Syria President offers more freedoms after forces kill 37 - 24Mar2011 -...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110324.
President Bashar al-Assad made an unprecedented pledge of greater...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110324.
President Bashar al-Assad made an unprecedented pledge of greater freedom and more prosperity to Syrians Thursday as anger mounted following a crackdown on protesters that left at least 37 dead.
As an aide to Assad in Damascus read out a list of decrees, which included a possible end to 48 years of emergency rule, a human rights group said a leading pro-democracy activist, Mazen Darwish, had been arrested.
In the southern city of Deraa, a hospital official said at least 37 people had been killed there Wednesday when security forces opened fire on demonstrators inspired by uprisings across the Arab world that have shaken authoritarian leaders.
Announcing the sort of concessions that would have seemed almost unimaginable three months ago in Syria, Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told a news conference the president had not himself ordered his forces to fire on protesters:
"I was a witness to the instructions of His Excellency that live ammunition should not be fired -- even if the police, security forces or officers of the status were being killed."
Assad, she said, would draft laws to provide for media freedoms and allow political movements other than the Baath party, which has ruled for half a century.
Assad, who succeed his late father Hafez al-Assed in 2000, had, Shaaban said, decreed the drafting of a law for political parties "to be presented for public debate" and would strive above all to raise living standards across the country.
She said another decree would look at "ending with great urgency the emergency law, along with issuing legislation that assures the security of the nation and its citizens."
DERAA KILLINGS
Security forces opened fire on hundreds of youths on the outskirts of Deraa Wednesday, witnesses said, after nearly a week of protests in which seven civilians had already died.
The main hospital in Deraa, in southern Syria near the Jordanian border, had received the bodies of at least 37 protesters killed Wednesday, a hospital official said.
Around 20,000 people marched Thursday in the funerals for nine of those killed, chanting freedom slogans and denying official accounts that infiltrators and "armed gangs" were behind the killings and violence in Deraa.
"Traitors do not kill their own people," they chanted. "God, Syria, Freedom. The blood of martyrs is not spilled in vain!"
As Syrian soldiers armed with automatic rifles roamed the streets of the southern city, residents emptied shops of basic goods and said they feared Assad's government was intent on crushing the revolt by force.
Assad, a close ally of Iran, key player in neighboring Lebanon and supporter of militant groups opposed to Israel, had earlier dismissed demands for reform in Syria, a country of 20 million people run by the Baath Party since a 1963 coup. Assad's father took personal in 1970.
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[Remember Palestine] The Boycott Movement gains pace during Ramadan -...
As convoys and flotillas are being increasingly blocked from entering Palestine, activists look increasingly to the Boycott Movement as a way to...
As convoys and flotillas are being increasingly blocked from entering Palestine, activists look increasingly to the Boycott Movement as a way to pressure Israel.
They have campaigned for musicians to cancel performances in Tel Aviv and protested outside supermarkets and shops stocking goods that contribute to Israel's occupation. But most recently, activists are looking to renew their campaign to raise awareness about how buying Israeli dates help to fund building of settlements and exploitation of Palestinians.
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[Al-Quds Rally 2011 London] Interview of Rabbi Yacov Wiess from Rabbis...
interview of Rabbi Yacov Wiess from Rabbis For Palestine in London by the protest outside the Israeli Terrorist Embassy in London Friday 19 August...
interview of Rabbi Yacov Wiess from Rabbis For Palestine in London by the protest outside the Israeli Terrorist Embassy in London Friday 19 August 2011 for more information visit www.rabbisforpalestine.org
Free Palestine End the Israeli Occupation Now!! Down Israel now!! Boycott Israeli goods
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Israel killed 180 Palestinians in 2011 - English
A recent report issued by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) says around 180 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces...
A recent report issued by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) says around 180 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces in 2011, Press TV reports.
According to reports, more than 120 people including children and women have been killed and over 600 injured in the Gaza strip during air raids and ground incursions in 2011.
“2011 was the bloodiest year since the end of Israel's war on Gaza. We still continue to suffer from a huge shortage of some types of medicines,” Ashraf al-Qedra of Gaza Health Ministry told Press TV.
Israel has been imposing a land and sea blockade on the tiny coastal strip since 2007. It controls Gaza's airspace and territorial waters and restricts the movement of people or goods in or out of Gaza.
The Israeli regime waged a 22-day Christmas war on the densely populated coastal sliver in 2008 which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead including at least 300 children.
The offensive also destroyed 4,000 houses and devastated a large portion of infrastructures in the blockaded strip. Israeli military forces also targeted UN-run schools and centers.
More than 50,000 people were also displaced as a result of the three-week war.
Tel Aviv also used internationally-banned weapons, including white phosphorus bombs, against the Gazans during the three-week war.
On December 27, the Israeli military's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz warned that Tel Aviv would launch another war on the coastal enclave.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, frequently bombs the besieged sliver, claiming that the acts of aggression are conducted for defensive purposes.
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[12 Aug 2012] Mahmoud Abbas supports closing of Rafah crossing by...
[12 Aug 2012] Mahmoud Abbas supports closing of Rafah crossing by Egypt - English
The West Bank government led by the western backed acting...
[12 Aug 2012] Mahmoud Abbas supports closing of Rafah crossing by Egypt - English
The West Bank government led by the western backed acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas has expressed its support to Egyptian authorities shutting down of tunnels between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Egypt sealed the tunnels last Sunday along with the Rafah crossing following the killing of Egyptian policemen near the border with Gaza.
In a press conference held in Gaza, Hamas movement condemned the inciting statements by Mahmoud Abbas.
The Gaza population of over 1,5 million depends on tunnels for most of its goods including food and fuel
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[30 May 13] Foreign investment growth below international average in...
Iran\'s reformist presidential candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref has stressed the need for facilitating both domestic and foreign investment in the...
Iran\'s reformist presidential candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref has stressed the need for facilitating both domestic and foreign investment in the country, vowing to slash unemployment.
In his televised speech on Wednesday night, Aref said, if elected, his administration would give assurances to Iranian investors and redirect people\'s money away from brokers and gold and foreign currency exchange markets to the country\'s industries.
He also pledged measures to encourage foreign investment. \"Unfortunately the rate of foreign investment growth in Iran is below the international average and we are having an unfavorable situation,\" he said.
Aref criticized the \"unacceptable\" rate of unemployment, especially among the country\'s university graduates, and promised to create over one million jobs annually.
He said he would try to achieve the figure by boosting tourism, which he said would provide an annual 200,000 job opportunities, besides expanding the information and communications technology industry as well as the country\'s lucrative energy sector.
\"We are planning to keep the added-value of energy products at home. We should try not to sell crude oil or natural gas,\" he stated.
Aref also highlighted Iran\'s unique geopolitical situation and thus the opportunity for the country to become a regional hub in various fields, such as commerce, communications and goods transit.
This will improve the country\'s economy and help the country\'s national security, the presidential candidate pointed out.
Aref is vying against Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, President of the Center for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, lawmaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and this year\'s election is scheduled for June 14.
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[27 June 13] Egypt tunnel crackdown crippling Gaza economy - English
Continued Egyptian crackdown on tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula has caused prices of goods to increase. Under the choking...
Continued Egyptian crackdown on tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula has caused prices of goods to increase. Under the choking Israeli blockade, tunnels are considered as a lifeline for over 1.7 million Gazans. Tunnels are used as pathways to bring in badly needed supplies into Gaza including cement and fuel. Hamas says the recent Egyptian move will increase the suffering in the coastal enclave. People are seen standing in line for hours just to get few liters of fuel for their cars and electrical generators. Egypt\'s campaign on the tunnels began in March with the flooding of underground passages. The Egyptian campaign has intensified over the past two weeks ahead of a wave of opposition protests in Egypt, which is expected to start at the end of June.
Ashraf Shannon, Press TV, Gaza
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[27 June 13] US trade deficit with China - English
The US trade deficit with China reached $315 billion last year, a record unsurpassed in the history of such statistics.
In April, US exports to...
The US trade deficit with China reached $315 billion last year, a record unsurpassed in the history of such statistics.
In April, US exports to the 27-nation European Union fell 7.9 percent. Exports to the EU in the first four months of 2013 were down 7.4 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
Exports to the United Kingdom were the lowest since May 2009, while those to China declined 4.7 percent.
Imports from China surged 21.2 percent, lifting the contentious US trade deficit with China to $24.1 billion from $17.9 billion in March.
China keeps investing in its future, creating jobs, building infrastructure, funding education and technology and its GDP soars. And America keeps sliding into a no-growth economy, to 1% GDP growth in a generation.
According to Robert Fogel, the director of the Center for Population Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and winner of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics; \"In 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion, or nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000. China\'s per-capita income will hit $85,000, more than double the forecast for the European Union, and also much higher than that of India and Japan as China moves \"from a poor country in 2000 to a superrich country in 2040.\"
America\'s per-capita wealth may be higher, says Fogel, but \"China\'s share of global GDP - 40% - will dwarf that of the United States (14%) and the European Union (5%) 30 years from now.\"
China has been one of the fastest growing markets for US goods, and exports to that country were up 4.8 percent for the first four months of 2013.
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[06 July 13] Egypt army increases the destruction of Gaza tunnels - English
Egyptian army has increased its crackdown on tunnels between Gaza and Egypt following the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi. These days, you can...
Egyptian army has increased its crackdown on tunnels between Gaza and Egypt following the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi. These days, you can see Egyptian bulldozers destroying tunnels along the border with Gaza more than any time in the past. Egyptian army has also deployed tanks which have pointed their guns towards Gaza.
The once bustling tunnels area nestled between the southern town of Rafah and the Sinai Peninsula looks more like a ghost town. There\'s no more transfer of goods or other vital commodities via the underground lifeline for the blockaded coastal enclave.
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[09 July 13] Car bomb rocks Lebanese capital Beirut - English
More instability in Lebanon. From the north in Tripoli to the south in Sidon and now to the heart of Beirut\'s southern suburbs.
A massive car...
More instability in Lebanon. From the north in Tripoli to the south in Sidon and now to the heart of Beirut\'s southern suburbs.
A massive car bomb explosion rocked the south of the Lebanese capital causing dozens of injuries and immense material damage. The booby tracked car was parked in the parking lot of a shopping mall.
This area which was targeted is a civilian area. Over there you have a shopping mall where people go and buy their goods and you also have civilian buildings. So what is clear is that this attack was aimed at causing a state of terror and fear amongst the civilians.
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[10 July 13] Chinese trade data shrinks in June - English
China has reported an unexpected fall in its exports, putting pressure on the government as it pushes through a re-balancing of the economy....
China has reported an unexpected fall in its exports, putting pressure on the government as it pushes through a re-balancing of the economy.
According to the General Administration of Customs, exports fell 3.1 percent in June from a year earlier. The weak overseas demand for Chinese goods came as a surprise to analysts, many of whom had predicted an increase of around 4 percent. Imports over the same period fell by 0.7 percent, pointing to subdued domestic demand. The overall assessment was downbeat.
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[14 July 13] Syria economy deteriorated since unrest began - English
Syria\'s economy has worsened dramatically since the ongoing unrest erupted more than two years ago, bringing hardships to Syrians day by day. The...
Syria\'s economy has worsened dramatically since the ongoing unrest erupted more than two years ago, bringing hardships to Syrians day by day. The difficulty is felt particularly during the fasting month of Ramadan. The situation is also blamed on economic sanctions by the Arab League as well as some regional and Western countries. Prices of basic food materials have doubled and sometimes even tripled. Each Dollar now makes over 250 Syrian pounds, while it was worth 50 before the unrest broke out. Thus, all prices have soared, especially for the imported goods. The war on Syria is not only a military or political one. The armed conflict has deteriorated the economic situation as well, putting even greater pressure on the daily lives of the Syrians; those who suffer the most because of the ongoing crisis.
Mohamad Ali, PressTV, Damascus
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Local Currencies - Replacing Scarcity with Trust -English
Francis Ayley established over a dozen local currencies in the UK before moving to the U.S. He contrasts our standard, scarcity- and debt-based...
Francis Ayley established over a dozen local currencies in the UK before moving to the U.S. He contrasts our standard, scarcity- and debt-based money system with local currencies in which there is always as much as you need Local currencies like his Fourth Corner Exchange issue money when members trade goods and services. Communities with local currencies will be less affected when recession or depression hits the mainstream economy
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[22 Nov 2013] A top UN official urges Israel to end the crippling...
UN officials are calling on Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. They\'re warning that the situation in the Palestinian territory may get...
UN officials are calling on Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. They\'re warning that the situation in the Palestinian territory may get even worse.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says the Israeli blockade has paralyzed Gaza\'s construction industry. Robert Turner also said that the demolition of tunnels used by Gazans to transfer goods and construction materials to the enclave has put U-N projects on hold. This, after Egyptian authorities also stepped up the destruction of the tunnels in recent months. Meanwhile, another U-N official, James Rawley has also waned about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory over a lack of fuel there. Gaza\'s fuel crisis has led to the closure of its main power plant in recent months. Israel imposed its all-out land, aerial, and naval blockade on Gaza in June 2007 after the victory of Hamas in elections there.
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[18 Dec 2013] The UN says nearly a million Palestinians are expected to...
The U-N says nearly a million Palestinians are expected to need food aid in the Gaza Strip next year.
About 800-thousand Palestinian refugees...
The U-N says nearly a million Palestinians are expected to need food aid in the Gaza Strip next year.
About 800-thousand Palestinian refugees are currently receiving food aid from the U-N Relief and Works Agency-- UNRWA-- but the organization expects a 10 to 20 percent rise in demand in 20-14. The U-N\'s Gaza director of operations says the main reason for the increase is Egypt\'s closure of Gaza tunnels-- a measure which has deprived thousands of Palestinians of basic goods, halted construction projects, and led to job losses. The tunnels were the only lifeline for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The coastal enclave has been under the Israeli regime\'s blockade since 2007.
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[20 Dec 2013] EU envoy warns Tel Aviv against failure of talks with PA -...
The European Union\\\'s envoy to the Middle East has warned Israel against the failure of the so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority....
The European Union\\\'s envoy to the Middle East has warned Israel against the failure of the so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Andreas Reinicke says support in Europe for sanctioning Israel over its settlement policies is growing and could intensify IF the talks with Palestinians fail. Reinicke, who is leaving his post next week, said he has been in touch with US mediators. The campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel has been gaining momentum for some time. The EU envoy says over a dozen of states are now in support of the idea of labeling the Israeli goods from the occupied territories. This over Israeli violations - including its settlement expansions. Several academic bodies in the US have already decided to boycott Israeli academia over Tel Aviv\\\'s violation of international law.
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[22 Dec 2013] Palestinian teenager ran over and killed by Israeli...
A 14 year-old Palestinian boy has been killed after being run over by an Israeli settler near Jerusalem al-Quds.
Amin Musa al-Fakeer was...
A 14 year-old Palestinian boy has been killed after being run over by an Israeli settler near Jerusalem al-Quds.
Amin Musa al-Fakeer was critically wounded on Saturday and transferred to hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to his family, Amin was on his way to buy goods and was travelling with his donkey when he was run over by an Israeli from the Maale Adumim settlement. Amin\'s family is still awaiting the Israelis to return his body to Bedouin camp Anata where they live.
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[22 Dec 2013] EU envoy warns Israel against failure of talks with...
The European Union\'s envoy to the Middle East has warned Israel against the failure of the so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority....
The European Union\'s envoy to the Middle East has warned Israel against the failure of the so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Andreas Reinicke says support in Europe for sanctioning Israel over its settlement policies is growing and could intensify IF the talks with Palestinians fail. Reinicke, who is leaving his post next week, said he has been in touch with US mediators. The campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel has been gaining momentum for some time. The EU envoy says over a dozen of states are now in support of the idea of labeling the Israeli goods from the occupied territories. This over Israeli violations - including its settlement expansions. Several academic bodies in the US have already decided to boycott Israeli academia over Tel Aviv\'s violation of international law.
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[17 Feb 2014] Palestinian farmers suffering under Israel blockade...
An Israeli blockade, repeated airstrikes targeting their lands, and an Israeli threat on their lives along the no-go buffer zone; this is the story...
An Israeli blockade, repeated airstrikes targeting their lands, and an Israeli threat on their lives along the no-go buffer zone; this is the story of Palestinian farmers in Gaza.Palestinian farmlands have been the target of many Israeli attacks during the years. The airstrikes and bombings have polluted the farmers\' lands, making it unsuitable for healthy plant cultivations.The misery of Gaza\'s farmers does not stop here as they lack the needed machinery and seeds and Israel does not allow them to export their goods to the outside world.
The Ministry of Health and the farmers in Gaza have called on the international community and human rights organizations to end Israel\'s continuous attacks on Palestinian farmers and civilians.As the Israeli blockade and airstrikes on the coastal enclave continue, farmers in Gaza are the ones to pay the price.
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[06] Its All There - همه چیز آنجاست - English
Mohsen Qadimi owns a production company which is in danger of being closed due to importing goods from foreign countries. His older son, Mehdi,...
Mohsen Qadimi owns a production company which is in danger of being closed due to importing goods from foreign countries. His older son, Mehdi, trying to solve the issues, gets informed about some secrets behind his family. The series goes on with the Qadimi family and their relationship with some other families.
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