• 2 months ago
PBBM OKs proposed creation of Cabinet cluster for education;

Germany, France, UK ink mediation plan calling for ceasefire in Gaza;

Ukraine makes its push into Russian territory
Transcript
00:00Good afternoon, this is William Theo for PTV News Now.
00:09Right off the bat, we dwell on the President's sectoral huddle in Malacanang earlier today
00:14in which he approved the proposed creation of a cabinet cluster on education.
00:19President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in a sectoral gathering at Malacanang earlier today gave
00:24his thumbs up on a proposed creation of a cabinet cluster on education.
00:30What we will put more government in focus continuing to address the growing needs of
00:34this huge and demanding bureaucratic institution within the entire government system.
00:40The President is rosy over the prospects of positively addressing and resolving the needs
00:45of the education sector that was forever kneecapped by the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic
00:51from the years 2020 to 2023.
00:55In particular, the President wants to bridge the learning gap at the elementary level which
01:00is five and a half years for every kid, newly minted education czar Secretary Sani Angara
01:06said.
01:07In addition, the cluster will serve as a mechanism to centralize all inter-department efforts
01:12in addressing the bigger challenges that face the said sector.
01:16Among the other government agencies in the cluster include the Department of Budget and
01:21Management, Labor and Employment, and TESDA.
01:24High on the cluster's to-do list, the creation of 10-year integrated national education and
01:30workforce development plan.
01:51So, malinaw that DepEd, of course, has to do its work in terms of resolving the learning
02:09crisis, but it's not something that it could achieve on its own.
02:12Kailangan tulungan talaga yung agencies, malaki yung ginagampana ng CHED and TESDA, and it's
02:17really the national education and workforce development plan that is long-term that will
02:23anchor them all to make sure that there is one coherent direction.
02:27Meanwhile, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom sounded off an urgent plea early Monday
02:34for an immediate truce in Gaza.
02:36This while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his war cabinet, and the people
02:41of Israel braced for more serious attacks from Iran, its proxies, or from both.
02:47The joint declaration and entreaty from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel
02:53Macron, and British Prime Minister Keith Starmer calls for an immediate cessation to armed
02:59hostilities.
03:00The release of all hostages held by Hamas and the total evacuation of all Israeli defense
03:06forces in Gaza, so urgent an unfettered delivery of badly needed food, medicine, and relief
03:12items could proceed.
03:13The three-nation mediation plan also called for Iran and its allies to set aside their
03:19retaliatory attacks for the killing of two top leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah in Tehran
03:25and Beirut just recently.
03:30Ukraine has always been in the receiving end of the Kremlin's fury in the two-and-a-half
03:34years since Moscow tried to invade its neighbor in the last week of February 2022.
03:40Surprisingly enough, Ukraine has begun its push deep into Russian territory, beginning
03:46with its foray into the Kursk region, as VOA's White House correspondent, Anita Powell, reports
03:52from Washington, D.C.
03:55Ukraine's war is no longer contained.
03:58So says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirming that his troops pushed into Russia's
04:02far western Kursk region in recent days.
04:07It's only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launched their
04:11strikes from, Russian military airfields, Russian logistics.
04:16We see how useful this can be for bringing peace closer.
04:20Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.
04:27One hundred thousand Russian civilians fled the Ukrainian push, and Russian President
04:31Vladimir Putin claimed it spurred a rise in enlistments.
04:36It appears that the enemy is aiming to improve its negotiating positions in the future.
04:42Well, what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who launch indiscriminate
04:49strikes on civilians, on civilian infrastructure, and try to create threats to nuclear energy
04:55facilities?
04:56What can you talk to them about?
04:59Both the White House and the State Department issued stern warnings to Moscow on Monday
05:03over its use of Iranian munitions.
05:05We are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with
05:11the transfer of ballistic missiles, which would, in our view, represent a dramatic escalation
05:16in Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
05:21Iranian officials also continue to deny providing any UAVs to Russia when evidence is plain
05:27for the world to see.
05:29White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had little to say when asked Monday
05:33whether Washington was concerned that Ukraine might be using U.S.-supplied weapons against
05:38Russia.
05:39We're continuing to speak to our Ukrainian counterparts about these operations.
05:42I'll let them speak to their operations.
05:45Analysts say that Ukraine's move comes as a surprise, and it is likely a tactic to wear
05:49down Moscow.
05:50I think the Ukrainians wanted to bring the war home to the Russians, to say to the Russian
05:55people, no, you are not immune from this war.
05:59You are going to feel it on a day-to-day basis.
06:04Analysts awaiting Putin's response say he may use Ukraine's incursion as an excuse to
06:07attack a NATO nation that borders Russia.
06:10He now has evidence that Ukrainians who are armed, and he claims trained and egged on
06:19by the West, are now attacking Russia itself.
06:22That's how he's going to explain to the Russians that this happened, and he has done nothing.
06:29So I'm thinking that, yes, I think it is going to be a pretty dangerous few days.
06:36Something the residents of Kursk have learned in the last few days.
06:40Anita Powell, Viewing News, Washington.
06:46And that is all for now.
06:47Join us anew for the next set of breaking stories here on PTV for YouDaily Diet of news
06:52you can rely on from here and abroad.
06:54William Theo, and thank you for watching PTV News Now.

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