior. Data like this could help address a looming problem, how to feed the world`s population as it grows. By 2050,
they`ll be more than 9 billion people on the planet and they all need to eat. That means farmers will need to produce 70 percent more food and
that`s where tech comes in.
The industrial revolution paved the way for modern farming techniques. So on average by 1960, one farmer in the U.S. could feed 26 people. Today
it`s 155 but by 2050 each farmer will need to feed more than 265 people on the same amount of land. So farmers will have to do more with less. The
UK is one country leading the way in smart farming innovation. 5G solutions are being tested across the country as part of the government led
5G Rural First Initiative. In the English county of Shropshire, the hands free tech (inaudible) project achieved a world first in 2017 when
successfully planting, tending and then harvesting a crop without a single human stepping foot on it. It failed.
Autonomous tractors sowed the seeds. Drones with a range of sensors monitored the crops and samples were taken remotely providing data for
targeted fertilizers and pesticides, while a driverless combine harvested the produce. 5G is now being used to increase the capability, precision
and efficiency of the system and what about those connected cows? They`re part of a trial in southwest England where more than 100 cows are being
monitored remotely through their 5G connected collars. And the high tech dairy farmer they call home is equipped with automated feeding, milking and
cleaning systems that can adapt to each cows individual preferences.
With the help of 5G, data can be seen by the farmer in real time. All this helps to ensure that the farmer is as efficient as possible so cows produce
their highest amount of milk and are kept as happy and healthy as can be. But the UK is not the only country investing in the promise of 5G farming.
From perfecting potato production in the Netherlands to planned 5G connected oyster farm in Japan, a variety of trials are cropping up across
the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: If you`re the adventurous type who wants to live somewhere exotic, you don`t mind wearing a heavy suit whenever you step outside and you just
love the color red. This could be your future home. These are NASA`s top three finalists for the 3D printed habitat talent. It`s a $3.15 million
competition for people to design a living space that could be built and potentially lived in on another planet, like Mars.
These are just renderings. The next phase of the competition challenges teams to 3D print models of their designs. If you don`t "Martian" the idea
of living abroad, we hear Mercury`s warm this time of year and Jupiter`s said to be a gas. If you decide to turn your sights elsewhere, you might
"Nep-tune" your attention to something even farther. Distant destinations offer "Plutones" of space if you`re willing to "plan-it". That`s all for
CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz.
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