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[08 June 2012] Yemen political future concerns most analysts - English

[25 May 2012] US Afghan withdrawal will revive regional conflicts, Analysts say - English Militants routinely attack on security forces in Pakistan in retaliation to US assassination drone strikes in tribal areas and Islamabad's controversial alliance with Washington in so-called war on terror.

[26 Jan 2013] Spanish analysts slam Iran media ban - English

[29 Jan 2016] Analysts say NATO is taunting Moscow - English

[15 June 2012] Syria A global compass - Middle East Today - English With the events in Syria taking more violent turn by hour, a call for political solution has been the most resonant among the world leaders, despite calls from some Arab and western states for supporting and arming the opposition groups. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for a political solution to end the crisis in Syria, saying foreign military intervention is not the right path. Now that the entire world is scrutinizing the situation in Syria to see how it impacts the rest of the region, this edition of Middle East Today reviews the latest developments in Syria with political analysts and experts.

What is behind the surprise Saudi decision to provide 3 billion dollars worth of military aid to the Lebanese army? The announcement of this decision was recently made by Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, after Saudi King Abdullah and French president Francois Hollande apparently agreed on the issue during their summit in Riyadh. The deal says Paris is to play the role of the military supplier, while Riyadh will take care of the financing. No one has so far mentioned that the military aid could be used to deter Israel. Tel Aviv has launched wars on Lebanon ever since its existence but no such military aid has ever been granted to Lebanon. Moreover Israeli officials have not made any objections to this announcement. Hence the logical, widespread conclusion is that this step targets Hezbollah. In a recent visit by Suleiman to Riyadh, the Saudi Monarch reportedly called for the Lebanese army to stop Hezbollah from joining the fight in Syria. Many experts believe that this is a Saudi reaction to the role Hezbollah has played in thwarting Riyadh\\\'s agenda of toppling Syrian president Bashar Assad. Saudi Arabia\\\'s Lebanese allies in the March 14 movement appeared to confirm this view, with members of the movement describing this declaration as a blow to Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the designated supplier of the military aid, France, is believed to be the main force behind the recent E-U decision to blacklist the military wing of Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia is eager to escalate its campaign against Hezbollah, perhaps showing Washington that it can seek support elsewhere. France meanwhile welcomes the 3 billion dollar package, as it\\\'s trying to find ways to boost its austerity-hit economy. Now the main question is whether the deal could possibly change the Lebanese\\\'s anti-Israeli doctrine into an anti-Hezbollah stance?

Many speculations, stipulations, and repercussion are stated by several political analysts and research centers around the globe regarding the aftermath of an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran by the United States of America. Let's hear it from the man who not only knows this region inside out, but also understands the political climate and the emotional dynamics of this region. He openly declares what the situation will be like in case America attacks Iran! #MustWatch

Israeli analysts have considered that Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s stances on the 10th day of Muharram reveal that things are not moving as Israel wants. “Syria will never become an agent to the United States and Israel, and the opposition has failed in toppling the regime; While Hezbollah is still expanding its military power despite the Syrian crisis,” Israeli analysts say.

Iranian academic Shahram Amiri who was abducted by the US last year is now in Iran's interest section in Washington. Iranian academic Shahram Amiri, who was abducted by the US last year, has been escorted by American forces to Iran's interest section in Washington. IRIB reported on Tuesday that Amiri took refuge in Iran's interest section in Washington, urging an "immediate return" to Iran. The Pakistani Embassy in Washington preserves Iran's interests in the United States, since the two countries have no diplomatic relations. In collaboration with Saudi forces, US security forces kidnapped Amiri while he was on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and took him to America. Since then, two videos and one audio message featuring him have emerged. In the first video, Amiri said that he was abducted "in a joint operation by terror and kidnap teams from the US intelligence service, CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and Saudi Arabia's Istikhbarat" from Medina. In the second video, he contradicted his earlier statements, saying that he was in the US of his own free will to further his education, dismissing all rumors about his defection. However, in the latest audio message obtained by Iran's intelligence sources, Amiri insists that he was offered $10 million to appear on CNN and announce that he had willingly defected to the US. Holding the US accountable for Amiri's abduction, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss charge d'affaires, whose embassy represents US interests in Iran, earlier this month and handed over new documents related to the abduction of the Iranian national by the CIA. Analysts say US intelligence officials decided to free Amiri after they failed to advance their propaganda campaign against Iran's nuclear program via fabricating interviews with the Iranian national.

“We have been attacked while in international waters. That means the Israelis have behaved like pirates … The moment they start to steer this ship towards Israel, we have also been kidnapped. The whole action is illegal.”—Henning Mankell, aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Eastern Mediterranean, Monday, May 31st, 2010, 4.30am: Israeli commandos, boarding from sea and air, attack the six boats of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla as it sails through international waters bringing humanitarian relief to the beleaguered Palestinians of Gaza. Within minutes, nine peace activists are dead, shot by the Israelis. Scores of others are injured. The 700 people on board the ships are arrested before being transported to detention centers in Israel and then deported. Within hours, outrage at Israel’s action echoes around the world. Spontaneous demonstrations in Europe, the United States, Turkey, and Gaza itself denounce the attack. Turkey’s prime minister describes it as a “bloody massacre” and “state terrorism.” Lebanon’s prime minister calls it “a dangerous and crazy step that will exacerbate tensions in the region.” In these pages, a range of activists, journalists, and analysts piece together the events that occurred that May night, unpicking their meanings for Israel’s illegal, three-year-long blockade of Gaza and the decades-long Israel/Palestine conflict more generally. Mixing together first-hand testimony, documentary record, and illustration, with hard-headed analysis and historical overview, Midnight on the Mavi Marmara reveals why the attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla may just turn out to be Israels Selma, Alabama: the beginning of the end for an apartheid Palestine.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has just arrived in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for a two-day official visit. The Iranian chief executive, who is in Lebanon at an official invitation by his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman, was warmly welcomed by a number of prominent Lebanese officials at Beirut International Airport on Wednesday morning. A large crowd of Lebanese people were cheering President Ahmadinejad and waving Iran's flags on his route to the Lebanese Presidential palace. He is scheduled to address international reporters in a press conference in the Lebanese capital. The Iranian chief executive will then meet with Iranian and Lebanese businessmen. Later the Iranian president will head to southern Beirut to visit the area where Israeli bombs destroyed the location during 2006 war against the state. Many analysts believe that President Ahmadinejad's trip to Lebanon is aimed at consolidating resistance's position against Israel. Earlier, President Sleiman had asked the Islamic Republic to equip the country's army and supply the state with defense industry. The Iranian president is so popular among the Lebanese nation and is seen as the sympbol of resistance against Israel as he has been outspoken, criticizing Israel's atrocities against Lebanese and Palestinians. Iran offered unconditional support to Lebanon after Israel's war on Lebanon in summer 2006, when Tel Aviv destroyed the country's main infrastructure, electricity and water systems. Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah hailed Iran's big role in rebuilding Lebanon following the Israeli war. Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/146471.html

British government mouthpiece BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation is put under the eye of media analysts over its coverage of the siege on Gaza. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the principal public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom, headquartered in the Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London.[1] It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff.[2][3][4] Its global headquarters are located in London, and its main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster[4] that operates under a Royal Charter.[5] Within the United Kingdom its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee,[6] which is charged to all United Kingdom households, companies and organisations using any type of equipment to record and/or receive live television broadcasts;[7] the level of the fee is set annually by the British Government and agreed by Parliament.[8] The Gaza War was a three-week armed conflict that took place in the Gaza Strip and Southern Israel during the winter of 2008--2009. In an escalation of the ongoing conflict, Israel responded to Hamas "Operation Oil Stain" rocket fire[36] with military force in an action titled "Operation Cast Lead". Israel opened the attack with a surprise air strike against the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008.[37] Israel's stated aim was to stop rocket fire[38] from and arms import into the territory.[39][40] Israeli forces attacked military targets, police stations, and Hamas government buildings in the opening assault.[41]

A huge crowd of anti-US protesters took to the streets in Karachi to denounce the killing of two motorcycle riders in the city of Lahore by a US consular official. Pakistani police have charged the diplomat with double murder. According to a provincial minister, the US official believed the two intended to rob him. A pedestrian was also killed by a speeding car from the US consulate. These demonstrators are protesting against the recent killings in Lahore by the US diplomats and for the immediate release of Afia siddiqui, an American-educated neuroscientist who was sentenced to 86 years in jail in the US after being convicted of trying to kill an American soldier. Anti-US sentiments run high in Pakistan. American drone attacks are another source of growing anger at the US and its policies. Over one thousand civilian have been killed so far in these attacks. Pakistani media speculate that the consulate official charged with the murder of two Pakistani citizens is an agent of the notorious US private security firm, XE (Zee) services formerly known as Blackwater. Muhammad Aslam Tarin, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) says the men who were shot dead had no previous criminal records, adding that none of them had robbed or fired at the diplomat. The US embassy in Islamabad confirmed that Davis was a consular worker but said it was still trying to work out with the police what had happened. What does US government say? Washington is apparently wary of the rising anti-American sentiment in Pakistan given its strategic partnership with Islamabad, but analysts remain skeptical about the strength and future of US ties with regional nations. After all, many Pakistanis say they view the United States with suspicion or outright enmity because of what they call Washington's interfering policies in the Muslim world.

Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has underlined Hezbollah\\\'s stance towards the latest developments in Lebanon through a televised speech. Remarks of caretaker premier Saad Hariri in which he accused Iran of interfering in the affairs of Arab states and inciting problems were considered by Nasrallah as a reflection of Israeli rhetoric. Sayyed Nasrallah linked the latest position of Saad Hariri to the unrest in the region, especially after Hariri held a telephone conversation with Bahraini king Hamad Bin Khalifa: The anti Iranian remarks follow a campaign by the March 14 against hezbollah\\\'s arms , but this stance is not new, and nasrallah said it goes back some years and is part of a deal between the US and the embattled March 14th . Analysts see the war of words in Lebanon as a reflection of rivalry between the camp allied with the US and the resistance: The issue of the formation of a new cabinet headed by PM designate Najib Mikati was also tackled by Nasrallah who said the march 8th are determined to deal with the remaining obstacles before forming the Mikati cabinet.

Turkey's smear campaign against the Syrian government is much worse than the propaganda spread by Arab media to tarnish the image of Damascus with regards to its recent unrest. While Syrian officials and residents of crisis-hit Syrian regions have repeatedly said that armed groups are responsible for the deadly clashes in the country, Turkey has tried to portray Iran and the Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, as being behind the unrest in Syria and that they help Damascus quell protests. The Turkish NTV news channel recently claimed that the Syrian soldiers who refused to open fire on protesters were shot dead by their commanders. The broadcaster reported that a Syrian soldier taking refuge in the country says that he and his comrades were trying to avoid hurting protesters by firing warning shots, but those who refused to open fire on protesters were shot dead. "I've seen Iranians and Hezbollah operators giving instructions to shoot, and those who refused were immediately shot dead," the alleged fugitive Syrian soldier told NTV, adding that the soldiers were mostly shot from behind or in the neck. The Turkish broadcaster has also claimed that Syrian forces have opened fire on unarmed civilians in al-Rastan. "We opened fire on everyone, the young, the old... Women were raped in front of their husbands and children," the army defector told NTV. Political analysts in Middle East affairs have accused Ankara of playing a double game -- claiming to support the Damascus government in order to have greater influence in the Middle East, while at the same time supporting and providing a safe haven for armed gangs seeking to incite revolt in Syria. Iranian analyst Hadi Mohammadi says that the United States has now formed operational headquarters in southern Turkey close to the border with Syria to direct the riots in the Arab country after its attempts to cause unrest in southern Syria were unsuccessful. Mohammadi said that the United States has assigned Turkey to carry out its anti-Syria plan. It has hence provided aid to the Turkish Army to assist Syrian dissidents in crossing into Turkey and settle in tent villages set up in Turkey's Hatay Province. Meanwhile, a mass grave with bodies of at least 10 Syrian security forces was discovered near the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour on Monday. Syria's state TV says the victims were killed by armed gangs and the bodies bore marks of torture. Heavy clashes were reported as troops and tanks moved into the city on Sunday and gunmen targeted civilian areas including a hospital. The government says it entered the town to restore order after some 120 security forces were killed there about a week ago. People in Jisr al-Shughour gathered to thank government troops for protecting them against the gunmen.

Syrian has accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of interfering in its internal affairs. Damascus blames foreign-backed armed gangs for the ongoing violence Some political analysts have accused Riyadh of recruiting terrorists and sending them to Syria. A prominent university professor says Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is following the US policies toward Syria and other regional countries. Press TV has conducted an interview with Press TV, Mohsen Saleh, Lebanese University professor, to further talk over the issue.

What started as a regular basketball game between two teams, ended in the arrest of 30 Turkish youth. Police in the Turkish city of Kayseri stepped in after the crowd, waving Palestinian flags, began protesting against the Israeli team. According to the indictment, they have been accused of "insulting Israel". This is not the first time Israeli players have been forced off the court. In 2009, some 3000 Turkish fans disrupted a game in the capitol Ankara. Soma analysts say these events shine a light on the growing rift between the long-time regional allies, who share trade, military and strategic ties. Tensions between Turkey and Israel were at one time, reserved only for the political leaders. However that is now being seen on the streets. This is especially true since the deadly raid on the Gaza aid ship back in May of last year that saw 9 Turkish activists' killed. Israel refuses to apologize to Turkey for the deaths saying their troops acted in self defense. According to Hayrettin Turan, the editor of the foreign desk at Turkiye Newspaper, relations between the two countries really soured with the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip in December 2008. While Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, it is a secular one, leading some to believe it will make a good role model for new governments in the Middle East. Turkey also maintains strong ties with Iran and with that growing influence across the region. The dilemma now rests with Israel and how long they feel their policies will keep them afloat.

Tens of thousands of anti- government protesters have taken to the streets across the country on a day dubbed loyalty to the blood of martyrs. Protesters gathered in the change square of Sana'a and chanted anti-government slogans, denouncing the US -Saudi brokered deal as it gives Ali Abdullah Saleh immunity from prosecution. They condemned the killing of peaceful march of life calling for the expulsion of US Ambassador to Yemen over his latest remarks. Earlier, Dirald Firstien stated that if two thousands protesters staged a march toward the WHIT house, they would be deterred from reaching it. This comes as strikes are spreading through the capital Sana'a. Government employees staged rallies demanding for reforms and the firing of senior corrupted managers. While, the Military commission plans to continue lifting barricades to the north of capital Sana'a, clashes erupted once again between republican guards and tribal armed men loyal to dissident tribal leader of Hashied Federation, Sadiq Al-Ahmar. During its Tuesday's session, the parliament gave the trust to the newly unity government. Political analysts predict that protests would continue with no end in sight until people's demands are met. The impoverished country has been hit by daily anti-government protests since late January demanding an end to corruption and unemployment. As violent clashes have erupted once again in Al-Hassabah region, threatening the power transfer brokered deal, the protesters call for the continuation of their revolution in loyalty to the blood of martyrs, vowing to prosecute who they describe as killers and corrupted people.

http://pknews.tv - on tripartite summit - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born in village of Aradan near city of Garmsar, southeast of Tehran in 1956. He is the fourth son of an ironworker who had seven children. Mahmoud and his family migrated to Tehran when he was one-year-old. He went to primary and high school in Tehran and got his diploma and was admitted to the University of Science and Technology (Elm-o-Sanaat) in the field of civil engineering after he ranked 132nd in the nationwide university entrance exams in 1975. He was accepted as an MS student at the same university in 1986 and became a member of the scientific board of the Civil Engineering College of University of Science and Technology. Later on he got his doctorate in 1987 in the field of engineering and traffic transportation planning. He is married with two sons and one daughter. Following the 1979 Islamic revolution he became a member the conservative faction of the Office for Strengthening Unity [OSU] Between Universities and Theological Seminaries. The OSU was established by Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, one of Ayatollah Khomeini's key advisors, to organize Islamic students against the rapidly growing Islamic group of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK). With invasion of Iraq and start of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, Ahmadinejad rushed to the western fronts to fight against the enemy and joined the voluntary (basij) forces of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC). He served in different units of the Islamic Revolution Guards Engineering Corps. He served as governor of Maku and Khoy cities in the northwestern West Azerbaijan province, and as an advisor to the governor general of the western province of Kurdistan for two years. While serving as the cultural advisor to then Ministry of Culture and Higher Education in 1993, he was appointed as governor general of the newly established northwestern province of Ardebil from 1993 to 1997. He was elected as the exemplary governor general for three consecutive years. But in 1997 the newly-installed Khatami administration removed Ahmadinejad from his post as Ardebil governor general. He returned to the University of Science and Technology (Elm-o-Sanaat) again to teach in 1997. In April 2003 Ahmadinejad was appointed mayor of Tehran by the capital's municipal council, which is dominated by the hard-line Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Etelaf-e Abadgaran-e Iran-e Islami). In some of Ahmadinejad's public statements, he has appeared to identify himself as a Developer. He lives a very Spartan lifestyle and that's how he projected himself. As Mayor, he reversed many of the policies of previous moderate and reformist mayors, placing serious religious emphasis on the activities of the cultural centers by turning them into prayer halls during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. He also suggested the burial of the bodies of martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war in major city squares of Tehran. On 24 June 2005 Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected as Iran's sixth president. He swept to the presidential post with a stunning 17,046,441 votes out of a total of 27,536,069 votes cast in the runoff election. In the 2009 presidential election Ahmadinejad was nominated to run for the second term. In the presidential election of 2009, 39,165,191 ballots were cast on 12th June, according to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, Mir Hossein Mousavi won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes. The election drew unprecedented public interest in Iran. The election results remain in dispute as Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. This popular belief ignited protests and demonstrations in the large cities with a united slogan of “Where is my vote”, which resulted in the birth of “Green Movement” of Iran. Finally Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009, and Dr. Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009 Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran have agreed to expand socio-economic cooperation and more particularly neutralize foreign interference in this part of the world. At the conclusion of a tripartite summit in Islamabad, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the regional cooperation will lead to an end to foreign interference, a reference to the US-led NATO military presence in Afghanistan. The Iranian President said that the nuclear weapon do not empower any state and must be eliminated from political relations. Howerver, Afghan President Hamid Karazi’s focus was to gain regional support for the Taliban talks, a reference to his demand to include Kabul in the talks between the US and Taliban. Islamabad asserted that it would lend its support to President Karazi in any future Taliban talks. The Taliban have so far refused to negotiate with Kabul describing Karzai administration as the puppet. The three neighboring countries also decided to step up their efforts to combat drug production and trafficking in Afghanistan, a particular source of concern for Pakistan. The summit also decided to enhance trilateral trade through facilitative measures like preferential tariff and free trade arrangements and barter trade. The three countries in their summit declaration sounded determined to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of regional states. This is a clear reference to the frequent US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal region that have killed large number of civilians since 2004. However, analysts believe more than any thing else, it depends on Islamabad if it is willing to scrap secret deals with Americans that allows them to carry out drone attacks in the tribal areas.

[08 July 2012] Golan Heights residents fear Israeli attacks - English Analysts believe that for decades, Israel and the United States have been working to reshape the Middle East in an effort to control its natural resources, believing that changing governments and installing pro western puppet regimes will ultimately help the Zionists to achieve its goal of secure borders.

On Sunday 12th February 2012, the AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) in conjunction with the Islamic Centre of England organised an international conference during Islamic Unity Week on the theme of the Global Islamic Awakening, a topic of paramount connotation given the contemporary political changes in our world. This conference was proudly presented with a wide array of thinkers, analysts, journalists and activists who delivered lectures and expressed their opinions on the Global Islamic Awakening that has engulfed the Middle East and beyond. The speakers at this conference included Sheikh Moezi, Lauren Booth, Sheikh Noor Al-Aqtab Siddiqui, Dr Kamal El-Helbawy, George Galloway, Sheikh Bahmanour, Ammar Waqaf, Dr. Rashid bin Issa, Mohammed Sadiq Shamran, and Roshan Muhammad Salih.

On Sunday 12th February 2012, the AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) in conjunction with the Islamic Centre of England organised an international conference during Islamic Unity Week on the theme of the Global Islamic Awakening, a topic of paramount connotation given the contemporary political changes in our world. This conference was proudly presented with a wide array of thinkers, analysts, journalists and activists who delivered lectures and expressed their opinions on the Global Islamic Awakening that has engulfed the Middle East and beyond. The speakers at this conference included Sheikh Moezi, Lauren Booth, Sheikh Noor Al-Aqtab Siddiqui, Dr Kamal El-Helbawy, George Galloway, Sheikh Bahmanour, Ammar Waqaf, Dr. Rashid bin Issa, Mohammed Sadiq Shamran, and Roshan Muhammad Salih.

On Sunday 12th February 2012, the AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) in conjunction with the Islamic Centre of England organised an international conference during Islamic Unity Week on the theme of the Global Islamic Awakening, a topic of paramount connotation given the contemporary political changes in our world. This conference was proudly presented with a wide array of thinkers, analysts, journalists and activists who delivered lectures and expressed their opinions on the Global Islamic Awakening that has engulfed the Middle East and beyond. The speakers at this conference included Sheikh Moezi, Lauren Booth, Sheikh Noor Al-Aqtab Siddiqui, Dr Kamal El-Helbawy, George Galloway, Sheikh Bahmanour, Ammar Waqaf, Dr. Rashid bin Issa, Mohammed Sadiq Shamran, and Roshan Muhammad Salih.

[07 Nov 2012] Bahraini regime acts show desperation - English

As growing US domination has sparked numerous mass demonstrations in Yemen, protesters have taken to streets to express the people\'s total rejection of foreign intervention in their country\'s affairs. Meanwhile, human rights groups have lambasted the increasing number of US assassination drone attacks in Yemen, which mostly target innocent civilians. Washington uses its assassination drones in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia, claiming that they target the terrorists. The attacks, however, have mostly led to massive civilian casualties. To further discuss the issue, Press TV\'s News analysis program has conducted an interview with vice chairman of the Southern Civil democratic Rally, Mohammed Qubati, from London, Yassir al-Mohelel political analysts in Sana\'a and Fredrick Peterson in Washington.

Canada\'s neo-conservative government has expressed its support for Israel in its attack on the Syrian capital Damascus. Syrian expats and political analysts in Canada have slammed Ottawa\'s one-sided support for Tel Aviv. They say such pro-Israeli policies are isolating their country in the world.

Israel has just finished military drills in what appeared to be a campaign to prepare for a potential war - with Syria. Israel launched the drills following Russia\'s announcement that it would supply one of its most advanced anti aircraft missile systems named S-300 to the Syrian government. Following this announcement, the Israeli minister of military affairs Moshe Ya\'alon immediately issued a statement that the military would bomb the Russian missile systems if they were deployed in Syria. However, Palestinian military expert Wasef Erekat says Israel is merely making empty threats. Military analysts say Israel is afraid that the success of other countries to obtain advanced military expertise would undermine its military might in the Middle East. Nel Burden, Press TV, Ramallah

Here at one of Europe\'s most respected economic think tanks, Bruegel, researchers and analysts are continuing to crunch the latest unemployment figures which show a record number of people out of work in the eurozone. According to the EU\'s statistical office, Eurostat, within the 17 countries that use the euro, an additional 95,000 people joined the dole queues in April. According to the latest figures there are now 19.4 million unemployed adults in the eurozone. That is 12.2% of the labor force. 3.6 million adults under the age of 25 are without job. In Greece and Spain youth unemployment is running at 60%. And 40% of young adults are without work in Italy. France, Europe\'s second largest economy, is also experiencing record unemployment. Jerome Hughes, Press TV, Brussels