Ukraine in arabic News
Pro-Kurdish HDP scrapes back in to parliament
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- Pro-Kurdish HDP scrapes back in to parliament
- Runtime
- 1:10
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish police fired water cannons against protesters in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir after Sunday’s election which saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hold on the country tighten and the main pro-Kurdish party almost voted out of parliament.
The HDP only just scraped passed the 10% threshhold needed to claim parliamentary seats. It means the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) will have 59 seats down from 80 in last June’s election.
One of the party’s co-leaders, Figen Yuksekdag said the election outcome was the result of a “deliberate policy of polarisation by President Erdogan”, while the other co-leader Selahattin Demirtas launched a verbal attack on the AK party.
“Turkish people do not celebrate the results of the election cheerfully, although a political party has received almost 50 percent of the votes. Why? Because a significant number of the people are living in fear. Everybody is uneasy over how far can the ruling p...
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- AK Party sweeps to victory in the Turkish elections
- Runtime
- 1:40
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey has a majority government after the country’s second parliamentary elections in five months. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was greeted by his supporters in Ankara after his Justice and Development Party regained its overall majority.
As the evening unfolded and with just over half of votes counted the Justice and Development AK Party looked set to achieve the majority it needed.. The PM spoke of change ahead.
“The actual system is not responding to the needs of Turkey. It is obvious that this shirt is too tight for this country. Let’s distance ourselves from a constitution and work together for a civil and freedom constitution,” he told supporters.
The percentage count translates into 316 seats in the 550 seat parliament for the AK Party. It needed at least 276 to guarantee an overall majority.The big losers were the nationalist MHP Party which saw the number of seats cut by almost a half. Analysts suggested the AKP gained many of ...
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- More judo gold in Abu Dhabi for SKorea, China, Mongolia, Russia, and the Dutch
- Runtime
- 1:41
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The thrills and spills continue in Abu Dhabi where the women’s -78kg class saw the world number six win a battle of former world champions, the Netherlands Marhinde Verkerk beating the London 2012 bronze medallist Mayra Aguiar from Brazil.
In the over 78kg class Tyumen Grand Slam winner Ma Sisi from China defeated another Dutchwoman, Tessie Savelkouls to win the heavyweight gold. Ma picked up a passivity penalty, but Savelkouls was also penalised for a false attack during the bout.
In the men’s competition there was confirmation of the talent of Mongolian 22-year-old -Lkhagvasuren Otgonbaatar, the world number 13 winning his first Grand Slam gold medal to move towards the summit of the -90kg category. He beat the World Judo Masters bronze medallist Noel Van T End on his return to action from injury.
In the -100kg category it was Russia’s Olympic champion Tagir Khaibulaev who won his first Grand Slam title by beating the Czech former world ch...
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- Egypt President: air crash investigation ‘might take months’
- Runtime
- 1:39
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said that it is far too early to hypothesize about the cause of Saturday’s air crash in the Sinai peninsula that killed 224 people.
The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was carrying mainly Russian tourists.
“In such accidents, we know that it is very important to leave this matter (to experts) and we do not talk about the reasons behind it – because it takes a very long time,” al-Sisi said in a speech on Sunday.
“These are complicated issues and need advanced techniques which might take months. We therefore should not anticipate the events because it would reduce our credibility.”
A Russian aviation official said on Sunday the aircraft must have broken up in the sky, highlighting the wide area in which the wreckage has been found.
Meanwhile, residents of the Egyptian capital left flowers outside the Russian embassy i...
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- Turkish vote has profound domestic and international implications
- Runtime
- 1:37
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Turkish general election is being played out against a deteriorating security situation both inside and outside its borders and a sluggish economy.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be hoping the snap election will restore his AK Party ‘s majority, which they lost in the last vote for the first time since 2002.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is leading the AKP fight, which has lacked the pomp and razzmatazz of recent elections, a move which reflects the sombre mood within the country.
Stability and trust have been the campaign pillars of the AKP campaign.
The Kurdish HDP and its co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş have had to fight a campaign knowing that more than 100 of its supporters were killed in a bomb attack in the capital Ankara.
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- Turkey snap election: AK Party in front but overall majority uncertain
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- With Turkey’s snap general election just days away, the main political parties have been campaigning hard across the country.
In the latest opinion polls, the ruling AK Party remains ahead, however it remains unclear whether the group will have enough votes on Sunday to form a single-party government.
The vote was called after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu failed to form a coalition in the Ankara parliament following June’s election.
The main opposition party is the centre-left CHP, led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. They are set to attract around a quarter of the votes followed by the pro-Kurdish HDP and the Turkish nationalist MHP.
Meanwhile, the election campaign comes as two television channels part of an opposition media company went black and two newspapers from the same group were blocked from being distributed following a crackdown on companies linked to a US-based cleric and critic of President Tayyip Erdogan.
T...
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- Violence rages in Syria as crisis talks begin
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- As talks aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Syria get underway in Vienna, violence has raged in the country’s Hama province for another day.
Aided by Russian airstrikes, Syrian government forces reportedly attacked al-Nusra terrorist fighters in an area considered of strategic importance.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that nearly 600 people, a third of them civilians, since Moscow began its aerial campaign a month ago.
Russia has said it is targeting Islamist militants.
Meanwhile, a rebel group known as Jaysh al-Islam has claimed it has captured several Syrian soldiers near Damascus
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- Iran takes seat in international peace talks on Syria
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Vienna on Thursday (October 29) for peace talks on Syria.
It’s the first time Tehran takes a seat alongside world powers to try to find a solution to the conflict that’s been raging on for over four years.
A first round of bilateral meetings was held on Thursday in the Austrian capital. US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.
“We have emphasized that the solution for Syria must be based on principles that are acceptable to all parties, with regards to interference in domestic issues, the fight against terrorism, respect for the government of Syria, and for the right of the Syrian people to decide their own fate,” Zarif said.
Kerry also met with the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. A dozen delegations are expected in Vienna on Friday.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said: “I believe it’s already a relevant com...
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- Turkey celebrates Republic Day amid media restrictions and election hype
- Runtime
- 1:16
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu looked calm during a parade to celebrate Republic Day.
But behind a serene exterior, tensions are rising ahead of Sunday’s legislative elections (November 1).
In spite of fresh restrictions being placed on certain media outlets in the country, Davutoglu has been visibly raising his public profile. An effort to mobilise voters, some say, after a June 2015 election saw his ruling AK Party lose the parliamentary majority it had held for 13 years.
Polls suggest the main opposition CHP will come out with the second-highest number of votes, after the AKP. But the HDP is likely to hold the key to the election result.
In June’s vote, it became the first ever Kurdish nationalist party to surpass the ten percent needed for parliamentary representation.
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- Saudi blogger Raif Badawi wins EU’s Sakharov rights prize
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for insulting Islam and for cyber crime, was awarded the European Union’s prize for human rights and freedom of thought on Thursday.
Badawi received the first of his 50 lashes in January, prompting strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom’s human rights record, including its restrictive laws on political and religious expression and the status of Saudi women.
This month in London, he was given the International Writer of Courage award and was co-recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize.
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in London on Monday threatened “potentially serious repercussions” for its ties with Britain unless a more respectful discourse developed.
British lawmaker Syed Kamall, a member of the European assembly who nominated Badawi for the EU prize, said, “Saudi Arabia can lock up the man and they can lash him, but they will only st...
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- Syria: Bombing intensifies before Friday’s talking
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Helicopters said to be flown by President Bashar al-Assad loyalists have been dropping bombs over a Damascus suburb.
Although the location has been verified its unclear who the targets were as civilians appear to have been the main casualties. Locals claimed they were Russian bombs but that has not been substantiated.
Moscow said its aircraft have struck 118 “terrorist” targets in Syria over a 24-hour period, based on new intelligence. In all Russia claims to have destroyed more than 800 terrorist targets in Syria since its campaign of air strikes began on September 30, an intervention Moscow says is aimed at destroying extremist Islamist militants, but which Washing ton says is also targeting moderate rebels opposed to Syrian President Assad. Washington also remains sceptical as to the effectiveness of Moscow’a four week intervention.
Antony Blinken US Deputy Secretary of State said in in televised interview : “Russia cannot afford to become mired in ...
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- Yemen: Saudi-led air strikes to end as attention turns to talks
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Saudi-led military operations in Yemen are nearing their end with the focus now turning to political talks.
That was the message from the foreign ministers of both Saudi Arabia and Britain which has given technical support to the Saudi-led op .
The Arab coalition has been bombing Houthi rebels and their allies since last March.
Riyadh says the Houthi rebels have clearly committed to carrying out a UN resolution to withdraw from key cities.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair said in a joint press conference with Britian’s Philip Hammond:
“We also see the gains that have been made on the ground. Most of the Yemen’s territory that was captured by the rebels has now been recaptured by the government forces.”
The Arab military operation has been fought to return exiled president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hardi to power. It has killed at least 5,600 people, more than half of them civilians and contributed to a ...
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- Syria: widening the conversation
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The international community has welcomed Iran’s decision to join talks on Syria in Vienna.
Russia, the US and Europe will be at Friday’s meeting.
They will be joined for the first time by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Germany’s foreign minister says it is not a breakthrough nor a political solution, but is definitely the first step:
“This might not seem like much, but in the light of the problems we have had in recent weeks and months, getting the most important participants around one table means a lot. The fate of Assad will not be decided in Vienna.”
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- Istanbul: hundreds protest police raid on opposition media
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- “A free press cannot be stopped,” protesters shouted in Istanbul on Wednesday (October 28), in front of an opposition media company that was raided by police earlier in the day.
About 500 people gathered in front of the offices of Kanalturk and Bugun TV, two channels owned by Koza Ipek Holding, which has links to Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Islamic cleric and archenemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Journalists tried to prevent police from storming their offices, but they were pushed back with tear gas and water cannons. Police then stormed the TV control rooms and pulled the plug on live broadcasts.
Critics said the crackdown aims to silence the opposition ahead of Sunday’s snap election, which was called after a June 7 vote stripped Erdogan’s ruling AK Party of its single-party majority in parliament, and coalition talks failed.
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- Kurdish vote expected decisive in Turkish elections — again
- Runtime
- 3:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- In Turkey’s elections this Sunday, the Kurdish vote is expected to prove decisive. Turkey has nearly 54 million voters, and in last June’s elections, six million of them voted for the Kurdish-dominated Peoples Democratic Party (HDP). This meant more 80 seats in parliament, and an end to the 13 years of one-party rule by the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
But how the Kurds will vote could vary according to where they are.
In Esenyurt, part of Istanbul, we talked to a family about the differences in concerns comparing the southeastern region and Turkey’s biggest city, where views tend to be less regionally focused.
Husna Kaplan said: “We want peace, more calm.”
Onur Kaplan said: “If you live in the southeast region, you face the policies of the state (he refers here to military operations). But Kurds in the west of Turkey are different. We can’t say we’re assimilated, but we are far away from the southeast, don’t...
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- Turkey’s nationalists spurn AKP before polls, eye options
- Runtime
- 1:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish nationalists have hailed Devlet Bahçeli as chief since 1997. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader took steps from the start to rehabilitate its image. Now, four months after the last legislative election, the MHP is considered the opposition party most likely to team up with the dominant Justice and Development Party (AKP). Just maybe.
This year in June’s parliamentary elections, when the AKP’s 13 years of majority rule came to an end and it needed to form a coalition and failed with other parties, Bahçeli refused to go along.
He said let the AKP and left-wing HDP try, then the AKP, Republican CHP social democrats and HDP. “If that fails, then early elections must be held.” And that is what happened.
The MHP was so resolved not to pair up with the AKP that the nationalist movement ejected its founder’s son, Tugrul Turkes, when he accepted a Deputy Prime Minister position in the interim government of Prime Minister Ahmet ...
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- Turkish police storm opposition Bugun TV during live broadcast
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul stormed the offices of opposition television station Bugun TV during a live broadcast on Wednesday (October 28), just days before a general election.
The raid is part of a crackdown on companies linked to a preacher who is an arch enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Footage showed police spraying water cannnon at people in front of Koza Ipek outlet Bugun TV, which is owned by cleric Fethullah Gulen who is accused of plotting to overthrow the president.
Authorities on Tuesday took over 22 companies owned by Koza Ipek in an investigation of alleged financial irregularities, including whether it funded Gulen. The company denies wrongdoing.
Erdogan has clamped down on commercial interests belonging to once-influential followers of Gulen, his former ally, after police and prosecutors considered sympathetic to the cleric opened a corruption investigation of Erdogan’s inner circle in 2013.
...
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- Iran asked to join the US and Russia in Syria talks
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Washington has confirmed that Iran for the first time will be invited to talks with the US and Russia over ending the Syrian conflict. The discussions in Vienna are aimed at finding a framework for a political transition.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister is expected to attend.
State Department spokesman John Kirby justified Iran’s inclusion:
“We do not certainly by any means approve of the destabilising activities that they (Iran) continue to pursue in Syria. There wouldn’t be an interest in having them participate if there wasn’t a general desire by the international community for them to play a constructive role in terms of achieving a political transition.”
Meanwhile Russia is maintaining its air strikes against what it calls terrorist targets in Syria. A strategy which a critical US says is aimed at bolstering Moscow’s ally President Assad.
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- Outrage in Turkey at take over of media outlets
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Hundreds of Turkish government critics and opposition leaders have vowed to keep up a protest outside a Koza Ipek outlet namely Bugun TV in Istanbul.
It follows the take over by the Turkish authorities of 22 companies linked to a US – based cleric and arch enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A lawyer for parent company Koza Ipek confirmed that raids had taken place on all 22 firms and that new executives were being installed. Police are said to have detained 19 people.
Opponents accuse the government of a media crackdown in the run up to Nov 1 elections.
‘Bugun TV’ Editor in Chief Tarik Toros was highly critical of the President Erdogan who he says is behind the management take over at Koza Ipek:
“This is an operation to silence all the dissident voices that the ruling party does not like, including media outlets, NGOs and syndicates. This holds true for opposition parties and businessmen as well. This holds ...
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- MSF hospital in north Yemen destroyed in airstrike three weeks after Kunduz
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- First, Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, and now three weeks later it is Heedan in Houthi-controlled north Yemen, another Medicins sans Frontieres hospital destroyed by an air raid.
This time no-one was killed, with MSF reporting two staff members have been wounded, but the hospitals GPS co-ordinates had been made public weeks before several missiles slammed into the building.
The Saudis, leading the air campaign, deny their planes were involved.
“I am very worried about the situation in Heedan district where 200,000 people live. The hospital that MSF was supporting was destroyed today. It was covering the health needs of the population so honestly I don’t know how the population will manage to have access to healthcare,” said MSF’s Dr. Meguerditch Terzian.
Footage has been released of air strikes on seven boats the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels say were smuggling weapons into Yemen. Yemeni sources say at least 1...
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- Voter apathy and low turnout mar Egypt election run-off
- Runtime
- 1:47
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egyptians voted on Tuesday in run-off elections after no clear winner emerged in the first round.
Voter apathy and low turnout marked round one of the parliamentary vote.
Egypt’s last House of Representatives was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, elected after mass protests ended Hosni Mubarek’s thirty-year rule.
Many say that without the Brotherhood, there is little genuine choice.
“Young people do not take part in these elections because there is something wrong certainly, we still see the same old faces of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party and this is unacceptable, especially after the major revolutions witnessed in Egypt,” said a man.
The lack of interest in voting reflects disillusionment but also voter fatigue.
Politican analyst Heshman Mahran told euronews: “Egyptian people are bored of going to the polls again and again, and the second thing is that young people are boycotting these e...
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- Turkey:30 arrested in further raids
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Police officers have carried out night-time raids in the central Turkish city of Konya.
The security forces are looking for suspected ISIL militants.
The sweep comes a day after a series of police raids were launched on more than a dozen houses in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
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- ECB meeting repercussions and Abu Dhabi’s new challenge
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- 6:22
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Turkey’s ruling AK party moves to seize critical media holding ahead of election
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s Public Prosecutors office is to appoint a trustee to manage Koza Ipek Holding which owns media outlets critical of the ruling AK party.
The move which has been slammed by opposition politicians, comes after allegations that the Turkish government was planning to seize the company ahead of the Nov. 1 general election, by orchestrating falsified reports using the Finance Ministry’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Barış Yarkadaş is on record saying the decision is completely arbitrary and illegitimate.
“This operation which is carried out without a court order is arbitrary, null and void and illegitimate,” Yarkadaş tweeted. “Those who took as well as those who implement this decision are committing a constitutional crime,” he continued, adding that the move is the latest attempt of the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to silence critical media.
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- Russia bombs more Syria targets amid a renewed diplomatic push
- Runtime
- 0:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Russian war planes have kept up their air strikes on Syrian targets as diplomatic efforts have been going on behind the scenes to find a way to end the conflict.
Russia’s defence ministry says that in the last three days its jets have struck 285 ISIL and Nusra Front terrorist sites including two metal hangars housing a major ammunition store in the suburbs of Damascus.
US-led coalition analysis of the the data claims 80 percent of Russia’s declared targets have been in areas not held by Islamist militants.
The US accuses Moscow of trying to keep its long-time ally Assad in power and secure its interests, including a Naval facility in Latakia.
On Monday Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad received a diplomatic visit from Oman’s foreign minister, Yusuf Bin Alawi who is known to be an experienced mediator.
At the same time Washington says its Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed...
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- Project is launched on the rebuilding of destroyed city of Aleppo
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The destruction wrought on the Syrian city of Aleppo appears complete. Video images show destroyed building after destroyed building. How could anything rise again from the fires of war? But a group of architects – some Syrian – along with other experts are begining to think the unthinkable.
What’s been named The Aleppo Project is based at the Central European University in Budapest. As Alhakam Shaar explained he and his colleagues are asking via the web how should the city be rebuilt?.
“The purpose is to engage now with Aleppians so they should be the focus of our work, those are the ones whose opinions matter and need to get there so we hope to incorporate these.”
It’s hard to believe that anyone should want to return but according to a German survey most Syrian refugees would like to go back to their homeland one day. And its that thinking about the future which The Aleppo Project is all about.
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- Interview with Didier Billion (IRIS)about Turkey’s future in Europe
- Runtime
- 3:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Oman’s unique blend of natural wonders
- Runtime
- 5:17
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- From coconut fringed beaches and crystal clears seas to rocky mountains and a desert straight from one thousand and one nights, Oman’s landscape surprises at every turn. The first episode of Oman Life travels through the country, exploring its most stunning scenery.
The south of the country is also known as the “Caribbean of the Orient”. Every summer the Dhofar region around the city of Salalah catches some Monsson rains and turns into a green paradise. And when it rains, the nearby valley reveals its stunning beauty. The natural park Wadi Darbat straddles the hills.
Musallam Hassan Masoud, a desert guide, said, “When you come from the desert you can’t believe it. There is water, a lake, there is greenery. There is a beautiful canyon, which you couldn’t imagine on the Arabian Peninsula.”
But the region is also famous for frankincense. Bedouin Ahmed Mohammed Hawas has been tending his trees for 30 years. When he cuts the bark, the whi...
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- Palestinian attacker shot dead after attacking IDF soldier
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Palestinian attacker was shot dead after he stabbed an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday (October 26), according to the Israeli army and police.
They said the assailant stabbed his victim in the neck. The IDF soldier was severely wounded and receiving medical treatment.
The ongoing violence has been partly triggered by Palestinian anger over what they see as Jewish encroachment in Islam’s third-holiest site, the al-Aqsa compound, which is also revered by Jews.
At least 54 Palestinians, half of whom Israel says were assailants, have been shot dead by Israelis this month.
Israeli police say 10 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised the possibility of revoking benefits and travel rights of some Palestinians living in East Jerusalem in response to the violence.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committe...
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- Several die in Diyarbakir dawn raid
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- At least seven suspected ISIL militants and two police officers have been killed during a series of police raids in Turkey.
Eyewitnesses say the police are trying to make safe an address in a suburb of Diyarbakir after a raid at dawn.
Eyewitnesses say the fighting continued over a period of time in the majority Kurd city in the south east of the country.
The police raided more than a dozen houses at dawn in the Kayapinar district. Four police officers have been wounded and three alleged militants arrested.
There were reports of intense gunfire continuing in the area.
*Police crackdown follows Ankara bombings
The Turkish authorities have launched a crackdown on alleged militants over the last two weeks.
A number have been arrested, including four in connection with the recent suicide bomb attacks on a peace march in the centre of Ankara in which more than 100 people died.
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- Two police, four suspected militants die in shootout in Turkey
- Runtime
- 0:26
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- At least four suspected ISIL militants and two police officers have been killed during a series of police raids in Turkey.
Eyewitnesses say the police are trying to make safe an address in a suburb of Diyarbakir after a raid at dawn.
Eyewitnesses say the fighting continued over a period of time in the majority Kurd city in the south east of the country.
The police raided a number of houses at dawn.
There are reports of intense gunfire continuing in the area.
The Turkish authorities have launched a crackdown on alleged militants over the last two weeks.
A number have been arrested, including four in connection with the recent suicide bomb attacks on a peace march in the centre of Ankara.
- Title
- Free Syrian Army rebels dismiss Russian offer of help in fighting ISIL
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Stop bombing us before talking about helping us…
That is the reaction from Western-backed rebels in Syria to Russia’s offer of support in fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
Russian air strikes have hit several rebel groups affiliated to the Free Syrian Army in areas crucial to the survival of Moscow’s ally President Assad.
Among other propositions from Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is a call for Syria to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Kremlin has spoken broadly about the need for elections in Syria before. But Lavrov’s comments were its most specific call for political renewal yet and came just days after a surprise visit by Assad to Moscow.
Lavrov on Saturday spoke about Syria on the telephone with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been meeting Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
The US has criticised Russia for so far focussing much of its firepower ...
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- Video surveillance hailed as potential ‘game-changer’ in halting latest Middle East violence
- Runtime
- 1:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Video surveillance is being hailed as a potential game changer in ending weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence over the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem – on a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims.
US Secretary of State John Kerry says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the suggestion put forward by Jordan’s King Abdullah.
Kerry said this proposition “to provide 24 hour video coverage of all sites on the Temple Mount, Haram al-Sharif” would provide “comprehensive visibility and transparency and that could really be a game-changer in discouraging anybody or disturbing the sanctity of this holy site”.
As Kerry met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah – the site’s custodian – in Amman on Saturday, Israel insisted it would respect the status quo under which only Muslims can prayer there.
“We will continue to ensure access to the Temple Mount for peaceful worshippers and visitors w...
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- Turkey: Jail sentences given to more than 200 over 2013 protests
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Turkish court on Friday gave jail terms to more than 200 people over protests in 2013.
Sentences of up to 14 months were handed down to 244 defendants over protests that began as an attempt to halt the redevelopment of a park in Istanbul and spiralled into the worst political unrest for years.
Some 255 people had been charged with crimes such as damaging public property and taking part in illegal protests, and judicial authorities sought jail sentences of up to 11 years, according to the Hurriyet Daily News.
The demonstrations over Istanbul’s Gezi Park and the police crackdown captured international attention and sparked concern about growing authoritarian rule in Turkey.
Then-Prime Minister, now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dismissed the protesters as “riff raff” and terrorists.
The unrest spread to cities around the country.
Four doctors were sentenced to 10 months in prison for “polluting a mosque”...
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- Baby rescued alive hours after migrant boat sinks in Aegean Sea
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A baby, believed to be just 18 months old, has been rescued, alive, from the Aegean Sea.
The toddler was wearing a life jacket when found. He is thought to have been on a boat carrying migrants which capsized on the way from Turkey to Greece.
At least 15 people are thought to still be missing.
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- Palestinian groups call for mass protests against Israel
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Both Hamas and Fatah have called for mass rallies against Israel in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Just after the announcement, a Palestinian teenager stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier here in the West Bank before being shot and wounded himself.
World and regional powers are holding talks to try and end the ongoing bloodshed which has claimed around 60 lives so far.
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- Erdogan: Ankara attacks were a “collective” effort
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Turkish President says he now believes the Syrian secret police or Mukhabarat along with ISIL and Kurdish militants all played a role the recent suicide bombings in the centre of Ankara.
Speaking at a trade union congress, Recep Tayyip Erdogan says it was a collective terrorist attack:
“This attack illustrates terrorism is a collective act,” he said. “Daesh, the PKK and Mukhabarat are all involved in this. The Democratic Union Party in northern Syria is also involved in this. They have planned this attack together.”
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- More victims in Israeli – Palestinian violence
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Three more people have died in Israel and the West bank as tension over a surge in Palestinian street violence remains high.
In Jerusalem local media said a Jewish man was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who mistakenly thought he was an attacker during an altercation on a bus.
In the occupied West Bank a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and wounding a woman soldier.
And in a town north of Hebron in the West Bank Israeli military have said that five soldiers were injured when a Palestinian driver plowed his car into them.
Two of the soldiers were hospitalized and three more suffered light injuries. The driver of the vehicle was shot by Israeli security forces at the scene and later died , according to an army spokesman.
Earlier on Wednesday the memorial took place for the 29-year-old Eritrean national Haftom Zarhum who was mistakenly shot for an attacker at the Beersheba bus station and then beaten by an enrage...
- Title
- Last month’s Hajj stampede becomes ‘deadliest in history’
- Runtime
- 1:25
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Almost a month after the Hajj stampede, the Associated Press reports the death toll has passed 2,000, making it the deadliest crush in the pilgrimage’s history.
Figures released by 34 foreign governments affected by the tragedy seem to back up the tally. However, Saudi Arabia, where the incident took place, has not updated its official toll since two days after the crush, in late September.
Mali is thought to have lost at least 198 pilgrims. Volunteers have set up a crisis centre to help locate those still missing.
Kadiatou Cissoko volunteers at the centre.
“Parents come to post photos of those who are missing, just in case we have any information,” she explained. “Volunteers from Mecca have gone to the hospitals to take photos of those wounded in order to make comparisons.”
The Hajj religious festival is the world’s largest annual gathering of people.
This year, some two million Muslims set out o...
- Title
- Russia hits 83 militant targets in Syria in 24 hours, says ministry
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Russia’s defence ministry says its planes had carried out 46 airstrikes and struck 83 militant targets in the last 24 hours, according to the Interfax news agency.
The ministry said a range of targets in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Damascus, Hama and Deir al-Zor had been hit. It not mention Homs, however video obtained from social media by Reuters news agency purports to show Russian warplanes striking the town of Talbiseh in Homs.
Activists quoted by Reuters say the Russian jets have been bombarding the rebel-held town for two weeks.
Meanwhile separate amateur video footage purports to show air strikes and Free Syrian Army rebels trying to shoot down what is said to be a Russian aircraft in Syria. Reuters says it is confident the events portrayed are genuine.
- Title
- Investors hope Turkey’s crunch election will revive growth and economic reform
- Runtime
- 3:08
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Investors are hoping that whoever wins Turkey’s upcoming election will revive the country’s once-admired pace of growth and economic reform.
The poll, on 1 November, will be Turkey’s fourth in just over 18 months.
The cycle of voting has fueled uncertainty. Investors have reduced their exposure to the country and equity and bond holdings have fallen.
President Tayyip Erdogan’s pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates has also tarnished the credibility of Turkey’s economic management team.
Euronews reporter Bora Bayraktar asked one Turkey-based analyst for his take on the country’s economic outlook.
“We’re in a situation of economic stagnation. Although there’s slim growth, our economic performance has declined. There’s not enough growth,” said economist Arda Tunca.
“The unfortunate incidents at our southern borders are important.
“All of the world is focused on...
- Title
- Netanyahu slammed for ‘inaccurate’ Holocaust comments
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been slammed by Holocaust experts for suggesting that a historic Palestinian leader convinced the Nazis to exterminate European Jews.
Netanyahu’s comments have been described as “historically inaccurate.” Critics saying his statement amounts to incitement against modern-day Palestinians amid a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence and tension.
“This attack and other attacks on the Jewish community in 1920, 1921, 1929, were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the final solution. He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, ‘If you expel them, they’ll all come here. So what should I do with them?’ he asked. He said, ‘Burn them’.”
Netanyahu was...
- Title
- More shootings and knife attacks add to Palestinian – Israeli bloodshed
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Tuesday night in Hebron and two more Palestinians were shot dead after a stabbing attack that wounded an Israeli soldier .
Israeli security forces have now killed 49 Palestinians including. Nine Israelis have died in a string of random shooting and stabbing attacks.
The day’s casualties included an assailant who reportedly drove his car into a group of pedestrians standing at a bus stop at Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank. He than got out and attempted to stab them before he was shot dead.
The worst Palestinian street violence seen in years has spread to all out clashes with security forces in Gaza and the West bank.
Palestinians are said to be fuming at what they see as increased Jewish visits to the al-Aqsa mosque compound, where non-Muslim prayer has been banned for centuries.
- Title
- Ban Ki-moon urges Netanyahu and Abbas to step back from ‘dangerous abyss’
- Runtime
- 1:24
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- An international diplomatic effort spearheaded by the UN’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is under way to try and end three weeks of violence between Palestinians and Israel.
During a surprise visit to Jerusalem the UN chief urged both sides to step back from a “dangerous abyss”.
“We need to keep the situation from escalating into a religious conflict with potential regional implications. We must create the conditions for meaningful negotiations that will end the occupation and realize the aspirations of both peoples,” he said.
Israel’s premier has accused the Palestinian leadership of inciting the violence, but the UN chief called for a measured response.
“Security measures can be counterproductive if they are applied without special effort to defuse situations before people lose their lives. If the use of force is not properly calibrated it may breed the very frustrations and anxieties from which violence tends to erupt...
- Title
- Mummy: Tutankhamun gets a face lift
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A group of German and Egyptian scientists have braved the Mummy’s curse to carry out some important restoration work.
The bandages are about to go on the golden mask of Tutankhamun.
The world-famous artefact is to be fully restored, a year after the beard was knocked off and stuck back on with glue.
Expert Christian Eckmann:“There are basically two major components to this project: one is the de-attachment and re-attachment of the beard and the second, very important component is the comprehensive study of the material they used for manufacture as well as the complete manufacturing technique.”
There will be more bandages for the Mummy while the work is carried out.
The glue will be carefully scraped off and the beard removed.
It will be reattached after being carefully examined. A special scientific committee will decide on the best method to use.
- Title
- Violence spirals in Israel and the West Bank
- Runtime
- 1:16
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Stones were thrown at two Israeli army vehicles at the scene.
Rubber bullets and tear gas were fired in response.
At least one Palestinian was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries.
In Beit Awwa, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in a knife attack.
His alleged assailant, a 24-year-old Palestinian, was shot dead.
Gaza Strip
A 27-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on the border with the Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses say a crowd of young people began throwing stones.
The Israeli Army says it was targeting a terrorist cell.
43 Palestinians have died in this latest wave of violence. 8 Israelis have also been killed, along with one Eritrean.
Hebron
An Israeli man in his 50s was killed in a road accident south-west of Hebron, believed to be link...
- Title
- Ban Ki-moon flies to Israel and the West Bank amid spiralling violence
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Ban Ki-moon is expected in Israel and the West Bank for an unscheduled visit prompted by the month-long wave of violence in the region.
Ahead of his arrival, the UN Secretary General issued a video message calling for calm from both Israelis and Palestinians.
“The United Nations stands by you. We will continue to support all efforts to create the conditions for a return to meaningful negotiations. Le me be clear: violence will only undermine the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for statehood and the longing of Israelis for security.”
- Title
- Israel: fear and anger show no signs of abating
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The fear and anger on the streets of Israel show no sign of abating.
An Israeli soldier was stabbed and slightly wounded in clashes with Palestinian youths near Hebron overnight.
Israeli medics say his Palestinian attacker was shot dead.
An inquiry is underway after an Israeli man in his 50s was killed in a rpad accident, also in Hebron.
It is suggested Palestinian youths were throwing stones nearby.
The spate of daily attacks has caused panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a third intifada, or mass uprising.
Israel arrests top Hamas official
Israel, meanwhile, has arrested a top Hamas official near Ramallah in the West Bank.
Officials have accused Hassan Yousef of inciting some of the recent violence.
Hamas has condemned the arrest, the most high-profile since this latest wave of unrest began a month ago.
- Title
- Israeli PM warns against vigilantism
- Runtime
- 1:23
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israel’s prime minister has condemned the beating by an angry mob of a wounded Eritrean migrant who was mistakenly believed to be involved in an attack at a bus station. The man later died.
Mila Abtum was initially shot by a security guard in a gun battle with a man thought to have been a Palestinian who shot and killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several other bystanders.
In an address to his right-wing Likud Party Benjamin Netanyahu warned against vigilantism and the volatile mix of social media and religious extremism.
“A crowd which forms at an attack site should evacuate the area and let the emergency services do their job. We’ve laws in this country.No one should take the law into his own hands. That’s the first rule. Secondly, what we see here is a combination of extremist Islam and the Internet. It’s Osama bin Laden meets Mark Zuckerberg.”
But tension is high after almost three weeks of violence which has left 4...
- Title
- Turkey names Ankara suicide bomber and alleges ISIL link
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish authorities have used DNA to identify one of two people they suspect were the suicide bombers who this month killed 102 people at a pro-Kurdish rally in Ankara.
He’s been named as Yunus Emre Alagoz whose brother Abdurrahman is believed to have been the perpetrator behind the Suruc suicide bombing in July which killed 33 people.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, broke the government’s media blackout on the attack to announce the news.
“DNA tests were conducted intensively. And according to those findings the identity of one of the bombers was confirmed. And intensive work is being done regarding the identity of the other (bomber),” the Turkish Prime Minister said.
The investigation into the attack continues. On Sunday four people were arrested adding to the several already detained.
There are reports that the father of the Alagoz brothers had earlier filed a criminal complaint against Yunus on suspici...
