Russia and China veto Western-backed UN resolution on Syria for the third time [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Male #1
Moscow and Beijing blocked the American, French, and British project for the third time at the UN Security Council in defense of the Syrian regime. UN envoy Kofi Annan is disappointed, since at this critical time the Security Council has been unable to unite, and take the strong and organized action that Annan is calling for.

Reporter, Male #2
When it comes to the Russian and Chinese vetoes, the third time's a charm. Their firm position in support of the Syrian regime stands, and has toppled the American and British project that aims to impose sanctions on the regime. For the third time, the Russian and Chinese challenge changed the direction of the attack on Syria towards Russia. The US ambassador to the UN considered it shameful for the UN Security Council not to seek a solution to Syria's crisis.

Guest, Female #2 (Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN)
Russia and China's use of their veto rights the first two times was destructive. This time, their vetoes were even more destructive. We were, and remain doubtful of the Syrian regime's intentions and the efficiency of the UN observers' mission. This resolution refers to Chapter 7 to require the parties to implement their obligations to stop the violence, but it does not impose sanctions at this point. And it does not pave the way for foreign military intervention; it was meant to endorse Annan's plan.

Reporter, Male #2
France and Britain directed their accusations against Moscow through their ambassadors at the Security Council.

Guest, Male #3 (Gerard Araud, French ambassador to the UN)
UN envoy Kofi Annan must be provided with all tools necessary to implement his plan, but there are restrictions on his mission. The third veto against the resolution on Syria means that there will not be any consequences for the regime, and no sanctions to stop its horrific path.

Guest, Male #4 (Mark Lyall Grant, British Ambassador to the UN)
The United Kingdom resents Russia and China's veto. The two countries do not bare their responsibilities before the international community. Rather, they placed their interests ahead of the interests of the Syrian people.

Reporter, Male #2
The Syrian response to all the countries that attacked the regime was to consider the consensus built by the Security Council on combating terrorism as mere ink on paper, and it accused the council of failing to support the political solution, and of deceiving public opinion and restricting Annan's plan.

Guest, Male #5 (Bashar al-Jaafari, Syrian Ambassador to the UN)
For those of you who sincerely or insincerely sympathized with the terrorists and gunmen in Syria, it would it preferable to host them in your countries, and provide them with the freedom to bear arms that they seek, and the freedom to spread corruption, destruction, and sabotage of the national fabric, and the foundation of the state in Syria under the slogan of accomplishing democracy, and demanding reforms.

Guest, Male #5
Mr. President, the recent recurring talks in the media on chemical weapons and Syria's intention to use them are completely false, and we consider them fishing in troubled waters. If these talks indicate one thing, it is that they point to the intentions of those who want to use chemical means and materials against our safe people.

Reporter, Male #2
Al-Jaafari confirmed that those who deceived the Arabs with the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Balfour Declaration, and opened a wound in Palestine, invaded Iraq, and Afghanistan, and supported Israel, cannot truly work on achieving the interests of the Syrians.

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Iran condemns terrorism, slams Israeli accusation as baseless [Press TV, Iran]

More details are emerging on Wednesday's bomb blast in Bulgaria that left seven people dead. Sofia says the bomber carried a fake US ID card. Officials say the bomber was a blond white man dressed as a tourist. The incident happened in the Black Sea city of Burgas. Victims included five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, but Israel is blaming Iran and Hezbollah.

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Hezbollah vows continued resistance to Zionists, justifying loyalty to Assad [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
The Sayyid of the resistance in Lebanon gave a speech on the sixth anniversary of the great victory. Sayyid Nasrallah promised the occupation new surprises in case of another war. The surprises of July shocked the occupation. As for upcoming surprises, they will inevitably lead to its defeat. It is impossible to defeat the party of the resistance; it is destined to resist until victory, and the same way it produced victory in the past, it is capable of producing an even greater one in upcoming confrontations. Syria has supported the resistance, and it is being targeted now as punishment. The war on Syria aims to destroy it, not reform or change it.

Reporter, Female #1
Hezbollah's secretary-general, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, confirmed the resistance's readiness in Lebanon in the face of any possible confrontation with the Israeli occupation, promising surprises. Sayyid Nasrallah said during a speech on the sixth anniversary of the July War in 2006 that the resistance is monitoring the occupation's movements night and day, and is aware that the occupation is collecting information about Hezbollah in anticipation of launching the first strike, as it has in all previous wars. He confirmed that the Quantitative Weight operation was more akin to Quantitative Illusion, and that the occupation will be surprised when it launches its first strike, vowing a great surprise.

Reporter, Female #1
The secretary-general stressed that the most important message of the July War, and later the Gaza war, is that their destiny is victory, not defeat. Similar to 2000 and 2006, the party is able to produce an even greater victory in any future war. Sayyid Nasrallah revealed for the first time that weapons used by the resistance in July, and the rockets that fell on Haifa and beyond were provided by Syria, and that Syria was jeopardizing its interests and leadership for the sake of the resistance by providing it with weapons, while Arab regimes were preventing food and money from being transferred to Gaza.

Reporter, Female #1
He clarified that Syria today is paying the price for its support of the resistance, as some insist on rejecting reform plans and dialogue since the objective is to destroy Syria's army and people. He explained that the Syrian army is the sole ideological army that remains in the region after they got rid of the Iraqi army.

Reporter, Female #1
He pointed out that the Syrian opposition, even its patriotic parties, rejects dialogue because reform is not the demand; rather, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of its people and the fragmentation of the country is the goal, the same way it was in Iraq. And that goal would have been accomplished had it not been for the resistance.

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Saudi Arabia's jailed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on hunger strike [Al-Forat TV, Iraq]

Presenter, Male #1
Saudi religious scholar Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is on a hunger strike despite being continuously tortured by security forces inside the prison.

Presenter, Female #1
Saudi Arabia's Eastern Center for Human Rights expressed concern over the news reported by al-Nimr's relatives that he is being tortured by security forces after getting arrested on July 8. He is also on an open-ended hunger strike. The center said that al-Nimr's relatives visited him and saw signs of severe torture, such as bruises on his face and eye; in addition, his front teeth have been removed.

Presenter, Female #1
The center clarified that al-Nimr has been on an open-ended hunger strike since his arrest. He is being force-fed with a tube, and his hands are tied and cuffed as he lies injured on a hospital bed in the military prison in al-Dhahran, indicating that his relatives' visit was the result of an invitation from the authorities. This was done to assure his supporters that he is alive in order to prevent public uproar.

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Tunisia sentences former regime officials over uprising deaths [Al-Forat TV, Iraq]

Presenter, Male #1
The military court in Tunisia sentenced former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to life in prison.

Presenter, Female #1
Judge Hedi al-Ayari said the verdict issued against Ben Ali came after he was convicted for complicity in the killing of 43 protestors during the revolution that toppled his rule. The judge added that the trial included 40 figureheads from Ben Ali's regime, among them Ali Sirati, the former of presidential security, who was given a 20-year prison sentence. His former interior minister, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, was sentenced to 15 years, and Ahmed Friaa was acquitted. On the other hand, the victims' families expressed anger over the light verdicts.

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Palestinian youths in Israel reject new military draft law [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
National and youth movements and associations inside the Green Line in Israel have started holding events to urge Arab youths to refuse the national service that the Israeli government is attempting to impose on Arabs.

Presenter, Male #1
Arab youths confirmed their rejection of this service, seeing that it represents a form of military service under an authority that seizes their rights and land.

Reporter, Female #2
Preserving Palestinian heritage, identity, and land is the message sent by thousands of Arab youths inside the Green Line to the Israeli government that is trying to impose national service on them. Their message is also that no preconditions can be set to people's rights, which must be granted equally to Arabs and Jews. Youth movements and associations have started organizing events and festivals to explain the Israeli authorities' motives behind imposing national service on them. Fedaa is a woman of draft age. She hails from the Druze sect that was forced to perform military service. She refuses to serve because she has experienced horrors.

Guest, Female #3
There's this illusion that Israel is trying to make us believe that by serving in the military, we will be granted our rights. What rights are we granted? Our land is being seized, our culture and education level are plummeting. Which rights are we talking about? None! Women's rights are even worse. This is nothing but an illusion.

Reporter, Female #2
Youth movements confirm that Israel will not impose military service on them, in fear that they will not demonstrate absolute loyalty to the Israeli army during wars, and the attempts to occupy more Palestinian land. Also, they fear that Israel's security will be harmed if Arabs were to learn how to operate weapons. They assure that Israel will set military service as a condition and gateway to obtaining rights, which they believe will not happen.

Guest, Male #2 (Ahmed Eid, Arab Organization for Human Rights)
It makes no sense for us to serve in our cities and towns; we already serve in our cities and towns. But our service in those cities and towns is not related to the Israeli state and the Israeli state's institutions. Those institutions have never cared about us, served us, or worked in our interests. We do not work for their interests.

Guest, Female #4
I will not serve, because first of all, I am Arab, and I am proud of my Palestinian identity, and of course the Palestinian cause is not over for us, as Arabs, and as a minority in this state.

Reporter, Female #2
There are 1.5 million Palestinians inside the Green Line. Their land is being seized, their villages are being encircled by Jewish neighborhoods, and their homes are being demolished under the pretext they lack a permit. Even more frustrating is the rising unemployment rate.

Reporter, Female #2
The Arab youths inside Israel say their mobilization against racist policies has begun. Policies that extend beyond confiscating their land, erasing their identity, and imposing obligations on them without granting them any rights in exchange. So the time has come. Jubar al-Budairi, Al Jazeera, an-Nasirah.

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Egypt's former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman dies [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
The death of Omar Suleiman, the former Egyptian vice president, was announced today from the United States. Hussein Kamal, Suleiman's aide, said that the former vice president died in a hospital in the American city of Cleveland. His death occurred suddenly while he was undergoing medical exams. He added that arrangements are being made to transport Suleiman's body to Egypt, where he will be buried. Suleiman was the head of the intelligence services for a long time during the era of the former regime, until Hosni Mubarak appointed him as his vice during the protests last year. Suleiman left Egypt after he was disqualified from the presidential race in the country's first post-revolution presidential election.

Presenter, Male #1
The Egypt that transitioned to a new era did not avoid the circle of conflict, especially between the executive and judicial institutions. Today, the administrative court decided on the fate of the appeal over the dissolution of the constituent committee that was tasked with drafting the constitution. The court ruled that it lacks the jurisdiction to look into the constitutional declaration that was issued by the military council. The court also discussed President Mohamed Morsi's decree to reinstate parliament after it was dissolved. The court decided to postpone the case to a later session to enable a number of lawyers to respond to the court's request.

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Revered ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbi dies at 102 [IBA, Israel]

In Israel, 250,000 people mourned the death of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the leading rabbi of the Ashkenazi non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community, at his Jerusalem funeral last night, following his death yesterday afternoon at the age of 102. The guiding force behind the ultra-Orthodox political parties, Elyashiv had been suffering from congestive heart failure and had been hospitalized since February. Tributes flooded in from across the political spectrum, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger.

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Why is the world silent on the plight of Rohingyas in Myanmar? [Press TV, Iran]

Iranian university students gathered near the UN office in the capital Tehran to demand an end to the atrocities against Muslims in Myanmar. The students say the killing of innocent people in Myanmar is a reminder of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, and say that once more, the world is witnessing the indifference of the West and its media in the face of a massacre of Muslims in Myanmar, calling for the US and international organization to come to the aid of Myanmar's Muslims.