Ukraine in arabic News
Palestinian journalist reportedly agrees to end hunger strike in Israel
- Title
- Palestinian journalist reportedly agrees to end hunger strike in Israel
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- After weeks of demonstrations in support of a Palestinian journalist on hunger strike in Israel, an agreement appears to have been reached on his case.
It’s reported Mohammed al-Qiq, who was detained by Israel in November, has agreed to end a three-month hunger strike.
The journalist has been held without charge, accused by Israel of being a member of the Islamist group Hamas.
The EU, UN and rights groups had expressed concern over the case.
Details about the agreement are not yet known, but its’ reported Qiq is being treated in a hospital in the north of the country.
He’d been held in what is known as “administrative” detention, in which someone can be held without charge for long periods.
It’s reported he will remain in hospital to recover and will then be released in late May.
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- Fresh fighting ahead of planned Syria ceasefire
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- 1:19
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Just hours before a Russia-US agreed ceasefire is supposed to begin in Syria, the Kremlin has denied claims its jets have attacked civilian positions near Damascus.
British group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accuses Moscow of bombing the rebel-held city of Douma, just ten kilometres north-east of the capital.
The allegation came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the United Nations to support the truce.
“Of course nobody can give any 100 percent guarantees, but there are very serious grounds to secure this positive move,” he said.
Turkey says it supports the ceasefire in principle, but has “serious concerns” about the likelihood fighting will continue on the ground.
Ibrahim Kalin, spoke on behalf of the Turkish presidency:
“So far, the Syrian regime has used these negotiations, such as the talks in Vienna and Geneva, as a pretext to gain time. We hope that this time the outco...
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- Poorer Egyptians pay the price for the country’s foreign currency crisis
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- 1:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egypt is suffering a foreign currency crisis – and with much of its food and energy imported, that is causing big problems.
The Egyptian pound has been losing value, particularly against the dollar. The central bank’s reserves are getting dangerously low as it spends them on keeping the exchange rate artificially strong and financing imports.
Fewer tourists because of the security situation also means less foreign currency coming into the country.
Financial expert Dr. Mohammed Al-Najar told euronews: “The current economic situation seems to be the main reason for this crisis, but we also can’t ignore the effects of the political and security problems. That’s also caused economic worries which means foreign investment is not coming into the country.”
The shortage of dollars and the Egyptian pound falling much lower than the official exchange rate on the black market means ordinary middle-class and poorer Egyptians are payin...
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- UN airdrop in Syria goes ‘off target’
- Runtime
- 1:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The United Nations says the planned ceasefire due to come into force in Syria this weekend is set to rescue the population from “the abyss” and end the “black chapter” of sieges.
UN convoys have already been delivering aid to the town of Kafir Batna, in a rebel-held area near Damascus – and other besieged areas.
In Geneva senior UN officials outlined what had been achieved so far in terms of aid getting through.
“110,000 people, almost 200 trucks, yesterday the beginning of a test on airdrops in order to reach 200,000 people: we are talking about serious changes from before,” said the UN’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.
Following Russian airdrops over the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, partly besieged by ISIL, a UN plane tried to deliver more food and medical supplies this week.
But the UN and the World Food Programme now acknowledge that the operation didn’t go to plan.
“Ther...
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- Syrian opposition outlines concerns over ceasefire plan
- Runtime
- 0:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The main umbrella organisation for Syrian opposition groups says it’s ready for a two-week truce to test the government side’s commitment to the US-Russian ceasefire plan.
The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) says it welcomes the plan – but many problems must be addressed before any truce can work.
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- Syria conflict: First UN airdrop to besieged civilians in Deir al-Zour
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The United Nations says it is ready for a huge aid effort if the fighting stops in Syria.
There is no sign of that yet in the Damascus suburb of Daraya with just hours to go until the planned cessation of hostilities.
But as violence continues to rage, the UN has carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian supplies to the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, delivering 21 tonnes of relief for civilians besieged by militants from ISIL.
Near Aleppo, Syria’s army has been battling the fanatics after an ISIL attack cut the main land route to the city.
The partial truce, due to start on Saturday, does not include ISIL or the al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front.
But that group is widely deployed in areas held by the opposition which fears it may continue to be attacked by government forces, backed by Russian air power, under the pretext that they are targeting the extremists.
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- Dubai forum aims to boost education and innovation opportunities for women
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Boosting opportunities for women in education and innovation. That has been the theme of the second day of the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai – attended by around 2,000 people.
Visitors have been taking part in lots of different workshops.
Big industry names such as Airbus have been helping to inspire those setting their personal development goals for the future.
Sustainable energy was also talked about at the event.
“We cannot stop wars, the forum was told, but can be contained through economic policies,” said euronews reporter Rita del Prete.
“Women in the region, who feel they’re bearers of peace, want to affirm themselves through innovation and scientific expertise.”
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- Clashes after protest against military operations and curfews in Turkey
- Runtime
- 0:48
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A protest against ongoing military operations and curfews in southeastern Turkey has ended with clashes.
Water cannon and tear gas were used against a crowd of demonstrators in the city of Diyarbakir.
The military says it is targeting what it calls armed militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK.
But there has been growing concern about the operations over civilian deaths and the crippling effects of the curfews
In Diyarbakir, some parts have been under a 24-hour curfew since December.
A fragile peace process fell apart between the government and the PKK over the summer.
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- Erdogan says Syria ceasefire plan will only serve to benefit Assad
- Runtime
- 1:48
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A US-Russian plan for a ceasefire in Syria has been heavily criticised by the Turkish President, who claims it will really only serve to benefit the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
“We endorse a ceasefire that would relieve Syrian brothers,” said Recep Tyyip Erdogan.
“But it’s worrying to see that with this ceasefire Assad’s regime, responsible for the killing of more than a half million people, and the powers who are backing him, receive open support while a hesitant tone is taken towards the opposition.”
Erdogan also accused the West, Russia and Iran of “permitting, directly or indirectly, the killing of innocent people”.
But Russia has hit back at critics of the ceasefire plan.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Literally on the day Russia and the United States approved the joint initiative on the ceasefire in Syria, voices could be heard from the capitals of US allies and from Washington questionin...
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- Shopping carts, selfie sticks and a changing earth – contemporary art in Jeddah
- Runtime
- 2:24
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Jeddah’s annual contemporary art festival goes by the unusual name of 21, 39, inspired by the city’s latitude and longitude.
National and international artists are invited to the Red Sea city for the week-long event. The theme this year was environmental change under the title ‘Earth and Ever After’.
“Our aim at the Saudi Art Council is really to enlighten our society and community with the value of art and the role it can play in human development, through appreciating beauty and creating your own questions and looking for answers,” said Hamza Serafi of the Saudi Art Council, which organises the event.
Among the works on show was an installation by renowned Saudi artist Saddek Wasil featuring shopping carts piled on top of each other, a symbol of consumerism. The son of a mechanic, Wasil works mainly with metal, shaping it into powerful sculptures, that have been shown at exhibitions around the world.
“It’s not just a...
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- Dubai event turns spotlight on women and diversity
- Runtime
- 1:29
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Thousands of people have gathered in Dubai to talk women and diversity.
The IMF’s Christine Lagarde and Jordan’s Queen Rania are among the speakers at what is billed as the Middle East’s first ever Global Women’s Forum.
Others attendees include officials representing government and academia, as well as art and culture.
The aim is to discuss ways of boosting female influence, workplace diversity and gender balance.
“If this forum can say that the first priority is education and if it can say it here, it’s wonderful,” said Jacqueline Franjou, Director General of Women’s Forum.
“Second, women should take their own decisions, they should go forward, do not hesitate, be what they are, share humanity with the men. We are not part of the diversity, we are 50 percent of the humanity.”
Around 2,000 people are expected at the event in all, as they seek to fulfil their lifetime goals.
...
- Title
- US and Russia broker ceasefire for Syria
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The United States and Russia say a ceasefire will come into force in Syria this coming weekend.
Hostilities will end just after midnight on Saturday the 27th of February.
According to the statement, the truce does not include ISIL and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front.
- Title
- Assad calls parliamentary elections in Syria
- Runtime
- 0:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called parliamentary elections to be held on April the 13th.
The announcement came shortly after news of the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow.
The last parliamentary elections to be held in Syria were in 2012.
It was the first poll in which multiple parties – and not just the Baath Party, were allowed to stand.
However, the majority of the 250 deputies elected were from the governing party.
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- Samuel Willenberg the last survivor of Treblinka laid to rest in Israel
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The funeral has taken place in Israel of Samuel Willenberg. He was one of only 67 people known to have survived the notorious Nazi death camp Treblinka in Poland.
The President of Israel Reuvin Rivlin called him a symbol of heroism who had the strength to rebuild his life in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Samuel Willenberg died on Friday in Israel aged 93 – the last survivor of Treblinka. In 1942 he was among 6,000 Jews who arrived at the camp by train. He was assigned to labour duties and so avoided an early death.
Mr. Willenberg escaped by clambering over bodies piled up by a fence as the Nazis shot prisoners during a mass break out. He hid in the surrounding countryside before reaching Warsaw and joining the Polish underground.
He returned to the site in 2013 to mark 70 years since his escape and urged the world never to forget Treblinka.
His two sisters were killed there among 870,000 people who died in the gas cha...
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- Ceasefire agreed in Syria – Washington and Moscow
- Runtime
- 0:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Washington and Moscow have agreed terms for a ceasefire in Syria.
Hostilities will halt at midnight on February the 27th.
A joint statement says the terms of the ceasefire will not apply to action against militants from ISIL or the Nusra Front.
All stakeholders involved have until midnight on the 26th of February to declare whether they agree to the terms.
- Title
- A deadly day in Syria as dozens die in Damascus and Homs
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- It is feared dozens of people have been killed in a series of explosions in the Syrian city of Homs and the capital, Damascus.
At least four blasts were heard in the southern Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.
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- Turkey: PKK releases three kidnapped journalists
- Runtime
- 0:36
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK has released three journalists from Turkey’s state-run news agency after kidnapping them two days ago.
The team from the Anadolu agency were identified as war correspondent Rauf Maltaş, photojournalist Onur Çoban and camera operator Kenan Yeşilyurt.
They were snatched more than 48 hours ago while on assignment near the city of Mardin in the mainly Kurdish south-east of the country.
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- Twin explosions in Homs, Syria kill 46, says monitor
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A monitoring group says 46 people have been killed in twin explosions in the Syrian town of Homs.
The Syria Observatory for Human Rights says at least 100 others were wounded by the explosions.
Syria state television quoted the governor of Homs as saying at least 25 people had been killed.
The car bombs exploded in the city centre’s government-controlled Zahara district .. in what’s been described as one of the city’s deadliest such attacks in five years of conflict.
Police say the two cars had been parked on opposite sides of a crossroads. The the first explosion triggered the second.
Zahara has been the target of previous attacks. Last month, a double suicide attack was claimed by ISIL.
Nobody had claimed responsibility for Sunday’s blasts.
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- Egyptian president promises to crack down on police abuses
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The president of Egypt has promised to crack down on police brutality
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has decided to act as public anger mounts over alleged abuses.
- Title
- Turkey rules out unilateral ground intervention in Syria
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey is shelling Kurdish militia in Syria, but it has ruled out any unilateral ground intervention there.
It comes as Russia asked the UN Security Council on Friday to call for Syria’s sovereignty to be respected – over concerns about a Turkish ground operation.
“Turkey will not be going into Syria with the boots on the ground if it is not a collective action, either by the Security Council resolution or by the international coalition that we are a part of,” said Turkey’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Halit Cevik.
In a telephone conversation on Friday, Ankara said that President Barack Obama told his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey had a right to self-defence, and expressed worries over advances by Syrian Kurdish militias near Turkey’s border.
The White House says he also urged Turkey to show restraint.
A White House statement said: “President Obama stressed that YPG forces should not seek...
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- Syria: ISIL stronghold of al-Shadadi ‘captured by Kurdish-led forces’
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Syrian monitor is claiming that a strategically important ISIL stronghold in northeastern Syria has fallen to a Kurdish-led force backed by US-led air strikes.
Pictures are said to show an oil facility 12 kilometres from the city of al-Shadadi that’s been captured by the Syria Democratic Forces.
The reported fall of the the last major city in the area under ISIL control could help isolate Raqqa, the fanatics’ self-styled capital in Syria.
The rooms apparently inside the newly-captured oil facility show ISIL insignia.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights describes the fall of the city as a “psychological blow” to the so-called Islamic State.
Its director Rami Abdulrahman, who says he is in regular contact with numerous contacts in Syria, says the SDF has taken many villages and rural areas from ISIL in recent days.
The Kurdish-led forces which also include Arab groups announced they had l...
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- Turkey says militants are using US-supplied weapons against civilians
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s president has claimed the militant organisation YPG has used US-supplied weapons against civilians.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to discuss his concerns with US President Barack Obama in the coming days.
- Title
- Turkey grows tense after bomb attacks
- Runtime
- 1:22
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Istanbul is a tense city now after Wednesday’s car bomb attack in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The city’s famous Taksim square would normally be bustling but not anymore. Now it’s nearly empty and tourists are noticeable by their absence.
Security forces seem to have taken their place, adding to peoples’ fears.
“When I was walking with my friend now we avoided the crowd and we took the empty side of the street. We avoid crowded places. Everywhere we see policemen. Everybody is nervous and we are also nervous,” one man said as he was walking through the square.
The economy has taken a big hit too and it seems the bombings have had their intended effect and made people worried about what happens next.
“We do not want attacks like this happen. We are young but we are not sure of our future. We have lost hope. Job offers, especially in tourism, have decreased due to terrorism,” said another man crossing the squ...
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- Turkey ‘will boost military response’ after Ankara bombing
- Runtime
- 0:50
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Wednesday’s car bomb attack only a few hundred metres from the parliament in the capital Ankara was a strike at the heart of the Turkish government.
The message from the militants who carried it out was undeniable: we have the capability to strike anywhere.
The government was quick to announce that a Syrian Kurdish national had carried out the bombing working alongside a Kurdish militia.
That group, the YPG, has the backing of the US as they both fight the self-styled Islamic State in northern Syria.
The government also said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party was involved and said it had a right to retaliate.
Euronews correspondent in Istanbul Bora Bayraktar spoke with Atilla Sandıklı, an International relations analyst at Haliç University.
Atilla Sandıkli: “When we look at the precise location of the attack it is clearly a strike at the heart of Turkey, the seat of government, the commanders of ...
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- Turkish army says six officers killed by bomb near Diyarbakir
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A handmade bomb detonated by remote control is believed to have been used in an attack on a Turkish military convoy in the mainly Kurdish southeast.
The armed forces say six members of the security forces were killed and one seriously injured.
One vehicle in particular appears to have borne the brunt of the blast.
Thursday morning’s attack – the day after the Ankara bombing that killed 28 people, mainly soldiers – brought no immediate claim of responsibility.
But it’s said to bear the hallmarks of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is fighting an insurgency in the region.
The convoy was apparently searching for mines as it headed from the region’s largest city Diyarbakir to the district of Lice.
Reports say those killed were all military officers.
Recently security operations against the PKK have concentrated on the area around Cizre near the Syrian border.
Th...
- Title
- Turkish press says ‘foreign powers’ behind Ankara blast
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- There is widespread agreement across the Turkish press that the Ankara blast was a direct attack on the country and that so-called “foreign powers” are to blame.
It comes as Turkey is becoming increasingly embroiled in the war in neighbouring Syria and the fiercest violence in decades in its Kurdish region.
One Ankara resident described the feeling of some after the attack: “Everybody is scared. Last night in the crowds, we saw that fear in everyone’s eyes. People were escaping from the site of the explosion instead of going there out of curiosity. We can’t stay in crowds, we cannot stand being in crowded places, we are not as comfortable as we were in the past.”
Another resident Abdurrahman Ozer said: “This is a game played by foreign powers against our country. Now it is high time to stand in solidarity. Nobody is in a position to criticise the others. I believe that we will rise above this together. I am very saddened.”
- Title
- Turkish PM blames Syrian Kurd militants for deadly Ankara blast
- Runtime
- 1:42
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accused the Syrian-based Kurdish YPG militia of being behind Wednesday’s deadly bombing in Ankara.
Davutoglu named the perpetrator as Salih Necar, a Syrian national and member of the YPG People’s Protection Units. Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
The prime minister added: “I won’t give details now on where they come from and how they were organised, but we have all the information and will share it with all countries. I will give the order to the Foreign Ministry today to distribute all related documentation, giving priority to the P5 Security Council countries. We will show those who say the YPG is not a terrorist organisation. Then we expect to receive indisputable solidarity in return.”
He insisted that the faction is a terrorist group.
Last week, Turkey lashed out at the US for refusing to recognise the YPG’s political wing — the PYD Democ...
- Title
- Two attacks strike Turkish military in as many days
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish armed forces appear to have been the target of two attacks in as many days.
Security sources say at least six soldiers died and one was seriously wounded after an explosion rocked a military convoy this morning (February 18), near the predominantly Kurdish town of Diyarbakir, in the south east.
- Title
- Egypt’s best known journalist Mohamed Heikal dies at 92
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, the Arab world’s best known political commentator, died on Wednesday at age 92, Egyptian state television reported.
The leading Egyptian journalist rose to prominence as editor in chief of Egypt’s Al-Ahram, widely regarded as the newspaper of record in the Arab world during his tenure.
Heikal was a close associate of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the army officers who overthrew the British-backed monarchy in 1952, and his insight into regional affairs was highly respected by many Arab leaders.
Heikal’s daily columns often offered the best clues on the thinking of Nasser, a charismatic figure who challenged the West and was a champion of pan-Arab nationalism. He served as a minister of national guidance under Nasser.
After Nasser’s death in 1970, Heikal played a key role in ensuring that his successor Anwar Sadat consolidated power as president, advising him to push out Nasser loyalists.
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- Title
- Erdogan: Turkey will ‘give as good as it gets’ against Kurdish forces
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s president has insisted that the country’s military will not stop shelling Kurdish positions in Syria in response to cross-border fire.
It follows concern at the UN over the attacks on Kurdish YPG militia targets.
On Tuesday the Security Council called on Turkey to abide by international law. But that brought a typically robust response from President Erdogan.
“Turkey will give as good as it gets”, he said in a speech broadcast live on Turkish television.
“Today our rules of engagement may be just about responding to an armed attack against our country, but tomorrow if necessary those rules can be expanded to cover every threat against our country. Nobody should doubt that. We will never allow the formation of a new Qandil on our southern border,” he said, referring to the mountains of northern Iraq where the outlawed PKK has bases.
He added that the United States should decide whether to support Turke...
- Title
- Modern warfare brings ancient Aleppo to its knees
- Runtime
- 2:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Syrian government forces are tightening the noose on the city of Aleppo, which since almost the very start of the Syrian civil war has mostly been in rebel hands.
Now they are losing grip. Blasted from the air by the Russians, they are less able to resist Assad’s ground offensive, where he has pitched 10,000 men into retaking the city.
This ancient architectural and cultural treasure is also Syria’s economic and industrial hub, but it now shakes to the impact of barrel and outlawed cluster bombs, the latter filmed dropped from a Russian-made SU 24.
The Kurds are moving into territory lost by the rebels and ISIL, and going on the offensive north of Aleppo to hit the Menagh air base and other towns. They get bombed by the Turks, but the Russian air force is supporting them.
All four of the Syrian civil war’s main protagonists are fighting for Aleppo;
the rebels, the government, ISIL and the Kurds. Each has their own objecti...
- Title
- Syria aid convoys on way to deliver supplies to starving civilians
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Aid convoys in Syria are said to be on their way to deliver supplies to people trapped in besieged areas.
Lorries have been seen leaving Damascus after the Syrian government approved access to seven areas deemed by the 17-member International Syria Support Group to be most in need of relief.
They include Madaya, the town surrounded by government troops where people have been dying of starvation.
The Syrian state news agency said a convoy of 35 trucks carrying humanitarian aid had entered the besieged area of Muadhamiya in the Damascus suburbs on Wednesday.
Earlier, the Syrian Red Crescent said at least 100 trucks were preparing to set off.
- Title
- AirMule: A drone that reaches the parts that other aircraft cannot
- Runtime
- 2:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- It looks a cross between a helicopter and a hovercraft and can take off and land vertically: AirMule is a giant drone that can pick up and drop off supplies or people.
Built by Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics, It is meant to be used in areas too dangerous for other aircraft.
Rafi Yoeli, chief executive officer of Urban Aeronautics, explains how it works:
“It can operate inside villages and cities, land on the sidewalk, or in rough terrain, on a path, in a clearing in a forest, and it doesn’t have overhead rotor and tail rotors which are characteristic of helicopters and which cause so many accidents.
“It does all of that automatically, it can fly very low close to terrain, it has various sensors to enable it to do this mission without any supervision”
The drone is capable of carrying 500 kilograms, can be manned or remotely controlled and carry out a variety of tasks, especially in emergency situations.
- Title
- Turkey mulls ground operation in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:44
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s foreign minister said some countries wants boots on the ground in Syria. But he said the offensive must be carried out jointly, like the coalition air strikes.
“Turkey, Saudi Arabia and even some European countries are in favor of a ground operation in Syria,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu. “But it would not be realistic for Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar alone to conduct ground operation in Syria.”
- Title
- Idlib hospital attack apparently deliberate, says MSF president
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Humanitarian organisation, Médécins Sans Frontières, says deadly attacks on a hospital it supports in Idlib province appear to have been deliberate.
Four missiles struck the facility in two assaults within minutes of each other, according to staff members.
“It’s clearly an attack against the medical mission. To be today a doctor or a nurse in the areas controlled by the opposition, it’s equal to be a criminal. Unfortunately, if you are a doctor and if you are working in hospital, clearly you are under attack by the Syrian regime,” said
Mego Terzian, President of MSF France.
- Title
- Syria: a deadly political chess game
- Runtime
- 2:36
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Saudi Arabia’s been mulling over its entry into the Syrian conflict for some time. It has just sent warplanes to a Turkish base and Riyadh has repeated that Bashar Al-Assad cannot be part of the country’s future. Now it is openly declared it is willing to intervene on the ground.
On Sunday Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir said: “Should the US-led coalition make a decision to introduce ground troops into Syria, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be prepared to participate by deploying special forces with those troops.”
A peace deal was expected to be unveiled during last weekend’s Munich Security Conferenc,e but the gathering only served to highlight that Syria’s future has become a complex, high-stakes chess game involving America, Russia and 15 other powers.
Speaking to euronews Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said: “Nobody wants a new war. A ground operation is a full-scale, long war; this has to be taken into consid...
- Title
- Syria: at least 14 dead as missile strikes hit hospitals in Azaz and Idlib
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Turkish security official says at least 14 civilians have been killed in Russian missile attacks on the northern Syrian border town of Azaz.
The Independent Doctors Association says at least 30 people were wounded.
It says the death toll is expected to rise. A children’s hospital, a school and other buildings in the rebel-held town were reportedly hit.
In a separate incident, aid agency Médécins Sans Frontières — MSF — reports eight people are missing following strikes, while reports suggest nine people died.
MSF claims the air strikes deliberately targeted a facility it supports.
- Title
- Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert starts 19-month jail term for corruption
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a 19 month jail term for corruption on Monday – making him the country’s first ex-head of government to go to prison.
Before setting off for Maasiyahu Prison in central Israel in a motorcade protected by bodyguards assigned to former leaders, the 70-year-old released a video statement protesting his innocence.
“As prime minister I was responsible for the security of the citizens of the state of Israel. At this time, I find it important to say, once again, as I said in court, that I plead not guilty to the bribery charges I was convicted of,” he said.
Olmert was assigned to a small wing of the jail, where he will be segregated for security reasons from the general population
- Title
- Turkey urged to stop assaults on Kurdish militias in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey has dismissed calls from France and Germany to stop its shelling of Kurdish fighters in Syria. Ankara is targeting the YPG militia it sees as an extension of the banned PKK, a Kurdish group which is waging an insurgency on Turkish soil.
Among the targets hit by Turkey is the Menagh airbase, which was seized by the YPG on Thursday from Syrian Islamists. The YPG controls much of Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
Saudi Arabia willing to send ground troops
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia has sent aircraft to a Turkish air base to join the fight against the jihadist group ISIL. The move according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, it is also in anticipation of any escalation in hostilities.
“We have said that should the US-led coalition make a decision to introduce ground troops into Syria, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be prepared to participate by deploying special forces with those troops.”
The increasingly compl...
- Title
- Russia and US to boost cooperation to implement Syria ceasefire deal, says Kremlin
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Russia and the US have agreed to intensify diplomatic and other cooperation to implement an agreement on Syria, struck in Munich.
That, from the Kremlin, after phone talks between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin.
Major powers agreed on Friday to what is described as as a temporary “cessation of hostilities” in Syria, saying it would come into effect in a week.
Several Western countries have said there is no hope for progress without a halt to Russia’s bombing campaign.
“What we see is more crimes, for about two days, more air strikes, we see more barrel bombs on Syrian towns in al Ghouta, on Dharaya and the siege still there on Madaya,” Salem al-Meslet, Syrian High Negotiations Committee spokesman, told euronews.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that the odds of a ceasefire being put in place in a week were less than 50 percent.
US Secretary of S...
- Title
- ‘It’s just not true’ – Russia rejects claims that it’s bombing civilians in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Russia has rejected accusations that it’s been bombing civilians in Syria.
The denial came at a security conference in Munich, as Moscow pressed on with its campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
This despite major powers agreeing on Friday to a pause in combat in Syria.
“There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told the Munich conference.
“Russia is not trying to achieve some secret goals in Syria. We are simply trying to protect our national interests.”
Medvedev spoke just moments after his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, called for Moscow to stop striking civilians.
“To find the path to peace and of negotiation again, the bombing of civilians has to stop,” said Valls.
The agreement for a pause in combat – which will allow humanitarian aid in – will not take effect for a wee...
- Title
- Assad says he will take back “whole country” in interview
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The International Syrian Support Group has met in Munich with members told Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, intends to ride out the storm and recapture his entire country.
Until Russia intervened on his behalf he appeared to be losing the civil war. Now he looks like winning it with the help of Moscow’s air power, but the loss of civilian lives in the process is heavy.
Russia is being accused of using banned cluster munitions in its airstrikes, and in his latest interview Assad sounds defiant and determined to stay in office, a position that may doom peace talks even before they start. There is also the accusation that airstrikes are concentrating on anti-Assad forces rather than ISIL and other Islamic extremist targets.
The Munich peace talks may have opened a tiny window of opportunity to stop the bloodshed, but everyone involved knows that it could slam shut at any moment.
- Title
- Protests in Bahrain in run up to Arab Spring anniversary
- Runtime
- 0:54
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Police in Bahrain have been quick to quell protests in Sitra, south of the capital Manama.
Authorities fear demonstrations across the kingdom in the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring on Sunday.
In 2011 Bahrain’s Shi’ite majority staged huge marches against the Sunni rulers, inspired events in Tunisia and Egypt.
The government requested security assistance from Saudi Arabia to halt the protests.
A severe government crackdown since 2011 has resulted in an uneasy calm.
One protester made it clear the protests will continue:“After five years, we remain steadfast, and the proof is that the streets are still full of youths and resistance.”
In January clashes broke out again after Saudia Arabia executed
prominant Shi’ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a severe critic of the regime in Bahrain.
- Title
- Syria fighting rages despite fresh efforts to end the war
- Runtime
- 1:25
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Fighting continued to rage in Syria on Friday, as the world analyses the latest deal aimed at stopping five years of war.
The complex twists of diplomacy are far removed from the reality of men, women and children facing the horrors of daily violence.
Video uploaded to social media on Friday was said to show the aftermath of new air strikes
In the suburb of Saqba, east of Damascus.
World powers, led by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, struck a deal in Munich earlier to try to bring an end to hostilities in a week and to provide rapid humanitarian access to a handful of besieged Syrian towns as a first step.
It comes as President Assad vowed to retake the whole of Syria, saying it could take a long time, according to a new interview with the French AFP news agency.
The recent surge of violence has sent a fresh wave of refugees rushing to the border with Turkey which has al...
- Title
- Egyptian doctors protest against alleged police abuse
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Thousands of Egypt’s doctors staged a rare protest in Cairo on Friday (February 12), against police abuses after accusations two doctors were beaten up by policemen in a Cairo hospital.
At the headquarters of the doctors’ union, known as the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, doctors threatened strike action if the police are not held accountable for abuses.
Such public protests are rare under Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Following the ouster of his Islamist predecessor, voices of dissent were silenced and thousands of Islamists and activists were jailed.
The demonstration came in response to last month’s assault on two doctors in Cairo’s Matariya hospital, where one police officer pulled out a gun and others violently forced two doctors into a vehicle before driving them to a police station.
- Title
- Turkey blames US for ‘sea of blood’ in region
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Washington for not acknowledging Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) as an extremist organisation.
Last year, US-led airstrikes helped the party’s military wing — the YPG —battle against ISIL in the border town of Kobani.
Erdogan asked the US: “How can we trust you? Is it me that is your partner or is it the terrorists in Kobani?”
He added: “Oh, America. You don’t need to tell us about the PKK, PYD or YPG organisations. We know them very well. We know ISIL and those groups. You haven’t had a (good) grasp of the nature of them before now, and that’s why the region is a sea of blood.”
He added that Washington’s inability to grasp Ankara’s view of the PYD has created a domestic security issue for Turkey.
Ankara considers the party — and by default the military YPG — a terrorist organisation because of its affiliations with Turkey’s PK...
- Title
- Turkey lashes out over UN demands to open Syria border to refugees
- Runtime
- 1:07
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A war of words has intensified over Turkey’s decision to keep its border closed to tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing violence in Aleppo.
Aid trucks are crossing to the Syrian side with supplies for victims of what the Turkish Prime Minister has called ethnic cleansing.
The United Nations and European Union have urged Turkey to open its border.
But Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking in The Hague, said it was hypocritical of those who have failed to stop Russian air strikes in Syria to now ask Turkey to open its doors, stressing that the country has taken in over 2.6 million refugees during the five-year war.
- Title
- Netanyahu pledges to protect Israel ‘from predatory animals’
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The whole of Israel will ultimately be fenced off for its own protection, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed.
Inspecting the construction of a new barrier along the country’s border with Jordan on Tuesday, he used strong language to evoke the threat.
“We will surround Israel in its entirety? The answer is yes. In the environment we live in, we need to protect ourselves from predatory animals,” the Israeli premier told reporters.
The new 30 kilometre structure on the border with Jordan will stretch from Israel’s resort city of Eilat to Samar, close to where a new Israeli airport is due to open next year.
The Netanyahu government fears migrants and armed jihadi infiltrators might try to reach Israel via Jordan.
Fences already built in the name of national security include a vast barrier cutting most of the West Bank off from Israel and East Jerusalem. Palestinians dub it an “apartheid wall” and an Israeli atte...
- Title
- Syria: UN warns of siege and starvation in Aleppo
- Runtime
- 1:22
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the Syrian government assault on Aleppo could cut off food supplies to 300,000 civilians still living there.
Syrian state forces, backed by Russian air strikes, have launched a major offensive near Aleppo over the last week, sending tens of thousands of people fleeing for the Turkish border.
Aleppo has been divded between government and rebel control for years.
The UN is concerned that the rebel advance will leave civilians in rebel-held areas of Aleppo cut off from supplies and humanitarian aid – and without a way out of the city.
“It would leave up to 300,000 people, still residing in the city, cut off from humanitarian aid unless cross-line access could be negotiated,” the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an urgent bulletin.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry, on Tuesday again urged Russia to rethink its strategy in Syria.
“R...
- Title
- Syria: Tens of thousands fleeing Aleppo remain stranded at Turkey border
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A tent city has sprung up on Syria’s border with Turkey, which is still resisting UN and EU calls to open the crossing and let refugees through.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 10,000 people from the latest wave have been allowed in – a fraction of the up to a million migrants he is forecasting could assemble if Russian air strikes in Syria continue.
“Recently more than 50,000 people came to the border with Turkey due to Russia’s air attacks. We took in 10,000 of these migrants and we are building some camps at the other side of the border for some,” Cavusoglu said during a visit to Budapest.
“We are allowing in those who want to come, in a controlled fashion,” he told a news conference with his Hungarian counterpart.
The United Nations has urged Turkey to open the border and called on other countries to assist it with aid.
The European Union, which has agreed a 3 billion euro fund to improve ...
