Ukraine in arabic News
Car bomb in Yemeni capital causes multiple casualties
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- Car bomb in Yemeni capital causes multiple casualties
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- 0:45
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A car bomb blast has ripped through an area of Yemen’s capital Sana’a. Unconfirmed reports say at least 28 people have been killed.
ISIL militants have claimed responsibility on their web site saying it was revenge for the Muslims against the Shia Houthi rebels.
The explosion happened behind a military hospital – some of the injured were in a nearby building mourning the victims of a previous attack.
A Saudi-led military alliance has been bombing Yemen’s dominant Houthi group to try and dislodge them from the capital and restore the exiled president.
The political vacuum has allowed hardline Sunni militants including ISIL room to operate.
In a significant ratcheting up of three months of war, Yemeni forces claim to have launched a SCUD missile at an army base in Saudi Arabia.
A Yemeni military spokesman said the missile hit the base south of the Saudi capital Riyadh although previous SCUD launches hav...
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- Egypt’s top prosecutor Hisham Barakat killed by Cairo car bomb
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- 0:56
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egypt’s public prosecutor Hisham Barakat has died following a bomb attack on his car in Cairo.
Security sources said the device was detonated remotely as a convoy of vehicles left his home on Monday morning.
The explosion destroyed at least five cars and blew out shop windows.
Several other people were injured including five police guards.
Barakat died in hospital from his injuries.
He is the Egyptian state’s most senior figure to be killed since the army deposed Islamist President Mohammed Mursi in July 2013.
The chief prosecutor was at the forefront of the subsequent crackdown on Islamists, overseeing the detention of tens of thousands of government opponents.
His prosecutions resulted in death sentences for hundreds of alleged Brotherhood supporters.
Who carried out the attack has not been confirmed. A little known group calling itself the “Giza Popular Resistance” claimed...
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- Gaza aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli Navy
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- 1:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Israeli Navy has intercepted a ship leading a four-vessel aid flotilla en route to Gaza and diverted it to Ashdod Port.
Pro-Palestinian activists were manning the ship in a mission aimed at protesting against a long-standing Israeli maritime blockade of Hamas-run Gaza.
According to a statement from the Israeli military, action to divert the flotilla was taken in international waters, to prevent the latest in a series of “intended” breaches of the cordon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added:
“They chose to come and protest in the State of Israel, the only real democratic state in the Middle East which is fighting against terrorists who deliberately fire at Israeli citizens and deliberately hide behind Palestinian civilians. Therefore, this flotilla is a demonstration of hypocrisy.”
A euronews source on board says three other vessels turned back. The pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement claims around 5...
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- Gaza blockade opinions range from ‘rightful defence’ to ‘war crime’
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- 3:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
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- Egypt state prosecutor dies after Cairo bomb attack
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- 0:31
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egypt’s public prosecutor Hisham Barakat has died following a bomb attack on his car in Cairo, according to the state news agency.
Officials said the device was detonated remotely as a convoy of vehicles left his home this morning.
Two civilians and two policemen were wounded.
Who carried out the attack has not been confirmed. A little known group calling itself the “Giza Popular Resistance” claimed responsibility in an entry on Facebook but then retracted it.
Judges and other officials have increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants opposed to President al-Sisi and apparently angered by sentences imposed on members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Last month, Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate urged followers to attack judges, opening a new front in an Islamist insurgency in the world’s most populous Arab state. In the same month three judges were shot dead in the northern Sinai city of al-Arish.
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- Netanyahu denounces Gaza-bound aid flotilla as Israel intercepts lead ship
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- 0:51
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Naval forces have intercepted a ship leading a four-vessel protest flotilla taking aid for Gaza in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory.
An Israeli military statement said the action came after all diplomatic channels were exhausted.
It said there was no violence when troops boarded and searched the Marianne of Gothenburg in international waters, before escorting it towards Israel’s southern port of Ashdod.
A euronews source on board says three other vessels have turned back.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the military, saying the ship was involved in a “demonstration of hypocrisy”.
The fishing trawler left the Greek island of Crete on Friday with a few dozen Europeans including politicians among the activists on board.
The flotilla was carrying humanitarian aid including medicines and solar panels to Gaza.
It was the latest in a ser...
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- Israeli forces intercept aid for Gaza protest flotilla
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- 0:36
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Naval forces are said to have intercepted a ship leading a four vessel protest flotilla taking aid for Gaza.
The is called the Marianne of Gothenburg.
An Israeli military statement said there was no violence in the incident in which troops boarded, searched and then forced the boat to sail to an Israeli port.
A euronews source on board says three other vessels have turned back.
The flotilla is carrying humanitarian aid including medicines and solar panels for the Palestinian territory.
It’s the latest in a series of protest voyages across the Mediterranean against Israel’s nine-year blockade of Islamist Hamas-dominated Gaza.
One of those incidents turned deadly in 2010 when 10 Turkish activists were killed aboard a ship commandeered by Israeli forces.
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- Aid flotilla approaches Gaza
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- 1:38
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A small flotilla of four boats which set sail two days ago carrying humanitarian aid is expected to enter the waters near the Gaza strip sometime today. But Israel has warned it will not allow its blockade to be broken.
Euronews’s Luis Carballo has gone to Jerusalem to discover how the flotilla is being viewed by locals.
“This new flotilla heading to Gaza has all the ingredients to provoke a new dispute in Israel. We have talked to both Israelis and Palestinians here in Jerusalem. The Palestinians complain of the lack of humanity being shown by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in not allowing the flotilla to enter the Strip. Many Israelis have told us that allowing this aid into Gaza would be the same as giving it directly to Hamas,” said our reporter.
“Israel has signed many agreements for letting in aid going back 40 years or more even before the government of Netanyahu, before Olmert, before even Begin and Rabin, and they just don’t ...
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- Istanbul Gay pride quashed by riot police, rubber bullets and water cannon
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- 0:57
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- For residents of Istanbul, the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Pride Parade is a familiar sight. But attendees at the Turkish city’s 13th annual march were forcibly prevented from celebrating.
Riot police used water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse crowds at the 2015 Gay Pride festival. Media reports suggest the march was stopped before it started when crowds began to denounce Turkey’s Conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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- Pro-Kurdish party says Kobani ‘massacre’ reflects Turkish support for ISIL
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- 1:04
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP party is describing an ISIL attack on the Syrian border town of Kobani as a “massacre.”
It is blaming it on Turkish state support for the militants, a move set to fuel tensions in Ankara.
At least 15 people were killed and 70 wounded in the assault, according to hospital officials.
ISIL is striking back after losing ground in recent days to Kurdish-led forces, who are within 50 kilometres of its de-facto capital Raqqa.
“It’s not logical to say that the Islamic State gang, which has been using Turkish borders comfortably all of the time, did not make use of the border gate today while carrying out this attack,” said Figen Yuksekdag, co-leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
The HDP entered parliament for the first time after this month’s elections.
Meanwhile, in Syria’s south, rebels have launched an assault to capture Deraa from government forces.
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- Flotilla prepares to set off on attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza
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- 1:28
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Activists are preparing to set sail in a flotilla of boats, to try and break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
They are due to start their journey from a Greek island on Thursday, weather permitting. Israel is trying to prevent the flotilla from sailing.
A surgeon from Greece is among those taking part.
“At present people in need, who are in distress, are the Palestinians. And so we must help them,” said the participant.
“We must express our international solidarity with the Palestinians, this does not mean that we are enemies of Israel.”
Basel Ghattas, an MP with the Joint Arab List in the Israeli Knesset, also plans to take part in the flotilla. He is being stripped of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution as a result.
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki is planning to join the flotilla too.
“Actions like giving permission to the flotilla to dock in Gaza (by Israel) would open ...
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- Palestinians put claims of Israeli ‘war crimes’ to ICC
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- 0:58
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Details of alleged Israeli war crimes have been put to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Palestinian Authority in its first submission of evidence.
The ICC is looking into abuses committed during last year’s Gaza conflict.
Israel denies the allegations. It is not a member of the court but may find itself isolated if it decides not to cooperate with prosecutors.
“We view the Palestinian initiative at the ICC as nothing more than a provocation. We believe that it is a manipulation. It is an attempt to politicise the work of the ICC by presenting documents that have absolutely nothing to do with the judicial work of the ICC,” said Emmanuel Nahshon, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The Palestinians have also submitted evidence relating to Israeli settlements in occupied territory and treatment of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The ICC, based in The Hague, is looking into alleged abuses by both side...
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- ISIL militants launch counter-offensive and re-enter Kobani
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- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The self-styled Islamic State group has re-entered the key Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, five months after they were driven out.
The assault began overnight with a series of bomb blasts, after which ISIL militants drove around the streets killing the civilians, according to local media reports.
After a string of defeats the extremist group has gone on the counter offensive and was also reported to have seized parts of the northeastern city of Hasaka.
As Turkish hospitals deal with the scores of wounded civilians, questions are being asked as to how the militants managed to enter the town. Syrian State TV said they had entered from Turkey, a charge denied by Ankara. Other reports suggest they disguised themselves as refugees or Kurdish fighters.
More than 30,000 people had returned to Kobani when ISIL were driven out in January in a what was hailed as a victory for the Kurdish fighters aided by the US coalition after months of ...
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- Israeli PM rejects international ‘diktats’ on Palestinian-Israeli conflict
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- 1:00
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he rejects what he called “International Diktats” or the forcing of peace plans on Israel.
His remarks came as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrived promoting an initiative to relaunch the Israeli Palestinian peace process which collapsed in 2014.
Fabius urged the Israeli premier not to prejudge his efforts:
“At any moment there is a risk that it could all explode. So the concern for France is to help even if it is very difficult to find a solution. France will not give up,” he said.
Fabius who is on a two-day trip to the Middle East is pushing for a UN Security Council resolution that would lay out a time table for talks.
He also wants to establish a support group comprising of Arab states, the European Union and UN Security Council members.
Netanyahu insists he will flatly reject any proposals, “which have no true consideration for the securi...
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- ISIL militants lay explosives in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra
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- 0:55
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Fears are growing for the UNESCO world heritage site at Palmyra after activists claim Islamist extremists have mined the area.
The Syrian city is home to some of the Middle East’s most important Roman-era ruins.
The monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground says the explosives were laid on Saturday.
ISIL jihadis overran the city a month ago.
It’s not known if the purpose of the explosives is to blow up the site or to prevent its recapture.
Before Syria’s war began, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra each year, admiring its beautiful statues, more then 1,000 columns and necropolis of over 500 tombs.
Elsewhere in Syria and rebels say they have begun a campaign to take full control of the city of Aleppo.
Just four months ago it was Syria’s army and its allied militia that were launching a major bid to besiege the city.
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- Yemen: at least two dead in car bomb attack
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- 0:41
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- There has been another car bomb attack in Sanaa.
The latest atrocity comes just hours after peace talks between Yemen’s warring factions collapsed in
Geneva
Shots rang out as survivors raced to the scene near a mosque in the centre of the Yemeni capital. At least two people have been killed and six injured.
The group calling itself Islamic State has reportedly said it planted the bomb.
The Houthi militia, whose fighters frequent the mosque, were the target, according to claims posted on Twitter. Peace talks between the fighting factions ended on Friday in Geneva with no ceasefire deal being signed.
And, while politicians talk, the people suffer.
The United Nationsestimates more than 2,600 have been killed in the fighting in Yemen so far and around 20 million need help.
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- Yemen peace talks end with no deal
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- 1:22
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Yemen peace talks have ended on Friday with no deal or truce, with the head of the government-in-exile saying they will return to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The US State Department remained hopeful however, saying that the talks were a useful start to what is likely to be a long process.
“We are optimistic that we will go into a peaceful solution for Yemen under the umbrella of (the) United Nations. But, unfortunately, the Houthis delegation did not allow us really to reach to a real progress as we expected,” remarked Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riad Yassin.
The government in exile are calling for the Houthis to pull out of cities captured since September as a condition for a truce.:
“There is no agreement, let’s be clear about that,” explained UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. “There was no kind of agreement reached because the parties had divergent views with regard to reaching the original agreement, with regard ...
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- Palestinian unity government resigns Hamas blasts unilateral decision
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- 1:17
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Palestinian national unity government, formed to heal the split between Fatah and Hamas has resigned.
An inability to exert any influence in the Gaza Strip is cited as the reason.
The decision to install a technocrat administration to dilute the tension that exists between Fatah and Hamas looks to have failed.
Ihab Bseiso is a Palestinian government spokesman :
“The Prime Minister Dr. Rami Hamdallah has been calling for a reshuffle of the government for the last few months, particularly after the war in Gaza, which really needed a reshuffle to expand the government to meet all the needs for the people, particularly our people in Gaza Strip after the Israeli war.”
Hamas says that the Islamist movement had not been consulted and was opposed to any unilateral dissolution of the government.
Fawzi Barhoum spoke for Hamas: “Any changes in the government, dissolving or accepting its resignation, or forming a new ...
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- ‘Father’ of Turkish politics, Suleyman Demirel, dies aged 90
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- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Former Prime Minister of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel, has died at the age of 90.
During a career spanning almost half a century, he served as the country’s premier seven times, later becoming its president from 1993 to 2000.
He dominated Turkish politics over decades of violence and economic stagnation and even made a comeback after military rule.
The leader of the Justice Party between 1964 and 1990, he and a number of other politicians were banned from politics following a military coup in 1980.
Demirel was twice overthrown by the army and claimed he would never resist a military takeover.
The ‘Father’ of Turkish politics
He was publicly recognised as the ‘Father’ of Turkish politics, known for making statements such as “Yesterday is yesterday, today is today,” when referring to contradicting things he’d said at different times during his career.
Demirel died early on Wednesday, June 17, ...
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- UN pushes hard for Ramadan ceasefire in Yemen during tough talks in Geneva
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- 1:03
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Yemen’s warring parties are in discussion over the terms and conditions of a possible one-month ceasefire.
The sides are attending UN brokered peace talks in Geneva.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to mark Ramadan with a halt to the violence.
The talks are far from easy.
Representatives from the Houthi rebel group have so far refused to meet with members from the exiled government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Hadi and his government are currently in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi’s back a return to power for Hadi and have engaged in an air campaign to oust the rebels from government territory.
More that 2,500 people have been killed in the three months of airstrikes and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
The humanitarian situation is critical with dire shortages of food, fuel and medicine due to a blockade of the country.
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- Egypt: death sentences upheld for Mursi and other Brotherhood leaders
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- 1:16
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A Cairo court has upheld death sentences for toppled president, Mohamed Mursi and other leaders within the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.
They relate to a mass jailbreak in 2011. Sentencing was initially passed in May 2015, then later confirmed following a consultation with the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s most senior religious figure.
In total 106 people were tried in connection with the jailbreak.
The movement’s supreme guide Mohammed Badie was among the group sentenced.
They are allowed to appeal, political analyst Ayman Samir explained:
“These are the verdicts of the court of first instance. Both ousted president Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood may appeal against them, by following two legal procedures.”
A lawyer for the Brotherhood says they will appeal the sentences.
In a separate case, the same court sentenced Mursi to life in prison (25 years) for charges relating to espiona...
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- Egypt boosts tourist site security after Luxor suicide bombing
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- 1:06
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Egyptian authorities are stepping up security after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak temple in the southern city of Luxor.
It is being seen as a sign that militants are shifting focus to target the country’s economic recovery and vital tourism industry.
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- Turkey’s Q1 GDP growth beats forecasts
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- 0:59
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s economy outperformed expectations year-on-year in Q1 recording year-on-year GDP growth of 2.3%.
It is a welcome post-election boost for the government, after voters stripped the AK party of its absolute majority.
It may stop some traders who have been selling off their Turkish stocks as well, despite the uncertain political outlook that has been driving prices down.
Shares regained some ground, as did the lira, which has fallen 15% against the dollar this year.
One economist warned GDP growth was maintained by a consumer spending spurt that sapped domestic savings and fed a growing current account deficit, negative arguments brushed aside by the finance minister who insisted Turkey’s fundamentals were “sound”.
April’s Industrial production did beat forecasts, but May’s exports were down 18%.
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- Egypt: at least 4 wounded in Luxor suicide bombing
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- 0:26
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Witnesses and security sources say at least four people have been injured in a suicide bombing in a car park next to the Kamak Temple in Luxor, southern Egypt.
Three alleged assailants are said to have been killed, although no group claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.
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- Syrian rebels capture government army base in south
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- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Southern Front rebels have claimed a victory in Syria by capturing a major army base in Deraa province.
If confirmed its fall will be a significant set back for President Bashar al Assad whose forces have suffered a string of defeats in the past three months.
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- Turkish PM Davutoglu formally resigns ahead of new government
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- 1:32
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (June 9) to present his formal resignation following Sunday’s general election.
It’s a purely procedural move, as once the official results are published – possibly not until next week – Davutoglu will face the difficult task of forming a new cabinet.
His AK Party, which failed to win a majority in the parliamentary vote, could try to rule alone in a minority government, but it is expected to at least try to form a coalition, possibly with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which won a historic 13 percent of votes, has firmly ruled out teaming with the AKP. But its entrance to parliament brings fresh hope for peace talks aiming to end a 30 year-old conflict between Kurdish rebels and Turkey’s government forces.
“The peace process will continue in one way or another. We all need peace,...
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- Turkish voters call for change
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- 2:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- “Turkey’s voters have spoken and ended the absolute power of the AK Party which had lasted for 13 years,” said euronews reporter Bora Bayraktar who was in Ankara for the election and gave the following analysis of the results.
new coalition era
It seems the country wants an era of coalitions after the the AKP lost nine percentage points and 68 seats.
The big winner of these elections is the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) with 13% of votes. HDP didn’t get just the votes of the Kurdish people, it also pulled in those from a large part of four opposition groups.
voter message
But what do these results mean? What’s the message that the voters wanted to send?
First and foremost they wanted give Kurdish politique a legitimacy. And they evidently want the Kurdish problem to be resolved in parliament.
Another very important result of these elections is that voters have rejected the imposition ...
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- Jordan’s Black Desert may hold key to Earth’s first farmers
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- 1:32
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A team of archaeologists in Jordan who have been working for a few years in the Black Desert has made a discovery that could shed light on how early humans made the leap to agriculture.
The team found 14,000-year-old evidence that could lead to a new understanding of culture and the environment at the dawn of human civilization in the region. At that time, this area used to get much more rain and was able to sustain human settlement.
“It’s really startling new evidence that we didn’t expect to find in this particular part of southwest Asia. And it changes the way in which we think about these hunter-gatherer communities at the end of the last ice age, who were on the brink of developing these new technologies of agriculture, these new ways of life that are influencing us still today,” says archeologist Tobias Richter from the University of Copenhagen.
Underneath the volcanic basalt on the windswept, arid and rocky plain, within sight of th...
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- Turkey’s ruling AKP struggles to form government following election losses
- Runtime
- 1:32
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hailed Sunday’s election as another victory for the ruling AKP – but with just under 41 percent of the vote, down from over 49 percent in 2011, the result was a major blow.
Former party leader and current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a statement saying the results don’t give a mandate to any single party and must be realistically assessed.
The secular CHP won 25 percent of the vote and the nationalist MHP 16.5 percent. With 13 percent of the vote, the HDP became the first pro-Kurdish party to exceed the 10 percent threshold and enter parliament.
Sunday marked an end to the AKP’s 13-year-long single party rule – and to the seeming invincibility of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The party now faces the challenge of forming a government.
Speaking at his party headquarters following Sunday’s vote, nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli ruled out joining a coalition and laid out the...
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- Turkish lira hits record low as election brings uncertainty
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- 1:01
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Turkey’s financial markets have taken a hit as the country faces uncertainty following Sunday’s (June 7) parliamentary elections.
The main stock market index was down by more than 7 percent, while the lira fell 5 percent to a record low of 2.79 against the dollar. Turkey’s central bank quickly cut rates of foreign exchange borrowing to prevent further free fall.
Government bond yields, meanwhile, spiked to 9.94 percent on Monday (June 8), as investors rushed to unload the country’s sovereign debt.
Investors had been hoping for a clear win for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, but with just 41% of the vote the party is facing a minority or coalition government – or even a new election.
Markets aside, many citizens welcomed the end to the AKP’s 13-year-long single party rule.
“I believe this is a good result for democracy. I am in favour of a multi-cultural parliament in Turkey and anywhere i...
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- ‘Suicide bomb’ at Shi’ite mosque in Saudi Arabia
- Runtime
- 0:26
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- There are reports of casualties after a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shi’ite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia during Friday prayers.
The Saudi authorities have confirmed an explosion took place and say an investigation is underway.
Reports quoting a witness and a Shi’ite militant speak of several people having been either killed or wounded in the attack in the village of al Qadih.
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- Syrian government ‘loses ground’ to Nusra Front and ISIL
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- The Syrian government under President Bashar al-Assad is fighting a desperate battle against insurgents from different groups.
Damascus has suffered a series of setbacks against the so-called Islamic State, which in taking Palmyra and the surrounding area has seized government buildings, gas fields and border crossings with Iraq.
To the northwest, insurgents on Friday seized a hospital from Syrian government forces who had been besieged there since late April, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, another gain by rebels who have dealt a series of blows to President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian state TV said soldiers holed up in the Jisr al-Shughour hospital in Idlib province had been freed, saying they had managed to “break the siege” in an operation coordinated with air strikes and artillery bombardment.
The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, an insurgent group involved in the offensive, said government forces had fled. “The Mujah...
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- Footage shows ISIL in control of Syrian city of Palmyra
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Unverified video uploaded to Social Media on Thursday appeared to show the Islamic State militant group in control of the Syrian city of Palmyra.
More than a third of its inhabitants have fled, leaving large parts of the city a virtual ghost town.
Seizing Palmyra gives jihadists access to modern army installations and control of a desert highway linking Damascus and Homs with the east of the country.
ISIL militants now control more than half of Syria, according to the UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
They seized a border control close to Palmyra.
Fears are growing that historic buildings in the city will be destroyed in the same way ISIL militants targeted antiquities and monuments in Iraq.
Several Roman-era ruins are now believed to be threatened.
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- UNESCO ‘very concerned’ about ancient Syrian city of Palmyra
- Runtime
- 2:29
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- With Palmyra now in the hands of ISIL militants, UNESCO says it has serious concerns about the safety of monuments in the ancient Syrian city.
Euronews spoke to Mechtild Rossler, Deputy Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.
Olivier Peguy, euronews: “What do you make of the takeover of Palmyra by ISIL militants?”
Mechtild Rossler: “We are very concerned and upset about the situation, because Palmyra is one of the most important World Heritage sites. Also, it’s also one of the first sites that we included on our list in 1980.
“It is a really important site, with Greek-Roman influences. Palmyra is also called the ‘Venice of the desert.’”
euronews: “If the site is destroyed, what can UNESCO do? Can you restore or reconstruct?”
Mechtild Rossler: “Certain conditions need to be fulfilled for that. In the case of the former Yugoslavia, we reconstructed the Mostar bridge.
“...
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- ISIL claims it has taken ancient Syrian city of Palmyra
- Runtime
- 1:12
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- The group calling itself Islamic State (ISIL) says it has taken full control of the historic Syrian city of Palmyra including its military bases.
It is the first time ISIL has taken a city directly from from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and his army.
Now there are fears ISIL may destroy Palmyra’s Roman ruins and temples. The group caused uproar over its destruction of ancient sites and relics in Iraq.
Palmyra’s 2,000-year-old monuments were put on UNESCO’s World Heritage in danger list in 2013.
The EU’s foreign policy chief has expressed fears that thousands of people living in the city are now at risk as well as the cultural sites.
“Mass killings and deliberate destruction of archaeological and cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq amount to a war crime,” Federica Mogherini said in a statement.
The city is a strategic win for ISIL because it’s located on a highway linking government-...
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- UNESCO calls for Palmyra protection as ISIL withdraws from city
- Runtime
- 1:07
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- UNESCO has said the historic city of Palymra in Syria must be protected.
The call comes after intense fighting between forces loyal to President Assad and ISIL militants already caused some damage.
The militants reportedly withdrew from the site on Sunday after seizing it a day earlier.
Irina Bolkova is from the United Nations organisation which protects world heritage sites.
She said: “Palmyra is an unbelievable monument in the middle of the desert. It is a place where we see different cultures. From Rome, Byzantine and Persia, Greece and Islam … We can not permit that Palmyra will be destroyed.”
Palmyra was founded in around 2000 BC as a caravan stop for travelers crossing the Syrian desert.
By the third century AD it was a prosperous metropolis and is mentioned in many ancient texts including the Hebrew Bible.
ISIL has already deliberately destroyed many ancient relics in Iraq in a bid t...
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- Iran calls for UN action as Saudi airstrikes resume against Houthis in Yemen
- Runtime
- 1:14
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- In Yemen air strikes by Saudi-led forces have resumed against Houthi rebel positions in the southern city of Aden after a five-day humanitarian truce expired.
This comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the UN to take a more active role, including establishing a presence on the ground to ensure that humanitarian aid could be distributed.
“The targets in most areas have been civilian areas and it is regrettable that that has continued,” he said.
“It is also regrettable that humanitarian assistance has failed to reach the people of Yemen who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.”
Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting the Houthis and units loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh for more than six weeks.
They say the rebels are backed by Shi’ite Muslim power Iran, an allegation Tehran denies.
A five-day truce began on Tuesday night to a...
- Title
- Five-day humanitarian truce expires in Yemen
- Runtime
- 1:14
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- As a special conference on the Yemen crisis opened in Riyadh, there were reports that a Saudi-led coalition force had resumed air strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
There had been hopes that a five-day humanitarian truce which has now expired would be extended however explosions were heard in the port city of Aden over night.
Yemen’s exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour .Hadi, who is attending the conference in Riyadh, accused the Houthi’s of using the truce to regroup and prepare for yet more fighting instead of listening to the Yemeni people whom he said ‘want to live with dignity and justice’.
The Shia Houthi rebels have stayed away from the talks.
Since Tuesday the Saudi-led forces and the rebels had largely observed the ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical supplies to millions of Yemenis caught up in the conflict.
According to the United Nations there are currently 12 million people without access...
- Title
- Scuffles break out as Israelis mark ‘Jerusalem Day’
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Accompanied by a heavy police presence, thousands of Israelis marched through Arab sections of Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday to celebrate Israel’s capture of the area nearly 50 years ago.
- Title
- Egypt: international condemnation over Muslim Brotherhood death sentences
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- The decision by an Egyptian court to seek the death penalty for ex-President Mohammed Mursi and 106 others has provoked international condemnation.
A US State Department official said Washington was “deeply concerned” by the sentence.
The condemned group, all members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement, has been tried in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.
Mr Darrag, an exiled Muslim Brotherhood member spoke out against the sentence from Turkey. Ankara strongly supports the group.
“Now we have the death penalty and this is what I expected,” he said. “As a matter of fact, we have to put the international community on its responsibility – whether it chose to be part of the conspiracy against the revolution in Egypt, against the democratic path in Egypt. Or (will) it support the regain of democracy in Egypt and in the regime? Because, if these verdicts are executed, it will be the end of the democratic path in Eg...
- Title
- Syria: reports of ISIL advance on Palmyra raise fears for the ancient site
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- An unverified video has emerged purporting to show ISIL militants raising the group’s flag over a government building in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
The country’s antiquities chief maintains the government is still in control of the municipality, but says fighting is ongoing two kilometres away from the world heritage site.
Recent reports suggest ISIL has advanced from eastern strongholds to surround the central Syrian town.
According to UNESCO, Palmyra dates back to the 1st century AD. The UN agency considers it one of the most important cultural sites in the Middle East. ISIL recently destroyed a number of antiquities in northern Iraq. Fears are growing that Palmyra will suffer a similar fate.
- Title
- Senior al-Qaeda militant reportedly killed in Yemen
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- A US air strike is said to have killed a senior militant of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The SITE Intelligence group quotes Al Qaeda as saying that Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi died in Yemen, along with his eldest son and other fighters.
Ansi issued the group’s claim of responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris.
Ansi had appeared in several of the group’s videos. In a message on 14 January, he said of the 7 January attack in Paris that the “one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organisation,” without naming an individual.
A week later he called for lone-wolf attacks in Western countries like America, Britain, Canada and France, as such operations were “better and more harmful.”
- Title
- Saudi Arabia proposes five-day truce in Yemen
- Runtime
- 1:24
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Saudi Arabia has proposed a five-day truce in Yemen following appeals from US Secretary of State John Kerry for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid into the war-torn country.
However, the ceasefire hinges on the cooperation of the Houthi rebels.
“We will have several days between today’s announcement and the actual start of the ceasefire,” announced Kerry at a news conference. He added that the time would be necessary “in order to allow time for the international community to prepare the food, the medicine and the other supplies for distribution so they can be done in an orderly and efficient process once the ceasefire does take effect, if the Houthis accept the conditions.”
The Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes against the Houthi militia on March 26 in order to restore the government of President Hadi who was forced to flee his residence in Aden, taking refuge in Riyadh. Human Rights Watch has accused the Houthis of pos...
- Title
- Israel’s knife-edge new coalition promises suspense for itself, opposition and Palestinians
- Runtime
- 2:13
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- The coalition put together in extremis by Benjamin Netanyahu has made bold headlines in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv but it is fragile and already under pressure.
The prime minister struck a deal with the far-right religious Zionist Jewish Home party led by Naftali Bennett just as a midnight deadline Wednesday to Thursday was about to expire. This delivered him the requisite 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset parliament, to govern. The two men do not see eye to eye.
On 17th March, Netanyahu defied predictions and emerged the victor in Israel’s legislative elections, defeating the Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog. The context for the 40 days of negotiations to produce a fully right wing coalition was already clear in his campaigning.
A television interviewer asked: “If you are prime minister, there’ll be no Palestinian state?”
His answer: “An international initiative will be presented to revert to the 1967 borders, to divide Jerusal...
- Title
- Qatar promises improvements for ‘World Cup’ migrant workers
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Qatar says it is building seven cities or work camps to house more than a quarter of a million migrant labourers.
It follows months of controversy concerning the country’s treatment of what are called “guest workers”, particularly those who are involved in the preparations for the 20 22 World Cup.
- Title
- Israeli PM clinches last minute deal to form coalition
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clinched an 11th hour deal with a far-right party to form a new coalition government.
After hours of haggling Ultra-nationalist leader Naftali Bennet broke the news on social media saying “it’s time to get down to work”.
- Title
- Israeli soldiers on ‘lax’ Gaza war rules
- Runtime
- 1:17
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Testimonies from Israeli soldiers have cast doubt on the legality of Israel’s tactics during last summer’s war in Gaza.
Interviews with about 60 combatants alleged operations disregarded civilian safety.
The claims of lax rules feature in the report by human rights group Breaking the Silence.
“There was something called an ‘artillery softening’ which basically meant the artillery corps fired thousands of shells into densely populated neighbourhoods, as an attempt to prepare those neighbourhoods for the entrance of the soldiers,” explained Avihai Stollar Director of the Research Department at ‘Breaking the Silence’. “Once pamphlets were dropped warning the civilians that they had to escape then from that point on, there was no need to distinguish between civilians and militants.”
In the report one soldier explained that the rules of engagement were to regard anyone inside Gaza looking in their direction as a threat....
- Title
- “Death Everywhere” – report accuses Syria of bombing civilians
- Runtime
- 1:07
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Syrian government forces are targeting civilians in barrel bomb attacks, committing what amounts to crimes against humanity.
- Title
- Saudi Arabia considers truce to allow humanitarian aid in Yemen
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Saudi Arabia says it is consulting coalition partners about a possible truce in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid to get through.
But on Monday its jets pounded several airports including the capital, Sanaa, as its campaign against Houthi rebels continued.
A cargo plane left in flames on the runway had been due to carry food to remote areas, according to an airport worker.
The Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab states has been attacking Iran-backed Houthis and their allies since the rebels took control of large parts of Yemen in March.
At Aden in the south, militias loyal to the exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have been fighting Houthis for control of the airport.
A militia spokesman said foreign special forces had joined his fighters against the rebels, only to retract his statement after the Saudis denied that they had put non-Yemeni forces on the ground.
Gulf leaders from the Sunni-dominated Gulf Coop...
- Title
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Damas Pakada
- Runtime
- 1:23
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Damas Pakada, the Ethiopian Israeli soldier who was seen on a close circuit video camera being beaten by police.
“I was shocked and we cannot accept this,” the PM is reported to have told the soldier who said that his meeting Netanyahu was encouraging and that he was left with a good feeling.
“I feel sad on one hand because Sunday’s protest deteriorated into violence against the police and against civilians. I do support the demonstration, I am with them. I hope it will be understood that the Ethiopian community is part of Israeli society,” he stressed.
Sunday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv was one of the most violent seen in the country’s commercial capital for years.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as demonstrators threw bottles and bricks. At least 46 police and seven protesters were hurt. There were dozens of arrests, officials said.
Two officer...
