Ukraine in arabic News
Assad is Moscow’s pawn in regional power stakes
- Title
- Assad is Moscow’s pawn in regional power stakes
- Runtime
- 2:43
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Europe’s struggle to use soft power in coping with Syrian refugees appears to be playing into Russia’s hands as it torques up the hard power.
As Moscow increases its military forces in Syria, will that reduce or increase the flow of refugees?
President Putin recently justified Russia’s steadfast support of the Assad regime against enemies, saying: “[The refugees] escape the radicals first of all. If Russia had not supported Syria, [it] would have been worse off than Libya, with an even bigger flow of refugees.”
Syria is an important piece in Putin’s global strategy. How important can be measured by the resources he is investing.
Russia considers fighting the Islamic State militant group (ISIL) a priority, and while President Bashar al-Assad continues to represent an asset there, Moscow will guard his back.
Satellite photos show Russia developing facilities along Syria’s coast, prompting observations that Rus...
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- Turkey HDP ministers resign, accusing AKP and Erdoğan of 'promoting a logic of war'
- Runtime
- 1:42
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Cars washed away by flash flood in Bodrum Turkey
- Runtime
- 6:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Dramatic footage has emerged of flash flooding in Bodrum Turkey. Vehicles swept away by torrents of water.
Heavy rainfall led to flash flood in the western province of Muğla’s Bodrum on late Tuesday, which was caught by cameras.
The rain which lasted for two and a half hours created havoc for the residents. The flood water swept large numbers of vehicles and many drivers were stranded on the road. The flood caused considerable damage on a number of streets.
- Title
- The hajj begins: what you need to know
- Runtime
- 0:48
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The annual hajj pilgrimage has officially begun. Around three million Muslims from all over the world are expected in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca where Islam was born.
For able bodied Muslims its a religious duty to complete the hajj – one of the five pillars of Islam.
On Tuesday the authorities opened the route to Mina – a huge tented city just to Mecca’s east – it’s where all pilgrims camp as the hajj reaches a climax with the ritual ascent of Mount Arafat, a night on the Muzdalifa plain and the stoning of the devil at Jamarat.
- Title
- Unease grows over Russian presence in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Satellite images have been released purporting to show the build up of Russian aircraft at a military airfield in Syria.
According to the US geopolitical intelligence gathering firm Stratfor, Russia has already started flying drones on surveillance missions.
The Financial Times also says Moscow is to deploy 2,000 personal and 28 combat aircraft.
Most Russian activity appears to be restricted to the airbase near Latakia and the port of Tartus, which is a Russian base that dates from the Cold War when the current Syrian president’s father was in power. However there is also said to be evidence that runways are being extended at Hamimim and Hamidya, so bigger planes can bring in supplies.
The military deployments in Syria have alarmed Israel whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a lighting trip to see President Vladimir Putin. Agreement was reached on coordinating military actions to avoid accidently trading fire.
P...
- Title
- Syrian government rockets kill 18 people in Aleppo
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- At least 18 people were killed in Aleppo on Monday (September 21) in Syrian government rocket strikes on two rebel-held residential neighbourhoods, according to monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Bustan Al Qasr and Al-Shaar.
Reports suggest many of the people killed were shopping for groceries when the rockets slammed into a market.
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- Gaza doctor invents cheap 3D printed stethoscope
- Runtime
- 2:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Palestinian-Canadian doctor has created a low-cost stethoscope using a 3D printer, the first in a series of inventions he hopes will help alleviate medical supply shortages caused by the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Tarek Loubani says his stethoscope can be made for just US$2.50 – a fraction of the cost of leading brands. Hospitals in Gaza have been struggling with shortages since Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas took over in 2007.
Dr. Loubani explains where he got the idea from: “I ran into a little toy that my brother’s son had been playing with and realised that this toy stethoscope, which must have cost one dollar to make, was not terrible. So, that’s where the idea came from, the idea came to have this plastic stethoscope, which is similar to the toy stethoscopes in that it’s plastic, but is actually engineered so that it is as good as the market leader.”
Dr. Loubani, who has been working in Gaza’s Sh...
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- Israel police to fire live bullets at stone-throwers in Jerusalem
- Runtime
- 1:26
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli has vowed to use “any means necessary” to curb stoning-throwing attacks against its citizens.
Police officers have been authorised to fire live rounds in certain situations where civilian lives are considered to be in danger.
“Stones and firebombs are deadly weapons; they kill and have killed. Therefore, in recent days we have changed the open-fire orders for police in Jerusalem,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The new measures have been condemned by human rights group B’tselem.
“This kind of approach, with force and only force on the agenda, including collective punishment, including a very heavy-handed policing attitude, we think is illegal and also immoral,” said Sarit Michaeli, a spokesperson for the human rights group.
Netanyahu also said his government would also advance legislation to punish the parents of children who throw stones and firebombs, and establish minimum sentence...
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- Turkey’s PM calls on Syrian migrants to end protest near Greek border
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s prime minister is calling on Syrian migrants to end a protest in the city of Edirne, near the country’s border with Greece.
Thousands have been left waiting at an outdoor sports arena, after being stopped from an advancing towards the frontier on Friday.
Ahmet Davutoglu has been meeting representatives of the refugees and members of the Syrian opposition.
“After this visit, I will write a personal letter to government heads in Europe and I will tell them of your problems – and I will make an international call for Syrian migrants,” he told those gathered in Ankara.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have made it to Greece by sea. But a spiralling death toll has put many off from making the perilous crossing and they are now heading for the land borders instead.
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- Sherif Ismail heads new Egypt government
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egypt has a new government one month ahead of a general election with Sherif Ismail as its prime minister. President al-Sisi has kept the former finance, interior and investment ministers, along with the major jobs of defence, foreign and justice portfolios. There are 16 new faces in all, but none of them are in key positions.
- Title
- Greece poised for new wave of migrants from Turkey
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Several thousand migrants and refugees spend Friday (September 18) night in an open-air sports arena after another failed attempt to walk to Turkey’s land border with Greece.
Their progress towards the EU was halted by Turkish authorities because Greece has not offered to accept them.
“This passage is not possible,” Dursun Ali Sahin said in a live broadcast on CNN Turk.
“If there is any country that is formally inviting you, we would be happy to take you there ourselves with a vehicle or by plane. But that has not happened so far,” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have made the perilous journey by boat to Greek islands off Turkey, but a spiralling death toll has seen more people head for its land border further north.
Turkey has been widely praised for welcoming 2 million Syrian refugees so far.
While an official welcome from Greece may not be forthcoming, Athens is preparing for a ...
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- Russia and America start talking again to avoid shooting each other in Syria
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- There is no let-up in airstrikes by the Syrian government against rebel-held areas, with at least 80 civilian and rebel deaths in the last 48 hours in Aleppo and Palmyra.
But as the killing continues a new chapter may be about to open with the news that Russia and America are talking about Syria for the first time since last year.
Diplomatic contacts are underway to see if the two can forge some sort of joint position faced with the growing ISIL threat and the possible collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
While that might delight some in Washington it would create a even deeper power vacuum in Syria which Islamic extremists could exploit, and which would quicken the flight of the middle class from the country.
For the moment it appears talks are mainly to prevent any Russian forces being hit by accidental airstrikes; a tacit acceptance of Russian intervention to prop up the regime.
Moscow’s moves in Syria set the sta...
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- ‘Day of Rage’ clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces
- Runtime
- 1:16
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Palestinian leaders had called for ‘a day of rage’
And so it proved on Friday in Jerusalem and the West Bank, with anger on the streets in cities including Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus.
Amid clashes with Israeli security forces, three Palestinians were shot at Kafr Kaddoum near Nablus, according to the local Red Crescent.
Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, is a traditional day of Palestinian protest.
But this week was more turbulent than usual amid tension over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and plans by Israel to allow security forces to open fire on anyone seen throwing stones at Israeli vehicles.
There have been several such attacks in recent weeks, including one that led to the death of an Israeli motorist.
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- Migrants have gathered close to the Turkish town of Erdine hoping to cross into Greece
- Runtime
- 1:35
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Walking into Europe is the dream of several hundred migrants who have made their way through Turkey to the Greek border but it has been closed.
The migrants have been waiting all week to cross and while many went back to Istanbul around a thousand have remained.
A water tank serves those who have stayed and a catering company provides food in their makeshift camp which they hope is a temporary home. Many have made the hopeful trek from Syria.
“We have fled the harsh living conditions which we experienced in Syria. We tried but we preferred not to go via the sea after the sinkings and all the problems,” explained one man who wants to go to Sweden. Another told euronews of his aspirations.
“I think I’m going to Germany. Firstly I would like to convey a message to Europeans on what living conditions are like in Syria. Secondly I want to continue my studies that I had to quit in Syria,” he said.
By the side of the s...
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- Tens of thousands rally for anti-terror march in Ankara
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- “No to terror, yes to brotherhood”. That was the motto at an anti-terror rally in Turkey. Tens of thousands marched through Ankara many carrying Turkish flags and chanting slogans calling for brotherhood between Turks and Kurds.
The organisers stressed it was not a political rally. Many were there to voice their support for the Kurdish community and condemn the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK.
“We have no option other than to accept our differences as a cultural diversity and live together. Therefore we condemn terrorism and embrace brotherhood. That is why we are here today,” said Settar Aslan who was on the march.
Ozgur Ergun gave his reasons: “I am here for brotherhood. I am here to put an end to these tragedies. Turks and Kurds are brothers. Separatists are the traitors. I wish to see the peace process finalised.”
There have been a series of clashes between the PKK and security forces in which hundreds have b...
- Title
- Senator John McCain brands US military programme to train Syrian rebels an “abject failure”
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A US military programme which began in May to train Syrian rebels to combat Islamist militants in the country has been heavily criticised and on Wednesday a top US general appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He revealed the initial training targets for the programme would be unreachable.
Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer questioned General Lloyd Austin.
“There were only about 60 Syrian fighters that had been trained in our Train and Equip Program and reinserted. Can you tell us what the total number of trained fighters remains?”
He replied: “It’s a small number. The ones that are in the fight is we’re talking, four or five.”
“Is it still the goal to have about 12,000 of them there?” she continued.
“Well, we certainly at the pace we’re going, we won’t reach the goal that we had initially established for ourselves,” the general responded.
The general acknowledged the US milit...
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- Yemen’s exiled PM returns to Aden
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah has returned from exile to make a trip to the strategically-important city of Aden.
Bahah, also the vice president of Yemen’s internationally-recognised government, becomes the highest-ranking official to visit the devastated port city since loyalist forces ousted Shi’ite rebels two weeks ago.
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- Palestinian hunger striker Mohammed Allan returned to Israeli prison
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli authorities have returned Palestinian detainee Mohammed Allan to prison, following a stint in hospital.
Allan was being treated for brain damage caused by a 65-day hunger strike to protest against being held in custody without trial.
Ill-health led Israel’s top court to suspend his detention order.
A relative says he will now resume his fast.
Israeli authorities claim Allen is an Islamic Jihad militant who had attempted to organise attacks. They say taking him to court would be too risky as it could potentially expose secret intelligence sources.
- Title
- Turkey taking care stopping Aegean Sea refugees
- Runtime
- 2:40
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Near the tiny village of Behramkale, refugees from Syria leave the Turkish coast and cross the Aegean Sea, heading for the Greek island of Lesbos. Spending just a few hours on the launch beaches is enough to see the departures are constant. So are the patrols.
Our correspondent Bora Bayraktar went along on one, reporting that the refugee boats will speed for Greek territorial waters while the Turkish Coast Guard tries to intercept them, in an area around eight kilometres wide and 100 kilometres long.
Smugglers bring the refugees to rock-ringed beaches where they can spend days waiting. Deflated boats and life buoys are reminders of failed attempts. The refuse they leave behind angers local residents, who complain that tourists have stopped coming.
One resident told us: “It has been going on for three months. Every day, 10 to 15 boats set off. I suppose it might stop when the weather gets worse.”
Stopping the refugees requires grea...
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- Beirut: clashes between police and protesters ahead of political talks
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Riot police and protesters clashed in Beirut (September 16) ahead of a second “national dialogue” meeting aimed at resolving the political crisis gripping Lebanon.
At least 13 activists are thought to have been wounded and some 40 arrested as people once again rallied against uncollected rubbish in the capital.
Lebanon has, effectively been without a president for over a year. More recently, protesters have been calling for the resignation of the country’s environment minister.
The breakdown in rubbish collection is seen as a more general symbol of the government’s seeming failure to provide basic services.
The all-party talks will enter a third stage next week as politicians work towards ending the crises gripping the country.
Weary of the situation, demonstrators emptied bags of rubbish outside the Environment Ministry and several have taken part in a days long hunger strike.
- Title
- Assad blames Europe’s refugee crisis on West’s support for ‘terrorists’
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has spoken out for the first time about Europe’s refugee crisis.
In an interview with Russian media, he blamed Western support for what he called ‘terrorists’ for the exodus from Syria amid his country’s civil war. And he accused Europe of inconsistency.
“How can you feel sad at a child’s death in the sea and not feel for the thousands of children who have been killed by the terrorists in Syria?
And also for the elderly, for the woman and men? These European double standards are no longer acceptable,” Assad said.
More than 240,000 people have died in four years of conflict between insurgents and Syria’s government which describes all armed groups fighting it as terrorists. The insurgents in Syria range from the hardline group calling itself Islamic State to nationalists viewed as moderate by the West.
“The West is supporting terrorists since the beginning of this crisis when it ...
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- Syria: child malnutrition now “serious” – UNICEF
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- UNICEF says the level of acute malnutrition among displaced children in the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Hama and Deir-ez-Zor is now “serious”.
The organisation will open fifteen more nutrition centres in main cities before the end of 2015, bringing the total to 75.
Salema al-Rihawi’s daugher Alma was born a few months ago. She says her daughter’s life was saved by a lucky intervention: “She has improved a lot, thanks to help from the doctors. They have taken good care of her, she is better now. The UNICEF team came to our house, when they saw Alma they said she needed to be transferred to the centre for treatment.”
Siege conditions, damaged infrastructure and a lack of resources have all taken their toll.
UNICEF staff are going from door-to-door to offer advice and support.
The organisation says more resources are needed to sustain and strengthen its humanitarian operation.
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- Egypt: Relatives of slain tourists arrive in Cairo
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Mexico’s Foreign Minister has arrived in Egpyt. Claudia Ruiz Massieu has travelled to Cairo with the relatives of eight Mexican tourists killed in error by the Egyptian Army.
The aim is to repatriate the dead, support the injured and clarify the circumstances of the tragedy with the Egyptian authorities.
Four other people who died are believed to be Egyptian citizens.
Six people were wounded and are being treated in Cairo’s main hospital.
It happened on Sunday. Egyptian forces hunting militants in the country’s western desert mistakenly opened fire on several vehicles carrying the Mexican tourists.
Cairo says the group were in a forbidden area where the army were hunting militants.
- Title
- Hunger strikers dig in to protest over Beirut rubbish crisis
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Hunger strikers in Lebanon are continuing their protest at the mounds of stinking rubbish that are piling up In Beirut. The protests began in August , and some of the hunger strikers who started to refuse food at the start of September have already been taken to hospital.
They have set up a tented camp near the environment ministry, and want the Environment minister to resign. It is protest that could take on a more general anti-government turn.
“We are on strike because we can’t stand the situation anymore. We are demanding the resignation of the environment minister. We want the principle of accountability to be applied. Corruption is behind the garbage crisis and this has brought us into the streets,” said one hunger striker.
Protests of any kind can be a spark that lights a flame in volatile Lebanon, where power is split along sectarian lines and leads to failures in basic needs from education and health to electricity and water.
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- Refugees shun the sea for the overland route into Europe from Turkey
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A new front may be opening up in Europe’s refugee crisis, with increasing numbers of people looking to head for the Greek border by land via Turkey on buses.
In Istanbul police were deployed at the bus station to control the flow of people heading west, wanting to avoid the cost and danger of attempting a sea crossing. The police stopped hundreds of people, mainly Syrians, from boarding.
At Edirne close to the Greek border police briefly set up roadblocks and bus services to there were suspended. Hundreds began to gather at the bottleneck, with many taking to the
hills or the highway to walk into Greece.
Turkey has the world’s largest refugee population, over two million people, but conditions are hard and there is no work, so more are leaving the safety of the camps for something they hope will better.
“We want to cross into Greece and stop resorting to traffickers. That’s what we want, you know? We want to cross peacef...
- Title
- Turkey: Soldiers hurt by roadside bomb as conflict with PKK escalates
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A roadside bomb has injured at least a dozen soldiers in eastern Turkey.
The country has seen daily violence since July when a ceasefire with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK broke down.
More than 100 police and soldiers have been killed since then, along with hundreds of Kurdish militants.
The roadside blast occurred in the largely Kurdish eastern province of Mus.
Attacks by the PKK have triggered anti-terrorism protests and nationalist anger against Kurds and the main pro-Kurdish opposition party ahead of November’s parliamentary election.
Turkey has been waging what it calls a ‘synchronized fight against terror’. At home and over its borders, the government says it is targeting Kurdish militants and the group calling itself Islamic State
- Title
- Clashes continue at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- For a third day running one of the world’s holiest places, the al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem, has been a scene of running battles between Israeli police and Palestinian youths.
The Israelis say they are attempting to secure the area, known to the Jews as Temple Mount, ahead of Jewish new year celebrations, and that they have intelligence suggesting there are plans to disrupt it.
The Palestinians fear the Israeli government is about to allow Jewish prayer there. It has been coming under increasing pressure from ultra-religious groups to allow it for the first time since Israel took complete control of the city in 1967.
“The plan that the Israeli government wants to put in place is frighteningly criminal; it will lead to the al-Aqsa mosque being divided up,” said the Palestinian’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Youths hurled stones and flares at soldiers, with unrest spilling into the narrow streets of the Old City. A passi...
- Title
- Seven sentenced to death in Kuwait mosque suicide bombing
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A court in Kuwait has sentenced seven people to death over a suicide bombing in June, the state news agency reports.
The attack, at a Shi’ite Muslim mosque, killed 27 people.
The Kuwait criminal court also gave eight other suspects prison sentences ranging from two to 15 years.
The court acquitted 14 other defendants.
- Title
- At least 22 dead, hundreds rescued, as migrant boat capsizes near Turkey
- Runtime
- 1:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A boat has capsized off the coast of Turkey drowning at least twenty two migrants attempting to reach the shores of the Greek island of Kos.
The Turkish Coastguard says it was able to rescue a further 200 people and bring them back to shore.
The group was reportedly attempting to cross the Aegean Sea when it went down near the Datcha peninsula, not far from Bodrum, where Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up two weeks ago.
Greece is on the frontline of the migration crisis sweeping Europe.
Euronews discussed the issue with Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza Party, who recently stepped down as Greek prime minister.
“When three-year-old children are getting washed up on our shores, then what is really washed up is European civilisation. We have to take responsibility collectively as a European family and come up with a solution to this problem. We must not have this attitude of “we have it in our neighbourhood...
- Title
- Aircraft pound Sanaa as coalition forces close in on Yemeni capital
- Runtime
- 1:02
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Gulf Arab-led coalition aircraft bombed the Yemeni capital Sanaa intensively on Monday as ground forces engaged Houthi fighters in the neighbouring Marib province.
The coalition wants to take the capital and drive the Iran-backed Houthi militias out.
On Sunday the government in exile in Saudi Arabia pulled out of UN-brokered peace talks, but the UN wants them to return as the situation on the ground is increasingly desperate for the Yemenis caught in the middle. However the ousted government says it will return only when the Houthis abandon their positions.
“Every day that we let pass without a political solution leads to more death, suffering and destruction, at a time when more than 21 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid,” said the UN’s Stephane Dujarric.
The United Arab Emirates is providing the bulk of the ground forces, also providing armour and Apache helicopters, while Yemeni forces are also fighting alongside...
- Title
- Reports of Russian tanks and artillery in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Russians have reportedly reinforced positions around Bashar al-Assad’s stronghold of Latakia in western Syria with at least seven T90 tanks and artillery at the town’s airfield.
The United States believes Russia intends to establish what it calls a “forward operating air base” there.
Russia has had a few hundred soldiers stationed there for some time, but in the last week two flights a day have been flying in supplies and personnel. However Moscow denies it is deploying ground forces.
“Certainly, there were military supplies, they are ongoing and they will continue. They are inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use this weaponry and there is no mystery or secret about it,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Elsewhere in the hotly contested Damascus suburb of Zabadani there were reports of 10 barrel bombs being dropped by government j...
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- Car bombs hit Syrian city of Hasaka
- Runtime
- 0:29
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The eastern Syrian city of Hasaka, mostly Kurdish-controlled, has been hit by two car bombs, killing at least 26 people including six Kurdish soldiers.
The first bomb went off in the Khashman area, targeting the Kurdish fighters, while the second exploded in the city centre near Syrian government forces headquarters.
An ISIL attack in June all but eliminated Syrian forces in the city, and the Kurds have been avoiding conflict with them to concentrate on fighting the Islamic extremists.
- Title
- Mexico demands explanation from Egypt over tourist deaths
- Runtime
- 1:18
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Mexico has been trying to get more details from the Egyptian authorities about the attack on a number of Mexican tourists who were caught in friendly fire while sightseeing in the Western Desert.
There is some confusion about how many of the 12 dead were Mexicans, but there is no confusion about what happened.
The Egyptian army mistook the tourist convoy for terrorists.
“Ambassador Alvarez Fuentes personally spoke with six Mexicans who had been admitted to hospital and they all told him separately they had been targeted in an airstrike with bombs dropped from a plane and helicopters,” said the Mexican foreign ministry.
Egypt’s caretaker outgoing prime minister has already promised an inquiry into how the unauthorised four-vehicle safari managed to stray into an off-limits site, falling foul of the army that was in hot pursuit of terrorists using similar vehicles.
“We stand with the Mexican people in their tragedy....
- Title
- Egyptian forces ‘mistakenly kill’ 12 in Mexican tourist convoy
- Runtime
- 0:49
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egyptian authorities say the police and military have accidentally killed 12 people, including at least two Mexican nationals.
Reports suggest a convoy carrying Mexican and Chilean tourists was reportedly travelling through the Black Desert in the western Al-Wahat Al-Bahariya region when authorities opened fire.
Ten others are being treated in hospital, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry.
A “joint force from the police and armed forces” was said to be pursuing “terrorist elements” in the western desert, when the shootings happened at around midnight on Sunday.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the attack. His Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has ordered a full investigation.
“A working group has been formed to examine the causes and circumstances of the incident, as well as the justification for the presence of a tourist group in a region to which access is prohibited,” t...
- Title
- Violence and unrest continue in Cizre
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- There has been no let-up in tension in the Kurdish city of Cizre.
An eight-day curfew has been reinstated after a 24 hour hiatus.
The latest curfew comes after two police officers were killed in a car bomb blast near Sirnak in the country’s southeast.
A third died in a rocket attack in the city of Silvan.
Turkish military killed five militants in the hunt for those responsible.
Cizre has been sealed off for eight days as authorities carried out anti-“PKK”:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Workers%27_Party operations: “Such a shame. They are committing a sin by putting us through all this pain. We will never understand what President Erdogan is doing to us. His tanks and shells killed us all. Here we have 16 bodies that we keep in refrigerators and mosques for days,” said one Cizre resident.
In Istanbul pro-Kurdish demonstrators clashed with police.
Violence between the PKK and authoritie...
- Title
- Mexican tourists accidentally killed by Egyptian security forces
- Runtime
- 0:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egyptian authorities say 12 people, Egyptian and Mexican nationals, have been accidentally killed after police and military shot at a Mexican tourist convoy.
A “joint force from the police and armed forces” mistakenly killed the tourists, according to a statement posted on the Interior Ministry’s official Facebook page. The authorities were reportedly pursuing “terrorist elements” in the western desert, when the shootings happened at around midnight on Sunday (September 13).
Ten others are being treated for wounds, according to the statement.
The four four-wheel drives were attacked in the oasis area of the western desert.
The Mexican president has demanded a full investigation.
“A working group has been formed to examine the causes and circumstances of the incident, as well as the justification for the presence of a tourist group in a region to which access is prohibited,” the Interior Ministry announced.
- Title
- Nato expresses ‘concern’ over Russia’s role in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:12
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- As Russian cargo planes touch down in Syria, Nato has expressed concern over Moscow’s role in the country.
According to Russian authorities the two planes which arrived in Latakia on Saturday were carrying 80 tons of humanitarian aid.
Although reports are growing that Russia is stepping up its support of the Syrian regime.
“We don’t truly understand yet what it is that Russia is going to do in Syria,” Philip Breedlove, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe told a press conference. “We have heard everything from humanitarian operations to combat operations. It remains to be seen what this will be in the end. We do watch it with concern and what we are most concerned about is any operations that will continue to support the Assad regime.”
Russia has been a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad since the conflict began in Syria more than four years ago.
The Kremlin dismissed reports that it has been bu...
- Title
- Palestinians and Israeli police clash at al-Aqsa mosque
- Runtime
- 1:12
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Clashes have broken out between Palestinians and Israeli police at the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem.
Israeli police raided the compound in what they said was a bid to stem Palestinian attempts to disrupt visits by Jews and foreign tourists on the eve of Jewish new year.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades as Palestinians, who apparently barricaded themselves inside the building, threw rocks and flares.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent at least 20 people were hospitalised.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas released a statement saying he ‘strongly condemned the aggression of the Israeli storming of al-Aqsa.”
Israeli police have stepped up security around the site for 48 hours ahead of the Jewish new year as thousands are expected to visit the Old City.
Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in Islam is located at the Temple Mount, which is also the holiest site in Judaism. The compound is often...
- Title
- Residents inspect damage as Cizre curfew lifted in Turkey
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Residents assess the damage as an eight-day curfew is lifted in the predominantly Kurdish city of Cizre in Turkey.
It had been cut off last Friday after the Turkish army launched an operation against Kurdish PKK militants in the area.
Concerns are growing over food shortages and there are conflicting reports of civilian casualties.
“We were terrified,” exclaimed one resident. “We didn’t have electricity. We were starving to death. We didn’t live. What on the earth did we do to deserve this? I hope God will punish you for this, Erdogan.”
During the curfew no outsiders were allowed to enter, prompting Kurdish activists to call the action a blockade similar to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The operation in the city bordering Syria is a key part of the government’s drive to weaken the PKK in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.
Fighting between Turkish forces and the PKK has intensified after a two yea...
- Title
- EU split as UN approves raising of Palestinian flag
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The UN General Assembly has given overwhelming approval for Palestinians to raise their flag at the UN headquarters.
Israel, along with seven other countries including the US, had voted against the move. Most EU countries abstained but a group including France, Italy, Sweden, Poland and Belgium came out in favour.
The resolution allows non-member observer states to raise their flags and the Palestinians and the Vatican are the only two observers.
The Holy See has backed away from the effort, saying it will not raise its flag before Pope Francis visits the UN later this month.
- Title
- Drowned Iraqi migrant children laid to rest in homeland
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Funerals have been held for two Iraqi migrant children, who drowned near the Turkish resort town of Bodrum last week.
Twelve-year-old Zainab Hadi and her brother Haider, who was eight, were laid to rest in their homeland.
They died while attempting to get to the Greek island of Kos with their family.
“They left in search of a better life and look at the result. The two children died and their mother is still haunted by her experience at sea. Whenever she closes her eyes, she sees herself drowning,” said Umm Ali, an aunt of the children.
The family is said to have been on the same boat as Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy who also died.
Images of his tiny body, washed up on a Turkish beach, shocked the world.
There has been sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping migrants.
- Title
- Turkey’s turmoil threatens to derail elections
- Runtime
- 5:12
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Title
- NATO worried about alleged Russian military buildup in Syria
- Runtime
- 1:32
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Reuters news agency, quoting unidentified Lebanese sources, reports Russian troops have begun military operations in Syria in support of Bashar Assad’s government forces.
Officials in the United States, which opposes Assad, have said in recent days they suspected Russia is boosting aid to Syria.
Washington has been pressuring countries in the region to deny their airspace to Russian flights.
NATO is also worried.
“I am concerned about reports about the increased Russian military presence in Syria,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. “That will not contribute to solving the conflict. I think it is important to now support all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
Russia is a long time ally of Syria and confirmed it had “experts” on the ground there.
“Our country has long been supplying arms and military equipment to Syria in accordance with bilateral contracts,...
- Title
- Turkish election “impossible” as violence spreads
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s chances of holding an election in November are “becoming impossible” because of growing unrest, according to the head of the pro-Kurdish opposition.
The collapse of a ceasefire in July between the government and Kurdish insurgents has led to almost daily clashes.
Selahattin Demirtas, the head of the opposition Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said: “I am wondering about how we can hold elections in Cizre. If we don’t maintain stability with peace, how will we hold elections and will people vote? I am talking about a reality here.”
On Tuesday, nationalist crowds attacked the office of a newspaper in Istanbul and the Ankara headquarters of the pro-Kurdish opposition.
According to the government, more than 100 members of Turkish security forces have been killed since the conflict resumed in July.
The ruling AK party hopes November’s election will restore its single-party majority and provide a...
- Title
- Palestine host first World Cup qualifier on home soil
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Palestine hosted its very first World Cup qualifying match on home soil on Tuesday.
The Group A game against United Arab Emirates took place near the West Bank town of Ramallah and was a qualifier both for the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 Asian Cup.
Thousands of spectators turned out to watch the match, many seeing a football game live from the stands for the very first time.
One excited fan said: “I’m very happy because this is the first time I watch a match live, usually we watch it on TV. When you watch it live and for your own country it’s a different feeling, the atmosphere is great and I hope that the Fidaai (Palestinian team) wins.”
Unfortunately for the home supporters the match at the Faisal Husseini National Stadium in the A-Ram district, near Jerusalem, ended goalless.
But outside of the actual result it was an historic victory for Palestine and its people, who can now look forward to more World Cup home...
- Title
- Pink Taxi strikes back against sexual assaults in Egypt
- Runtime
- 1:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- There is a new taxi company in Egypt reserved for women: Pink Taxi.
Sexual harassment and Egyptian male society’s behaviour toward women is the worst in the Arab world, according to experts in 22 Arab countries.
With no clear signs of improvement, Pink Taxi founder Reem Fawzy has taken a business approach to the problem.
Fawzy told euronews: “Any new idea takes its cue from society, and we need a transport service for Egyptian women. Not only for them, in fact: for all Arab women and foreigners — women in general.”
In June last year, a new law was passed in Egypt, which made sexual harassment an offence punishable by six months in prison or the equivalent of a roughly 340-euro fine. Intervention groups continue to press to have existing laws enforced, and to turn attitudes around.
Pink Taxi driver training includes psychological preparation for dealing with the public. The women must have a secondary school diplom...
- Title
- Turkish refugee camps for Syrians set high standard
- Runtime
- 2:39
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Syrians in the Nizip Refugee Camp are thankful for Turkey’s open-handed hospitality. For one thing, the 10,500 people in Nizip, around 50km from the Syrian border, don’t feel so far from the war-rocked homes they fled, mostly in 2012.
A young man told us confidently: “We are staying here temporarily, until the crisis in Syria is resolved, and then we will go home. There are no problems here. We are safe here.”
The Turkish government, which manages Nizip, gives families a debit card they can use to buy market goods inside the camp. All the refugees are registered, and are authorised to leave the camp from 3-7pm each day, and may work outside it. There are also two schools and an infirmary.
Resident Taha Mendu told us: “Some of my friends left just after Ramadan. There were also some young people who wanted to follow them, but then they realised that there was a conspiracy to empty Syria of its population.”
We asked Mendu, w...
- Title
- Turkey’s HDP pro-Kurdish opposition party HQ attacked
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The headquarters of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party has been attacked. Windows were smashed at the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) building in Ankara.
Nationalist anger towards Kurds has increased in response to a number of recent attacks on security forces and police officers by the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).
“Tonight alone, 186 attacks were carried out. And our headquarters were targeted. This is definitely a planned attack that was orchestrated from one particular place,” said HDP Deputy Chaiman Alp Alitinors. “The president and his staff at the palace are the ones behind these attacks.”
President Recip Tayyip Erdogan has accused the HDP of links to the PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Erdogan has suggested that the immunity from prosecution of its lawmakers be lifted.
The attack on the HDP’s building comes afte...
- Title
- Dust storm engulfs the Middle East
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A heavy sand storm has hit many parts of the Middle East. Much of Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus in clouds of dust. At least eight people have died as a result of the storm.
Hundreds more have been hospitalised with breathing issues. People were warned to stay indoors.
“We are suffering a lot, in an abnormal way,” said a man. “We are taking precautions as best we can by wearing masks, facing the garbage everywhere and traffic jams. It is not normal.”
In Syria, fighting and airstrikes were disrupted as a thick blanket of dust filled the sky.
Summer dust storms are frequent across the Middle East but usually focus on Iraq and the Persian Gulf region where clouds of sand are whipped up from arid areas.
Israeli schools were instructed to keep physical activities indoors as the dust swept across the Middle East.
The dust was expected to start dissipating by Thursday. The elderly, young and pregnant hav...
- Title
- 14 police officers killed by PKK bomb attack in eastern Turkey
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- At least 14 police officers have been killed by Kurdish militants in a bomb attack in Turkey, widening a conflict with the Turkish state.
Tuesday’s (September 8) bombing is the latest in a daily stream of attacks by the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) on solders and police in eastern Turkey since fighting resumed in July.
On Sunday the PKK killed 16 soldiers near the Iraqi border.
Turkey responded with warplanes pounding targets in northern Iraq where the group has bases.
President Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK had suffered “serious damage.”
“We have not and will not leave the future of our people to the terrorists, to the members of an organisation of treason and its collaborators,” Erdogan said.
Dozens of F-16 and F-4 jets took part in the Turkish military operation on Monday hitting PKK food and weapons stores as well as the group’s machine gun positions.
