Car bombings rock Damascus as Syrian ceasefire ends [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Female #1
From Russia, the United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed his determination to work on decreasing the level of violence in Syria, as Moscow is calling for dialogue between the two conflicting sides.

Reporter, Female #2
After military events in Syria proved the failure of what was called a ceasefire, or a supposed truce during Eid al-Adha, the United Nations and Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, flew to Moscow to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an attempt to revive a truce that died in its infancy. During a joint press conference, the two sides expressed deep regret that the truce didn't succeed. Brahimi said this failure won't discourage his determination to continue his efforts for peace, indicating that the United Nations doesn't have immediate plans to send peacekeeping forces to Syria.

Guest, Male #2 (Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations and Arab Envoy to Syria)
What we need in Syria is what we need in other countries in the region, real change, not cosmetic change; true reforms and not cosmetic ones. We must work so that this change comes from Syrians. We will strive to continue working in cooperation with all sides to decrease the level of violence in order to end it.

Guest, Male #3 (Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister)
We must pressure the government and the opposition to send balanced signals to the two sides. We must not take sides, which allows the violence to continue, but we must convince them to stop shooting and move toward a political dialogue. I thank Brahimi for the efforts he's making in order to find a solution.

Reporter, Female #2
Lavrov was disappointed that the Geneva Communique was not fulfilled at the Security Council.

Presenter, Female #1
In Damascus, a car bomb was detonated in Jaramana as warplanes raided Harasta.

Reporter, Male #4
On the fourth day of Eid and after accusations of breaking the truce by both the regime and the opposition with military operations, Jaramana, one of the Syrian capital's suburbs, woke up to the scene of a booby-trapped car bombing that lead to the death of more than 11 people, including women and children. In addition, a large number of people were injured and property damage was reported. The Syrian television channel's breaking news reported a terrorist booby-trapped car bombing in al-Rawda Street next to a bakery in Jaramana.

Reporter, Male #4
On the other hand, updates on opposition websites reported that sounds of air strikes were heard in several neighborhoods in Damascus. They were carried out by warplanes on the countryside of the capital as well. Information indicated that sounds of the air strikes were heard for nearly two hours in several neighborhoods of the capital, shaking the windows of homes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that warplanes targeted armed men in the city of Harasta and the gardens next to it with eight raids within an hour and a half. Reports were also issued saying that clashes took place in the neighborhoods of Aleppo, Idlib, Homs and Deir az-Zour.

Reporter, Male #4
In another development, Turkish media said a Syrian shell fell on the village of Besaslan in the southern province of Hatay, which pushed Turkish forces to respond. Politically, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his great disappointment that the Syrian rivals failed to commit to the Eid al-Adha holiday truce.

Reporter, Male #1
In the South Korean capital Seoul, Ban Ki-moon stated, "I feel deep disappointment because the sides failed to respect the call to halt the fighting."

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Yemeni prisoners' family members mobilize to demand their release [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
The families of the Yemeni revolution's prisoners held in the jails of the intelligence services attacked the Yemeni authorities for the continuing detention of their relatives without charging them, or referring them to the judiciary. Rights organizations classify those prisoners as "forcefully disappeared" in the absence of adequate information on their location, and the circumstances surrounding the arrest of some of them. The revolution's activists are tying the success of the prospective national dialogue to the release of these prisoners.

Reporter, Male #1
This is how this child, Afnan Jamal al-Dhafiri, and her brothers seemed to feel on the days of the holy Eid al-Adha. They were not able to go to the garden, or take a stroll as they were accustomed to. The father that used to accompany them during these celebrations is still in detention. It's the fourth holiday the family lives without its breadwinner, who was activist in the Yemeni revolution until the authorities threw him in the intelligence prison. However, this Eid reminded the family of sorrows that extend beyond the absence of its breadwinner amid the dwindling hope of being able to attain justice in the country.

Guest, Female #2 (Nadia, Wife of Prisoner Jamal al-Dhafiri)
The unity government has no value. The orders of President Hadi have still not been implemented. When will they be implemented?

Reporter, Male #1
Most of the family members of the revolution's detainees are searching for an answer to that question, and such is the situation of Abullah al-Asadi's family. The family says the house that was filled with joy every Eid became witness today that the revolution has yet to achieve victory. The absence of Mohammed, the family's oldest son and the father of five children, has forced them to live Eid as any other day in anticipation of celebrating his release.

Guest, Male #2 (Abdullah al-Asadi, Father of Prisoner Mohammed)
The conversation has started. Until now, many of the revolution's goals are still up in the air. I don't think anything will succeed.

Reporter, Male #3 (Yusuf, Son of Prisoner Mohammed al-Asadi)
My message to Abed Rabbu is that he should make an effort to release all the detainees, including my father.

Reporter, Male #1
Whenever the revolution's youth hold an event, they affirm that their demand is the release of all detainees. However, the response to this demand is still unheard. At the same time, it seems the revolutionaries are in need of escalating their protests in order for all the activists to enjoy freedom.

Reporter, Male #1
Reports by human rights organizations indicate dozens of the revolution's activists are detained, but it is still unknown where many of them are being held, and that's why they have been classified as "forcefully disappeared". Hope remains that President Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi will make a political decision to free all of those detained for participating in the revolution. Hamid al-Bokari, Al Jazeera, Sanaa.

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Egypt's Coptic Church to select new pope [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Members of the Coptic Electoral College are continuing the vote to narrow the number of candidates for the next Pope of the Egyptian Coptic Church from five to three. The pope will be chosen in the final stage through a draw between the winners of this election.

Reporter, Male #2
These are the final preparations before holding elections to choose the third successor of Pope Shenouda III to head the Coptic Orthodox Church. According to the ballot that was issued by the church, the five candidates for the papal seat are, in the order listed: Father Pachomios al-Suriani, born in 1963 in Aswan Province. He is the youngest of the candidates; he has a vast administrative experience and had served in Egyptian churches abroad.

Reporter, Male #2
Bishop Tawadros is the Auxiliary bishop for the northern Beheira Governorate; he received a PhD in pharmacy and a bachelor's degree in theology. He is known for having good relations with the Muslims.

Reporter, Male #2
Bishop Rafael, auxiliary bishop of central Cairo. He graduated from medical school and worked as a surgeon for some time before becoming a monk in the early 1990s. He is known for having good relations with the youths in the church.

Reporter, Male #2
Father Rafael Ava Mina is the oldest candidate. He was chosen by Pope Kyrollis VI to become a student and the personal deacon. He published several spiritual writings and biographies of saints.

Reporter, Male #2
Father Seraphim al-Souriani has been a monk since 1993 at the Virgin Suryan Monastery. He graduated from the faculty of science at Ain Shams University. He worked at the American Medical Research Unit in Cairo before becoming a monk.

Guest, Male #3 (Bishop Pachomios)
There's no doubt that the mission is not easy because the candidates are virtuous fathers of bishops, archbishops, and monks.

Reporter, Male #2
The elections witnessed some protests by Coptic activists who were protesting against some of the candidates nominated to run in the election, as well as against the selection process.

Guest, Male #4 (Sabri Ragheb, Coordinator of Saving the Holy See Initiative)
There is a perversion in the election process in the Coptic Church to choose the pope, because it was certain people were directed to elect their archbishops.

Reporter, Male #2
The Church appropriated some of the ballot boxes to the Copts in the diaspora, who are eligible to vote for themselves or through an agent. Then, a process known as the "altar lottery" is supposed to take place in the second phase of this election. The draw will take place between the three winning candidates of the election.

Reporter, Male #2
More than 2,400 are members of the Coptic Electoral College, who are meeting to select the 118th pope to head the Coptic Church. Egyptians are paying close attention to this site, where the new pope will be inaugurated, and who will face thorny cases amid the formation of the second Egyptian republic. Attia Nabil, BBC, Cairo.

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Bahraini opposition stages anti-regime rallies [Press TV, Iran]

Protestors in Bahrain once again take to the streets despite regime forces who fired tear gas to disperse crowds in the towns of Nuwaidrat and Maameer, south of the capital Manama. The protestors were calling for the downfall of the ruling family when they came under attack. They also expressed solidarity with detained activist Hassan al-Mushaima, whose life is said to be in danger, as he is suffering from cancer. He is serving a life sentence for his role in anti-regime protests.

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Iran dismisses report of direct nuclear talks with US [Press TV, Iran]

A senior Iranian official has dismissed reports on direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington. The New York Times claimed that US and Iranian officials have agreed to direct bilateral talks over Iran's nuclear program. However, the adviser to the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution on international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, says that there have been no secret talks with American officials, reiterating that such reports are untrue.

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Tehran holds 2012 international press, news agencies exhibition [Press TV, Iran]

The 19th annual International Exhibition of Press and News Agencies is underway in Tehran. The event attracts editors and journalists from 31 countries representing leading news agencies and regional or local news publications.

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British, Pakistani, UAE officials praise Malala Yousafzai after hospital visit [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, British Foreign Minister William Hague, and Interior Minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai is being treated after surviving an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban.

Presenter, Female #2
His highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, said the people of the Emirates were horrified over what happened to Malala, and this is what led to her transfer to Britain to receive medical care, as he delivered well-wishes and a speedy recovery to her, and greetings to her family.

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Truce fails as Gaza border violence continues [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
Once again, calm was shattered in the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes waged nighttime raids on the refugee camps of al-Bureij, Hay al Zaitoon and Beit Hanoun. The raids caused financial damage, and were preceded by rockets fired from Gaza that landed inside the 1948 borders. Those rockets came in response to raids waged by the occupation's army on Gaza yesterday that left a Palestinian from al-Qassam Brigades dead.

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IAF strikes Gaza Strip in attempt to stop rocket fire [IBA, Israel]

At least 25 rockets have struck southern Israel in the past 24 hours. IBA reports that Israel Air Force jets hit back at targets in the Gaza Strip overnight in an attempt to stop the missile fire. The IDF spokesman said that the IDF strikes hit a rocket-launching site in the northern part of the Strip and a center of terrorist activity in the south. The IAF also dropped leaflets to Gaza citizens declaring that terrorist organizations in the enclave are using their children as human shields. Palestinians said that the strikes targeted two rocket-launching squads, and that there was damage but no injuries.

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US, Israel hold joint drills against major rocket strike [IBA, Israel]

Efforts are underway to drill defenses against a major rocket strike in Israel's heartland with the help of the United States. Top American armed forces commanders, including the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, are in Israel with IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz to observe the large-scale joint exercises between the two countries.

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Haaretz: PA bid in UN may push Netanyahu to harsh unilateral measures [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Male #1
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned the European Union's High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, of the consequences the National Authority will face if it insists on seeking an observer status for Palestine at the United Nations.

Presenter, Male #1
The Israeli newspaper reported that an official, described as a heavyweight in the Israeli government, stated that Netanyahu and Lieberman said that this move will be a step toward changing the rules of the game to push for unilateral Israeli procedures. The newspaper quoted Lieberman saying that Israel will completely sever all collaboration with President Mahmoud Abbas as it did with his predecessor, Yasser Arafat.

Presenter, Male #1
To talk more about this subject, we are joined over the phone by the President of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, Mr. Mohammed Barakeh, from the city of al-Nasira. Blessed holiday, Mr.Barakeh. How would you explain the statements of Lieberman and Netanyahu?

Guest, Male #2
Greetings to you, and to our Palestinian people. We hope to be able to celebrate this blessed holiday in a better environment, and to embark on the path of ending the occupation and establishing our state. Lieberman and Netanyahu's statements are not surprising at all. We don't think one can rely on these two officials to launch any new political process. It seems that their alliance under one list in the upcoming elections of the Knesset, which will be held on January 22nd, is a practically a declaration of war on any solution or peaceful settlement.

Guest, Male #2
Their list represents a policy of aggression. Lieberman and Netanyahu's discourse on what they call the dangers of accepting Palestine as an observer member state at the United Nations points that they panicking over this move since it changes the reference points of the negotiations.

Guest, Male #2
Palestinian land is not a disputed land, and Israel won't be able to claim it is willing to renounce this piece of land. It is recognized by the United Nations as an occupied country. This changes all the rules of the game, and this is what Netanyahu does not want.

Guest, Male #2
The other issue is they fear accepting Palestine as an observer state at the United Nations because it change its ability to maneuver in the framework of international institutions, such as the International Court of Justice, the Criminal Court, and others. I think this opposition means that Israel wants to continue to practice its crimes on the Palestinian people with impunity. I believe that these two officials are cause for concern for the Palestinian people.

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UN attempts to eradicate child labor by 2020 [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
The British newspaper The Guardian reported that the United Nations is planning to eliminate child labor by the year 2020. United Nations sources say the number of working children is currently 190 million, and that this number will be reduced to nearly 25 million children in the next eight years.

Presenter, Female #1
However, these sources suggest that the percentage of child labor will increase in poor countries, especially in some African countries, and could reach 65 million by 2020. The United Nations says the first step to combat the increase in child labor is to make education mandatory for children, and to offer financial aid to families to send their children to school.

Presenter, Female #1
Joining us from Amman is Ahmed Awad, the head of the Phoenix Center for Economic Studies. Mr. Ahmed Awad, in terms of this study to reduce child labor, that is reported on behalf of the United Nations, do you see it as logical, realistic, and a cause for optimism?

Guest, Male #1 (Ahmed Awad, Head of the Phoenix Center for Economic Studies)
We honestly hope that these goals are realistic, and that the international community would be able to fulfill goals like these. However, the realities on the ground and the activities of some international economic organizations, as well as the nature of the development model and the economic policies that are implemented in countries where child labor is widespread, do not cause us to be optimistic because this number is very large. We cannot even trust these figures.

Guest, Male #1
Some institutions at the United Nations report that 190 million children are suffering from child labor, while the International Labor Organization reported 215 million children this year. Honestly, the United Nations seems unable to create an economic model and economic policies that would be able to achieve social equality and to achieve these goals. Unfortunately, 2015 is approaching, and a big part of the ambitious goals that were put forth by the international community to solve the citizens' problems around the world have not been achieved.