requirement to move from them on zones but they offer has been extended to those who want to move from the orange areas into the green zones so that we can ensure that as many persons as possible can seek shelter if it did so and needed we have received pledges of support from the regional governments and all government is working with these regional organizations and governments to lend support and to see how we can plan the way forward as it is now there are many uncertainties and it's a sort of hour by hour development and things can change rather quickly. your charges are with means the whole rom of the headlines a power blackout on iran's main nuclear facility is being described as an act of terrorism but israeli media coating and identified sources claims it was a cyber attack carried out by israel's intelligence services it comes at

a time when iran and the u.s. all struggling to revive the 2050 nuclear deal mark fitzpatrick is a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the u.s. he says the incident comes and during a very delicate political situation in iran it's a very dicey political situation in iraq you know sitting in washington and it's desean up here with a half of the political spectrum opposed to restoring jase if you know in the pilot ministration an incident needless to get it through in tehran it's worse most of the parliament is against dealing with the united states and the supreme leader who calls the shots is very very skeptical of the united states and he's he's given of it is so people authority to negotiate but you know i could i could easily see him decide that on these kind of military attacks he might think united states has had a hand in it. with almost 100 days to go before the tokyo lympics japan has adopted

stricter krone virus restrictions curfews are in place on restaurants and businesses and large events have been limited to 5000 people china's top disease control official says their local produce that scenes are highly effective the center for disease control made the rare admission after one study found these son of a jab at a success rate of just above 50 percent voting is now closed in ecuador's presidential runoff election recent polls suggest it will be a tight race between the leftist economists and that is our us conservative banker more lassoo so far it's the state of the economy that's dominating the political fight and polls will close in half an hour in neighboring proof for the 1st round of the presidential election the pandemic has overshadowed the run up to the vote tens of thousands of died and there have been more than $1600000.00 cases those are the headlines and back with more news in half an hour up front is next to stay with us. when freedom of the press is under threat demonstrators and journalists are

dealing with internet outages police intimidation and charges of said dish shift the focus is covering the way the news this coverage the listening posts on a just. as viktor orban killed democracy in hungary last the international spokesperson for the hunger in government. marc lamont hill also on the show the united states congress is reviewing legislation that would consider paying money to the descendants of enslaved africans could such reparations ever happen and i think the best way to remediate these historical injustices that's our debate but 1st crack down on media minorities and political institutions has said prime minister viktor orban on a collision course with the e.u. so is the country's relationship with brussels salvageable or is it damaged beyond

repair last hungry secretary of state for public diplomacy this week headline or so time called watch. so it's on call that's thank you so much for joining us up front. and a quarter of congress population has received at least one shot of the colbert 19 vaccine. so 'd the government is now easing restrictions they're opening things up which makes sense except that right now is also one of the highest per capita corporate death rates in the world in recent weeks hospitals are inundated with patients doctors are begging you essentially not to ease up restrictions why are you listening to doctors. but 1st of all let me suggest to you that yes indeed the numbers are still high but the nature of the wave is very much different from the previous 2 and that's why we have decided that

a new strategy is required it's obvious that the british train as it is being called can't be stopped by this picture that's the lesson everybody leaders around the globe the only way out of this crisis in general and specific in face of the british crown is actually nation so it's speeding up accident but most of us are i'm a little i'm a little confused here doctors are saying don't do this in fact judyth tarver she's vice president of the hungary and labor union of doctors said doctors find it in comprehensible how there could be a communication about a reopening so soon just when we should be talking about tightening and how to improve a different system curves i understand the idea of using a different strategy what i don't understand is why is there gap between what the government is doing and what so many doctors are saying. right or you say that many but not all and very definitely better strategies are being formulated ear is it's not only the health care element actually which is taken into consideration

the hungary and hospital system is. carrying the burden it is carrying we have to go there was actually who lost their jobs so be restarting the economy is another must and also to demand all health of hungary and who because of the restrictions not being able to go to school or being able to go to work because that you have to take care of their children and you strategy is required i think part of the challenge mr kovacs though is as you're describing the circumstances around vaccinations in the circumstances around the pandemic it's hard for us as a public to have a clear sense of what's going on because journalists aren't being allowed to report on this properly non-state media is not allowed in the hospitals doctors are not being permitted to speak to the press same for nurses 28 media organizations wrote to your government at the end of last month demanding greater transparency and access to hospitals for journalists covering covert 19 why aren't you giving them

access the reason is very simple the hospitals have to deal with what they have signed for and that is treating the patients and taking care of those who are to meet our very definitely we provide access through those channels we've been using for the past year there's no change in protocol what a month ago. it is a public service radio and television actually which is giving our our all the reports on a daily basis about the vaccination progress about our hospitals about the heroic fight that is going on in the house because it's simply not true because we see the efforts actually specially from the anti-government press that we would like to come in and go for sensational news but that's an athlete this is not what hunger areas and the special and those in the hospitals are required the and i mean doctors and nurses have the right obviously in face of what you're suggesting to

tell their opinion outside a hospital very definitely the hospital subject to treat the patients not for immediate purposes so that i'm clear you're saying doctors and nurses are permitted to speak to the media. sure nobody go there is that official statement obviously like you know any other country when it's about or on behalf of a hospital or on behalf of official if this is. going to be called into a protocol which is again not to get any mention but an international one and everybody is free to delegate opinion and what they see outside hospitals the hospitals are for treating the patients not for media purposes and so the idea that the media restrictions are purely based on medical need would make sense except that there are so many other concerns about media freedom in the country since 2010 when prime minister viktor orban came to power we've affectively seen

a complete takeover the majority of the country's media or on top of this he has he had the constitution written away the human rights watch said quote we can't get legal checks on its authority interfered with media freedom undermined human rights protections judicial independence and political participation how can we make sense of this particularly if we're thinking through a lens of democracy. the list of words you've used a very nice very obviously be all of them because that's probably the dearest from the perspective of democracy but these are these school words these allegations i mean the lack of media freedom and so on is coming from the cavalry on the part of the bill opposition for the past 10 years we all know that it's simply not true. therefore it's a political issue rather than a real democracy issue in any way we don't take care of these allegations anymore because in again they are simply not true look at them on the situation we could be

more specific because you're saying we all know they're simply not true but media organizations are saying they're true human rights organizations are saying they're true it's estimated now that 90 percent of all meet in hungary is now directly or in. directly controlled by viktor orban party that's a fact correct why not 100 i'm sorry you know. why 900 percent i mean i'm just joking i mean. i think the democratic congress fine but the question still is is that if. you acknowledge that 90 percent is controlled by the party but i'd be going to. be marcus is that we can joke about the issues which is which are laughable i mean the charges are laughable not what you are saying or suggesting but what the political opposition domestically is trying to suggest that's been a buzzword for the past the than 11 years by now actually they've been bombarding not only hungary and public opinion but the international public could be you know these charges year by year big praise about the warrior but. going to way of hunger

the media freedom this is simply not true the estimate you have. is far too exaggerating in any respect very obviously very obviously compared to western european media balance where it's very rare to hear any kind of conservative christian democratic opinion any more it's a refreshing good. situation and experience here in hungary that at these there is some kind of balance viktor orban himself has referred to hungry as in a liberal democracy do you share that assessment he did refer to hunger is an illegal. procedure. for that description that has been the formulated and put on asked by the best of european press but long long years ago maybe 8 years ago the prime minister said i was going to i was going to parse you for one second so i know you said he never said that but i'm going to quote him for a moment from

a speech he gave in 2014 he said the nation is not a simple sum of individuals but a community that needs to be organized strengthen and developed and in this sense the new state that we are building is an ill. liberal state a non liberal state and now that you understand that he said this do you share this assessment your short years after the whole thing was fabricated by the western european press we are probably liberals because that means we are normal liberals as a right i'm sorry just for clarity you say well. i'm certainly moral means if you have the freedom to have a different kind of political opinion and put their political conviction namely christian democracy christian democracy is not a liberal democracy or a liberal democracy perception it's a long way made ready to engage in that actually but it's going to take hours actually when i'm convincing you don't walk by and convincing you that the use of the barrel in the atlas acts or world not to talk about the united states or the u.k.

is going to be completely different from what we use here in central europe so no liberal would be the. be good description actually as the prime minister means it and i believe any indication that there is only one way it will be more prosy call liberal is simply wrong and not true but your assertion that human rights are being compromised that personal and individual freedoms and liberties aren't being undermined seems to stand at odds with what we're seeing here your government has used emergency powers to pass a law criminalizing criticism of the government's response to the pandemic and put a total ban on protests that ended legal recognition for transfer people and it banned same sex couples from adopting children yes but the relation of. relating news and items as you suggested from your list of allegations has nothing to do what you are trying to question here are the measures that are in place and are in place for the pandemic obvious that come here uniform that is similar to any

european or global approach to an effective measurement system by which it is possible to handle the situation spreading use of. that. is as the jurist in the u.k. in the united states in the arabic world as it is in hungary and if it's a lie and if you steers up public. should be persecuted that's the only meaning the other elements actually this concern isn't just being articulated though by people in hungary it's not just being expressed by people and human rights organizations the e.u. more broadly may have your fellow members have expressed concern about hungary's ability to follow a commitment to following the rule of law a common value of course in shrine in article 2 of the e.u. use founding treaty a disciplinary process against hungry was launched in 2018 and now the threat of financial sanctions is looming how do you respond to those nations those fellow

members those entities who say that you're not following the rule of law. well gary the stance is very clear on that bill bastion on many issues we all agree and if you have any allegations if you have any doubt then use those channels independently and objectively judge this situation there's no such system in place in new york be you know yet. the political that. the left and liberals the greens use the rule of law as a buzzword as a matter of fact as a as a political weapon against those they don't like and that's the warri i meant actually one of the most worrying elements of the development of western european politics for the past couple of years. in the name of democracy be accepted by seeing the meaning of words. and if you like a referee for the sake of their all go to google's just the very fact that we don't

agree. if you are softly because i think that what these are these are these aren't philosophical issues but these are sort of softball issues being raised they weren't there were broader concerns about about the rule of law specifically the independence of the judiciary corruption and conflicts of interest freedom of expression academic freedom i would hope i would imagine you would say that the right also wants these things right and the fact that they are saying that you are not honoring this would suggest that this is not an ideological war perhaps rather this is a question of whether the rule of law is being followed what do you say to that. it's a very nice list of allegations of the only real issue is that if you talk about the rule of law if you believe that something is wrong then you have to substantiate it and prove that it is wrong so far for the past 10 years not really anybody succeeded that because most of the foundations for those allegations are coming from a different part of the commission that difference important legal opinion cannot

substantiate or cannot serve as a ground floor not true and that these. are not true allegations just because of the difference of political opinion we. conservatives that is christian democrats the pine believe and act differently than liberals and that freedom is provided by the wheel of the people and that so simple in hungary 3 consecutive elections the government has gained a coup so that support on behalf of the population and in terms of the mandates in parliament that's a clear cut in biggish and of how and what people are pining and what trust they have given to the government. thank you so much for joining me on up front. 40 acres and a mule that was the promise that was made to newly freed african-americans an

$865.00 at the end of the u.s. civil war a form of reparations for the atrocities of slavery but it didn't take long for the promise to be broken just a year later president andrew johnson reversed the order leaving the formerly enslaved with no form of restitution some argue that this marked the beginning of the contemporary racial wealth gap in the united states today according to some estimates 40 acres and a mule will be the equivalent of about 2 and a half trillion dollars congress is currently reviewing the bill reparations 1st introduced in 1909 known as h r 40 which would set up a commission to examine remedies for slavery such as payments from the government to descendants of enslaved africans so should reparations take place and if so what would that look like joining us to discuss this are barbara rand's be professor of african-american studies at the university of illinois chicago and author of making black lives matter and jared ball professor of communication and afrikaans studies at morgan state university and the author of the myth and propaganda of black

buying power i want to thank you both for joining me in the arena barbara i want to start with you what does it mean when we say reparations and i know that's a broad question people have different ideas about what that means we can you explain a little bit and your estimation of how what reparations is a what it should be and how it would work. yeah i mean i think that's the area of of debate and struggle ray there are a number of models for reparations all of them limited in problematic if you will we think of reparations as a repair as redress for past harm and past grievance so the reason i think the reparations demand is a useful one in in the constellation of tactics that we might use in the black freedom movement is that it really does at the on the bottom line indict racial capitalism which was built on the backs of black people with stolen land and stolen labor it is something that we still do not confront it is you know a part of

a very bloody history that that a whole. elaborate narrative of american triumphalism you know covers over so so i think it's a way to both expose racial capitalism as well as some of the material realities of white supremacy today jarrett you have said and i want to begin here because you know sometimes we see in mainstream media the reparations debate and it becomes the person who supports reparations or represents like 80 percent of black community and then there's that when there's a conservative person who's propped up to represent the infinitesimal number of black people who actually oppose it and that's not what we're doing here you begin from the place of saying black people deserve reparations you're concerned about whether reparations would all to mit lee be more damaging than beneficial as a tactic or strategy can you talk a little bit about what you mean when you say that. well sure to the extent

that any issue can be turned on its side and made conservative this is certainly one of them and i think in many ways the reparations argument has been welcomed by a conservative segments of the political and media apparatus even the academic apparatus in the united states because it doesn't challenge capital it allows for in many ways what we saw after the election of barack obama it allows for much of white america to simply say well we can walk wipe our hands of of these issues and move on what i think should be the primary concern for any group or any oppressed group no more among them than black people in the united states that is the assumption of political power and we need to be organizing for. a change of this is sidey in ways that would make this conversation moot the call for reparations has been going on as you noted in your intro for since you know in some ways for a long time in officially least within the halls of congress in terms of this h

r 40 since 1909 and it has gone nowhere largely because the society not only is bent on you know cumulating well from the extraction of labor and particularly black labor in this country but also because there's no no will among the you know roughly 2 thirds of the voting population that would be required to start passing the kinds of legislation that would start redistributing wealth just a black americans when in fact we see this is heidi doesn't even want to redistribute even pennies back to its own white citizens even in the moment of coven crisis so that's really what i think i think we need to be thinking much bigger anyway in terms of debt cancellation and redistribution the grid gross domestic product all of that kind of stuff. but can i can i just respond to gerri you know but it doesn't have to be either or i mean you know all of what you say is is true and every reform demand we make is co-opted by every reform demand is limited but you know this is a reform demand we see it as

a revolutionary demand were misguided but in the context of a reform demand it does have the expect the potential to expose racial capitalism because what it says is that these the bloody beginnings of this country that american capitalism is built with stolen labor and stolen land and that that indicts it for that in a very very profoundly and profound and fundamental way and to do that disrupts the whole narrative i think that justifies capitalism in in the present day if it is our only strategy is problematic if as a strategy to doesn't factor in class disparities in the black community and the role of black elites it's a problem but if it doesn't do that like any other reform it provides an opportunity to provide some material relief to our people who are indeed suffering and it provides the opportunity to discourse and we indict the you know capitalist system which i think we both are critics of and spent much of our lives seeking to

dismantle joe you said something that's fascinating and that i think may get you in trouble at least on the internet if you know as real a place that might be you said that tactically if you want to get reparations it should be collective in that specific to any one group because quote you could argue that white working people have a history of being exploited indigenous people have been exploited latinos have been exploited there are people who are going to say to you and who have said to you that this deflection the issue that black americans were enslaved and that we need to have a conversation and public policy that is targeted to them and to lump all those exploited people together is to do a disservice to the descendants of enslaved africans here in the united states where you say it. first of all i say that a logical and sound response to my personal critique and suggestion i get that i'm not so so and usually the response to my suggestion is that it is often at least as you pointed out to suggest that i'm not in defense support of black people getting

reparations or the particular individual and specific struggle that black people have suffered here in this country that's not at all the case again my point is just tactically technically speaking we should be focused on something bigger alighting like a debt you believe let's cancel debt imagine if your student loan debt is wiped out your is your medicare and met will medical coverage is entirely covered you know schooling is free you know all of this you know if all of these basic minimum are just caught up to in terms of what is you know the case for much of the so-called advanced world and we're having to read the next level of what black people could get prepared to believe would be even i think even stronger and the ability to politically organized for more would be even more advanced and stronger so that's all i'm simply trying to suggest that it's a tactical question not more and. does deserve american right yet but i think yeah all that's not mutually exclusive though is it i mean histo asking if you know you

know the context of obama's model and i'm sad. well i'm sorry you're right what i'm but i'm really what i'm arguing for is an assumption of political power that would make a request of the federal government moot in the same way that those who had it themselves trillions last summer to make up for the lack of consumer spending among those of us in a concert in a covert crisis were able to do if you have political power you just redistribute the nation's wealth to where it's needed in those who need it the most who get it and that's what really the kind of focus that i'm talking about i'm going to. let you get by which is you know that's a great look you know not on you and that's a revolutionary vision right which which we share we're not there yet so i think you know when we talk about tactically you know there are things that we might demand tactically that we know are not realizable in the framework of the current system is serves a certain function it serves to mobilize people it serves to raise consciousness so as to expose certain contradictions etc so so tactically there are demands that are

made all the time that we think are not likely to be won in their totality so you know jarrett makes the argument that there is conservative elements that want to embrace reparations but reparations has been resisted also as you pointed out you know even the discussion of reparations has been resisted you know since conyers brought up h.r. 40 and 20. 1 right before the 911 in durban the 2 issues that u.s. and israel walked out on were not just palestine one was palestine but the other was reparations and so i think it does have a radical potential it doesn't automatically become a radical demand but it does have a radical potential both for material support for people suffering but also to expose the corruption of racial capitalism so so that's why i think it's useful i don't think it's a panacea so absolutely that's where i'm at i notice so much more to cover here this is a very nuanced and complicated topic and we'll make sure you have you have you back to talk about it even more but i want to thank you both for joining me in the arena

of operations we jabot thank you so much. and i write thank you that's our show for the week but up front we'll be back next weekend. played an important role in checking in with. joe to trace.

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talk was straight ahead there are 3 individuals in very rare to feel that it's really exciting a season of programming exploring the climate crisis ahead of the earth day on al-jazeera. 'd 'd iran says it's an act of terrorism or power blackout at its main nuclear facility. the whole romney watching all of their lives my headquarters here in doha are also coming up china admits it's reviewing the effectiveness of vaccines it's produced to combat covert 19 also rights groups raise concerns about refugees and my coworkers being left out of lebanon's covert 19 by.