19/04/2023
FTS 12.30
*Iran: airspace reopens after failed attack
*Argentine govt. forced to propose 70% increase to university spending costs
FTS 12.30
*Iran: airspace reopens after failed attack
*Argentine govt. forced to propose 70% increase to university spending costs
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Iran has reopened its airspace after confirming the failure of an attack against their territory.
00:16 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described US veto of Palestine's bid to join the UN
00:21 as a full member as "immoral and unjustified".
00:27 And Argentina's ultra-liberal government has been forced to give 70% increase to specific
00:33 university funds after a day of visible support to the sector.
00:42 Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:44 My name is Belinda de los Santos and from the Telesur studios in Havana, Cuba, we begin
00:49 with the news.
00:50 The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent closed its annual session on Friday from Geneva,
00:56 Switzerland.
00:57 Its third session, held between April 16th and 19th, was organized under the theme "The
01:02 Second International Decade for People of African Descent", addressing systemic racism,
01:09 reparatory justice and sustainable development.
01:11 In this context, Barbados Ambassador to the Caribbean Community David Camacho has called
01:16 for global action to establish slavery tribunal, stating it was crucial to establish a new
01:22 international special tribunal to seek reparations for transatlantic slavery and its legacies
01:28 in today's society.
01:30 In a video message at the opening of the session, US Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated
01:35 that racism was based on centuries of enslavement and colonialism.
01:41 And he also stated that the reparations should be part of efforts to tackle it.
01:50 And to further analyze the relevance of the forum held in Geneva and the initiatives proposed
01:55 there, we are joined by David Camacho, Barbados Ambassador to the Caribbean Community and
02:01 well-known reparations advocate.
02:03 Welcome David.
02:04 Thank you.
02:05 It's a pleasure to be here.
02:08 It's our pleasure to have you here in From the South.
02:10 So first things first, how would you explain what the Permanent Forum on People of African
02:15 Descent is, what its mission is and what is its importance?
02:22 Well the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is perhaps the newest
02:29 United Nations entity.
02:32 It was really born out of the 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism.
02:41 That was a world conference that focused on all aspects of racism.
02:47 But that conference gave birth to the United Nations Decade for People of African Descent.
02:57 And one of the positive developments during that decade was the decision of the UN General
03:05 Assembly to establish this 10-person forum that would focus specifically on issues pertaining
03:14 to people of African descent and would be a consultative body, particularly to the UN
03:22 Human Rights Council, to advise on what measures still need to be taken so that people of African
03:30 descent can get the full enjoyment of their rights and we can combat anti-black racism.
03:41 Now Mr. Commission, you were one of the main proponents to establish a new international
03:46 special tribunal to seek reparations for transatlantic slavery and its legacies in today's society.
03:54 What would this entail and how would you think this would contribute to tackle the challenges
03:59 that are still experienced in today's society?
04:02 Well, I am a member of Barbados' National Task Force on Reparations.
04:10 I'm actually the deputy chairperson.
04:14 And since the year 2013, the Caribbean community CARICOM has launched a claim for reparations
04:24 against the governments of Western Europe.
04:29 Our claim is for reparations for the crimes against humanity of native genocide, that
04:36 is the genocide of the indigenous people of the Caribbean, and also for the centuries
04:41 of African enslavement.
04:44 And so we have targeted 10 Western European countries, and we are saying to them that
04:53 reparations are owed.
04:56 And we have been seeking to negotiate a reparations package with them.
05:04 But thus far, we have not been successful.
05:08 So if we fail to negotiate, then the next option is the legal option.
05:17 How do you litigate?
05:19 And right now the major international court that would be available to litigate a reparations
05:27 claim is the International Court of Justice, the ICJ.
05:33 But the ICJ suffers from two defects, really.
05:37 Number one, it is not a court that was really designed to handle a case of the complexity
05:45 and magnitude of a reparations claim for hundreds of years of African enslavement.
05:53 And secondly, it suffers from the defect that several of the former enslaved nations, if
06:02 not all of them, even though they signed on to the jurisdiction of the ICJ, they entered
06:09 reservations to the ICJ treaty stipulating that the ICJ could not adjudicate claims against
06:21 them for crimes that took place prior to their signing on to the ICJ.
06:29 So in other words, the crimes that they committed during the colonial era, the ICJ would not
06:37 have the jurisdiction to adjudicate those crimes.
06:41 So for most of these former enslaved nations, the best that we can do by going to the ICJ
06:49 would be to ask the ICJ for an advisory opinion, an advisory opinion declaring that they are
06:58 guilty and that they do owe reparations.
07:02 But an advisory opinion is not something that you can enforce.
07:08 So hence came the idea of why not get the United Nations to establish a new court, a
07:17 specialized court that would be specifically designed for this particular issue, that is,
07:26 adjudicating reparations claims.
07:29 And once the claim has been approved, then quantifying, quantifying the damage that was
07:38 done and the type of compensation that has to be paid.
07:45 So this third session of the Permanent Forum was held until today, April 19th.
07:53 What can you tell us on how it developed, and particularly its views on this sort of
07:59 proposals as the one you were describing?
08:02 How do you see this coming into effect in the coming years?
08:05 Well, I actually placed this before the Permanent Forum last year at its second session, which
08:15 was held at UN headquarters in New York.
08:19 And so it did find favor with the Permanent Forum last year, and it did find its way into
08:28 the report of the Permanent Forum last year.
08:31 So basically what I was doing at this third forum, this third session of the forum, sorry,
08:38 was reiterating the proposal that was made last year and calling upon all of the delegates
08:48 to the forum and all of the member states of the United Nations to support this recommendation,
08:56 because the forum has already recommended that this should be done.
09:01 And the forum has already recommended that this should be done, but this will call for
09:08 a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, and that will call for a campaign.
09:17 You know there's going to be resistance to this idea by the former enslaver nations.
09:24 So I was really rallying support for the recommendation and saying to member nations of the United
09:34 Nations that we are going to have to rally around this idea and do the advocacy work
09:42 to actually be able to get a resolution passed at the United Nations General Assembly.
09:48 It's the United Nations General Assembly that would have to establish such a special tribunal.
09:59 So yes, so we have commenced upon a process, but of course there's still some ways to go.
10:09 So thank you David for your time here in From the South.
10:13 It has been very insightful to be able to follow this topic.
10:17 We'll be looking forward to new topics.
10:20 Thank you for being here.
10:21 My pleasure.
10:22 Thank you very much.
10:23 Of course.
10:27 So now let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok @TelusorEnglish
10:31 where you will find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
10:36 Other stories coming up.
10:37 Stay with us.
10:38 Stay with us.
10:39 Welcome back to From the South.
11:01 The Iranian authorities have opened the airspace after confirming the failure of an attack
11:06 against their territory.
11:08 The civil aviation organization reports that several flights have been reactivated.
11:13 In addition to apologizing to the passengers for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation
11:17 and delay of some flights, they informed that they have established a protocol to know the
11:22 exact time of departures and arrivals.
11:26 Thus, it is officially confirmed that all operational restrictions imposed for security
11:31 reasons have been lifted.
11:33 The spokesman for the Persian space agency, Hussein Dalyrian, reported via Social Network
11:39 X that several drones had been successfully shut down while noting that no missile attacks
11:45 had been recorded.
11:46 And now we move on to other topics.
12:08 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has described as immoral and unjustified the veto exercised
12:14 by the United States on Thursday against his country's accession as a full member to the
12:18 United Nations.
12:19 Washington's decision, known in advance due to a U.S. media leak, has prevented Palestine
12:25 from ceasing to be a mere observer and gaining full membership in the United Nations.
12:30 139 countries around the world have considered Palestine to be entitled to this right, which
12:37 is why the Palestinian president accuses the Biden administration of practicing an aggressive
12:41 policy and, more seriously, of violating international humanitarian law, as its decision will lead
12:48 to the continuation of the genocidal operation against the Palestinian people.
13:02 Gaza residents continue to face the crisis generated by the Israeli siege.
13:06 The situation remains intense even in the so-called safe zones.
13:11 Let's see the latest updates with our correspondent Noor Harseen.
13:14 More days pass and the situation now in Gaza is as intense as the beginning of the Israeli
13:21 war on the coastal enclave.
13:23 The Israeli army hit the coastal enclave from its north to its south with hundreds of airstrikes
13:28 and shells.
13:29 Eyewitnesses and people who are still residing in northern Gaza say that the past 24 hours
13:36 looks like or seems like the first days of this Israeli war on Gaza and this is because
13:43 Israel intensified its airstrikes in northern Gaza.
13:46 Meanwhile, here in southern Gaza, in Rafah and also in Khan Younis, the situation is
13:52 still also intense, even though these are marked as green areas and they should be considered
13:58 as safe areas for the people.
14:00 But again, Israel continues pounding these areas.
14:04 Talking about the humanitarian aid situation and in a very actually dramatic change.
14:10 Israel allowed a number of humanitarian aid trucks to enter into the northern Gaza.
14:15 So now and for the first time in seven months, there is fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs in
14:20 the markets of northern Gaza.
14:22 But here is the thing.
14:23 Most of the people have run out of money.
14:26 They rarely can buy anything to feed themselves during the day.
14:31 At the same time, Egypt from its side allowed a number of humanitarian aid trucks to enter
14:37 from its side and actually four of the trucks were loaded with cooking gas.
14:44 Nur Harazin, TELESUR, Gaza.
14:47 Now we move on to other topics.
14:48 On Thursday in Argentina, after an intense day of protest in support of education sector,
14:53 the government of Javier Millet announced a 70% increase in the operating budget of
14:58 universities.
14:59 Specifically, the Minister of Human Capital reported a 70% increase in funding and also
15:06 anticipated a similar increase in May.
15:08 In turn, the vice-rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Emiliano Jacobiti, clarified
15:13 that it was only an informal proposal and insisted it was insufficient to maintain the
15:18 functioning of the university system.
15:21 On the other hand, the National Inter-University Council emphasized the willingness to make
15:25 an offer but in the meantime expressed that this organization does not consider the conflict
15:30 closed, and meanwhile ratified a call to the mobilization set for April 23rd.
15:44 On the other hand, cinema workers in Argentina will march on Friday to the National Institute
15:50 of Cinema and Visual Arts, the INCA, in Buenos Aires, in its defense and in repudiation
15:55 of the measures taken by the government of President Javier Millet.
15:59 This new rally against the libertarian measures is called by the staff of the Cine Argentino
16:05 Unido, or United Argentinian Cinema.
16:08 From there, they denounce the attempts of the executive to destroy culture.
16:13 According to their statement, as it has already been done with education and public health,
16:19 after announcing the formalization of paralyzing the historic institute for the Ibero-American
16:24 Cinematographic Arts, the government unfolded the emptying of the promotion area, a fact
16:30 considered by the staff as a brutal blow to the reason for the existence of this institute.
16:44 And now we have a final short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok, tell us your English
16:48 and also join our WhatsApp community.
16:53 For our English speaking audience, you can scan the QR code on screen to join directly
16:57 and also share the link to reach more people.
16:59 Constant news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the rest of the world.
17:08 Stay connected and informed with Telesurf.
17:11 Final short break, don't go away.
17:12 Welcome back to From the South.
17:31 Indonesian authorities warned of tsunami risk due to volcanic activity on Mount Rang.
17:36 The Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency said that eruptions could cause tsunamis,
17:42 but noted that so far the ocean has not shown any unusual behavior.
17:46 Five eruptions have been recorded from Mount Rang at an average height of between 1,800
17:53 and 3,000 meters.
17:55 In this sense, the authorities have defined the risk zones and ordered the evacuation
17:59 of tourists and residents as well as the cancellation of activities at airports.
18:09 And we now begin our tour of sports.
18:11 Note, because on Thursday, the Puerto Rican athlete Aiden Owens qualified for the Paris
18:16 2024 Olympic Games.
18:19 In this way, the deck athlete obtained his ticket to France after completing his participation
18:24 in the empty sack relays held in California, United States with a record of 8,732 points.
18:32 In this sense, the 23-year-old becomes the 24th delegate from Puerto Rico and the second
18:39 in history in this category of athletics after another Puerto Rican, Luigi Llanos, represented
18:44 the Caribbean nation in Athens 2004.
18:47 It means a lot.
18:50 A lot of these guys got the best training facilities in the world, all the best things.
18:57 And I'm down there in Puerto Rico, a wonderful country, and they got what we have.
19:01 You know, we come up with the resources, I got the best team, the best Olympic committee
19:04 supporting me.
19:05 It's a big deal.
19:06 And we continue with more sports notes from the South.
19:09 On Thursday, the Haitian Hesny Pierre-Louis informs that he will participate in the 2024
19:15 World Skate Games to be held in several cities in the south of Italy.
19:19 Precisely, the Haitian skater recently won a new title in Chile during the roller skating
19:24 competition that took place on Friday, April 12th of this year in the city of Serena in
19:30 the category of inline freestyle, the same modality that he will compete in the World
19:35 Skate Games.
19:36 It should be noted that the event will bring together 12,000 athletes from 100 countries
19:42 and will have different disciplines, including skateboarding, scootering, downhill, inline
19:46 freestyle, skate cross, among others.
19:57 And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
19:59 You can find these and many other stories on our website at tellusoreenglish.net.
20:04 And also join us on social media.
20:05 We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram, and also on TikTok.
20:12 For Tell Us Your English, my name is Belén de los Santos.
20:14 Thank you for watching.
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