- The Guardian
- Issue #2142
FRANCE: President Emmanual Macron has stated that a historic injustice was imposed on Haiti when it was forced to pay a colossal indemnity to France in exchange for its independence 200 years ago. Macron announced the creation of a joint French-Haitian historical commission to “examine our shared past” and assess relations, but did not address demands for reparations. France took 150 million gold francs from Haiti for the loss of slave-based assets after Haiti’s independence in 1804. Haiti finished paying France for its independence debt in 1947. It took Haiti over 140 years to fully repay its debt.
TÜRKİYE: Dozens of people, including journalists, appeared before a court in Istanbul on 18 April, accused of attending banned demonstrations and disobeying police orders to disperse during anti-government protests. These protests were triggered by the jailing of the city’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. A total of 189 accused, most of them university students, have begun defending themselves from the charges. Some have also been charged with carrying arms.
MALVINAS ISLANDS: The Malvinas are set to become the site of a new oil and gas exploitation project. It involves Navitas Petroleum, an Israeli company which owns 65 per cent of the shares in the project, and the British company Rockhopper, which owns the remaining 35 per cent. This mega-project, which will take place in the South Atlantic at depths ranging from 180 to 500 metres, aims to extract 300 million barrels of oil over a 30-year period, generating estimated revenues of US$25.5 billion. The initial phase will include the drilling of 23 wells in the Sea Lion field. Taking advantage of their de facto occupation of the Malvinas Islands, the British government stands to benefit economically from this project, receiving an estimated US$6 billion in royalties. This plundering of Argentine resources is being organised without any effective action being taken by the government of President Javier Milei to defend the rights of the Argentinian people. The Argentine government’s silence enables the continuation of the Sea Lion project, undermining national sovereignty and marking a setback in Argentina’s struggle to reclaim the islands.
GERMANY: Thousands of people took part in around 90 Easter marches to demonstrate for peace. The Peace Cooperative Network coordinated the marches this year. The group’s spokesperson said this year’s demonstrations focused on an appeal to the incoming German coalition government for Germany to “become capable of peace rather than war.” Demonstrators also raised their opposition to the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the planned stationing of US medium-range missiles in Germany.
INDIA: A commemorative plaque depicting Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, was unveiled at the Russian House in New Delhi. The event was held to mark the International Day of Human Space Flight, observed annually on 12 April. An exhibition of rare archival photos of Gagarin’s 1961 mission was also presented there. Shortly after returning to Earth, Gagarin toured India, where he was welcomed by thousands of people lining the streets. Indian astronauts continue their training at Russian facilities.
PAKISTAN: Foreign ministry officials from Pakistan and Bangladesh held talks after a 15-year long gap. The meeting in Dhaka was described as a major step forward in easing strained relations between the two South Asian Muslim-majority nations.
RUSSIA: The Supreme Court lifted a ban on Afghanistan’s Taliban. The group was designated as a terrorist organisation more than two decades ago.
MYANMAR: The head of the military government has granted amnesty to around 4,900 prisoners, including political ones, to mark the country’s traditional New Year.
