tv Weekend News Al Jazeera June 28, 2015 10:00am-10:31am EDT
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>> hello the european central bank says it will keep its emergency cash lifeline to greek banks at current levels. the comment comes as an emergency meeting is held amid fears that the banks won't be able to open tomorrow. greeks have queued bank machines to withdraw money and on saturday a billion euros were taken out. the central bank vows to take all measures necessary to insure financial stability. in the last hour, it could turn out to be crucial discussions. huge pressure has been piling on greek banks after talks between athens and creditors collapsed on friday. we'll go to john for the update from athens, but first to dominic cain in frankfurt to
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tell us what happens next. dominic, now that that decision has been released and they are saying it will keep emergency cash lifeline to banks at current levels. >> well, as you say that meeting lasted for two hours here earlier on today and they are maintaining the liquidity assistance at the friday levels. this is a sticking plaster over an open wound. certainly that's the way it's been portrayed here in the general media and by very many parties. it's worth pointing out that we understand the german chancellor angela merkel is going to brief the leaders tomorrow about greece. what they will say about that, we don't know. the important thing to bear in mind is that the greek government must repay or be in default. the german parliament, if there was to be more substantial more money for the greek government
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from the greek central bank, it is likely that the greek parliament might be called on to vote for that. at the moment, the political climate here is one that suggest that is perhaps mrs. merkel would have difficulty in getting that through. certainly that is the opinion of some of the more respected newspapers in germany who have talked about game over was one of the headlines today another about the fact that the german government believes that the greeks were in bankruptcy and default now and that perhaps they were considering humanitarian aid to greece. the time table is by tuesday the greeks must repay. we know political leaders will be briefed tomorrow. what follows from there is open to question, and certainly here in germany the media and political parties believe that greece will fee fault. >> ok, dominic, thank you for that update. john you heard dominic giving us the political climate over in germany. what's going on in greece and has the greek government reacted
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to that decision by the e.c.b.? >> the greek subsidiary of the european financial stability fund, one of greece's creditors has been in conference to decide whether to hold capital controls here beginning tonight or tomorrow morning because we've now seen two days of queues outside cash machines and people withdrawing a billion euros a day, which is just about the limit of the total capacity of the country's cash machines. clearly, banks are very worried about that continuing into monday. also being compound the by an expected precipitous fall in the value of stocks on the athens stocks exchange. i think bankers are going to try to fore stall a toxic mix of poor sentiment in the financial sector tomorrow, possible by imposing capitol controls that
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will be announced later on tonight. the government is very concerned about that. there's been the meeting under the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, greek finance minister have been in that meeting at the prime minister's office presumably preparing their response and preparing the reactions of the government if these capital controls do come in. we know from everything they've said in the last weeks the government absolutely does not want that. they want the banks if possible to continue operating normally. after so many weeks in which as we've heard the european central bank has been providing extra liquidity and particularly roughly a billion euros a day over the last week, i think that the tolerance for that kind of emergency liquidity assistance maybe now reaching its limit because we do know from senior sources at the bank of greece that the chorus of opposition to continued e.l.a. as it's called, emergency assistance to the greek banks is growing within
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the executive board of the e.c.b. that board needs a two thirds majority to put a stop to the greek liquidity. it's only a question of time bankers believe before they achieve that. >> thank you. >> diplomats are in vienna, driving tough bargains with iran in order to scale down its nuclear program. it seems likely that negotiations will extend beyond tuesday's deadline. an agreement was struck in april, but major differences remain on the details of the final deal. iran's foreign minister is returning to tehran for more consultations. crossing over to our diplomatic editor, james bays is live for us at that meeting in vienna to tell us whether there's been reaction to him going back to tehran and what this means for the negotiations and that deadline. >> certainly u.s. officials say one shouldn't be worried about the fact that he's returning to tehran and that perhaps it's positive news that he's going
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there to get fresh instructions. having said that, if you speak to people here following this very closely as i am, they will tell you that perhaps it's because there's a stumbling block. perhaps because of some new proposal, because certainly the iranians have pretty much worked out their negotiating position, because they've been negotiating this for two years now. he'll come back here. news that he's leaving came as others started arriving here. we have the british foreign secretary, the german foreign minister, who said a short time ago here that if everyone here agreed on one piece of paper with what was already agreed in lausanne there wouldn't be much of a problem.
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>> it's going to be tough, it has always been tough, but not impossible. it's a matter of political will. the reason for having this agreement done is still there, probably more than ever. most of all, a nonproliferation agreement, so it's our security, security of the world is at stake. i think that all the sides are very much aware of the fact that this is the process that originated from the u.n. security council resolution. >> one thing she said which others now are agreeing with is the fact that i think now the deadline that's been set which is local time tuesday at midnight is pretty unreal stack given that foreign ministers will be leaving to tehran, time is running out. i think everyone's a little relaxed about that, believing a deadline will be able to pass and talks continue for the first few days of july. we think no new deadline is set but most people i'm speaking to, most diplomats saying for a few days extension only.
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>> thank you for that report from vienna. >> the man who carried out a suicide attack at a mosque friday was a saudi arabian national. he has been identified. he landed in kuwait on friday, hours before he detonate explosives at a shia mosque, killing 27 people. on saturday, mass funerals were held for the victims. >> tunisia has put an extra thousand people at tourist sites. tourists have been taking part in vigils to remember the victims. many are cutting their holidays short, returning home. we have this report. >> this is where one of the tourists was killed. she heard gunfire and ran to hide, but fell at this spot. this is where a couple were shot by the gunman.
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one of the most attractive beaches has become the scene of the worst tack on tourists in tunisia's history. >> i thought this would happen in london or paris. i was not expecting something to be happening here. this is like a dramatic thing. >> many came a long way to enjoy vacation. dreams that were shattered on the beach of the imperial hotel. hundreds of tourists have packed and returned home. those who stayed come to lay flowers at the site of the shooting. >> i feel very sad, really very, very sad. we brought some flowers yesterday. we cried, of course. you think the only effect, but it is death for these good people, this quiet country. >> the people we met recount the horrors they felt during the
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attack. they say they can't understand why someone would kill tourists, but all say they may not come back to tunisia. >> nothing in the future, no. because i'm scared. that's probably that they wanted, but i have two children at home that i miss very much. yeah. >> i feel sad for the tunisians who will face hard times. they need to boost their economy so people can find jobs. >> the government will increase the number of troops it has on the streets and will shut down mosques accused of inciting violence. for these people who work in the tourism industry, their march on the beach is a message of defiance that they will continue to work, despite the uncertain times.
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>> this is where the gunman opened fire. the attack has raised questions and led to increased in security procedures in one of the most popular tourist destinations in north africa. al jazeera. >> still to come, hundreds of people run for their lives as a fire rips through a party at a water park in taiwan. >> tapping into the digital revolution, how new internet reforms could change the lives of cubans. >> telling human stories. >> rising waters taking their toll... we go to the threatened marshall islands...
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>> hello again the top stories, the european control bank will keep its emergency cash lifeline to greek banks at current levels. >> word powers haggling with iran over the scope of its nuclear program will extend talks in ve nan that past tuesday. iran's foreign minister is returning to iran for more consultations. >> tunisia put a thousand police on beaches after an attack at a resort. tourists have laid flowers on the beach to remember the 38 victims. >> the organizers of a music event in taiwan be being questioned by police after an explosion left more than 500 people injured. flames erupted over a stage forcing party goers to run for their lives many suffering serious burns.
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>> around 1,000 people were dancing at a water park when colored theatrical powder thrown from the stage accidentally ignited. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! >> amateur footage shows that within seconds, crowd members closest to the stage were engulfed in a massive fireball. >> whoa! whoa! >> they ran to get away, but more than 500 suffered burns especially to the lower legs. >> everybody was running and pushing each other. we saw a lot of people whose skin was seriously burned. it was just like hell. >> 200 were seriously injured and some in critical condition. >> everybody was screaming and bleeding. there was blood everywhere. >> paramedics were called to the scene, many having to be treated on the ground where they lay others made their own way to the
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closest hospitals. the morning following the accident, emotional parents some of the victims arrived to be by their bedside. >> just a small child who went out to have fun. >> his 18-year-old daughter suffered burns to 90% of her body. >> today it's with a feeling of great sorrow that i visit these people injured. the main purpose was to promise their relatives that the government will do its best to help them and we will investigate who should take responsibility. >> many from the crowd are also suffering lung injuries. the exact cause of the fireball is still being investigated, but police are questioning the organizers of the event. the local mayor announced an immediate ban on the colored powder being used at public events.
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june the death toll from the recent pakistan heat wave has increased to more than 1200 people. temperatures peeked at 45 degrees celsius earlier this month. almost 2,000 patients with heat related illnesses are still being treated. >> police in afghanistan don't have the weapons nor the ammunition they need to battle the taliban. they say foreign favorites are supporting the armed group as it gains territory in the north taking over parts of a province next to one they already control. we have this report from kabul. >> afghan officials traveled into the province by helicopter. the taliban controls many roads in the area. they've come for a security meet
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ing to discuss how to push out the taliban from two neighboring districts. it's a battle that involves fortune fighters, including some who claim allegiance to islamic state of iraq and the levant, or daish as the locals call it. >> there's a conflict between the taliban and isil. we can't confirm they are fighting alongside the taliban here, but in the past days several foreign fighters have been killed. >> the army has no powers in the fight. >> the president of afghanistan, head of the armed forces has given us the authority for operations. we can enter any house, shame on the foreign fighters, they brought the women with them and at the moment -- >> it's not just the army fighting. afghan policemen are on the front line and say they can't compete with an enemy better armed and equipped. >> for two nights and three days, they fought with us. the government didn't support us. the enemy surrounded us.
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the enemy was really strong, had good arms, heavy weapons. we ran out of ammunition, then we had to leave. >> the taliban released a video of its fighters, showing off the district buildings and police vehicles they captured. the army said the taliban went from one district but still must be driven out from adjoining areas. the taliban fighters are also in control of areas south of fighting in the east and south of the country. the interior ministry told parliament one reason it is volatile is weak communication between army. they are fighting without the air support they have used to get from nato. >> survivors of bangladesh's worst industrial accident face another frustrating wait for justice two years after the tragedy. nearly 1200 garment workers were killed when an eight story building collapsed. the building's owner and government officials face murder
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charges, but their trial was adjourned until next month because they failed to show up for court. >> still not getting better, she was working inside the building when it collapsed. her arms were crushed. two years later, she still has to make regular hospital visits. >> the rest of the world might be ready to forget what happened, but you can't forget if you're still suffering. i'm in pain every day. it's not so easy for me to forget. >> the disaster has been slipping from public consciousness here. few turn up these days at the memorial site. lack of public pressure means not as much attention is paid anymore to those responsible for the disaster and their lack of punishment. >> the garment owners knew
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better yet the managers forced workers to enter the building the day it collapsed. they should be punished. so should officials who flouted the rules being flouted that result in so many people dying. >> justice has taken more than two years just to complete the police investigation. criminal trials involving powerful businessman can take years in bangladesh, even cases where there are large numbers of death. for instance, a trial looking into the deaths of almost 300 children who were given fake medicine back in 1991 was only settled last year, 23 years later. >> the public prosecutor says delay was inevitable. >> we were talking about a historic crime of immense proportion. we have had to interview thousands of witnesses. this takes time, so from our point of view, this is not a
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abnormal delay. >> that doesn't go down well with frustrated survivors. >> it doesn't look like the government wants to punish these people at all. i want justice. i want those responsible to be hanged. i want them to understand what my suffering is. >> while the police investigation has been completed, survivors and labor activists now fear that a trial could take many decades. it's a tough prospect for survivors, who believe their government owes it to them to do better. al jazeera. >> sources have told al jazeera a israeli drones have flown over the gaza freedom flotilla. the convoy have activists is heading for the gaza strip aim to go break israel's blockade. israel media say local security forces plan to intercept the votes before they make land.
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signature visits were killed in 2010 during an israeli raid on a flotilla at that time. >> quirks of the internet revolution have largely by passed cubans, because only three quarters of households are on line. it is hoped new reformed could connect cuba to cyber culture. >> wherever you go, people in cuba carry smart phones, often gifts from friends and relatives abroad. they can take photos and text messages, but internet. >> no, no. >> internet, no. >> cuba is one of the few countries where mobile phones cannot connect to the internet. >> we are behind the rest of the world, totally disconnected, says a student. like everyone else, he spends hours at the cultural center
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the only venue for free wi-fi, an experimental project. people bring their smart phones and laptops to connect to internet, even if it takes them until dawn. the signal is weak, but their will is strong. >> to connect with others on facebook, make friends, to find out so many things we know nothing of. >> this is the alternative, the telephone company's navigation center where people come to surf the web. you can stand for hours, waiting to get inside to use the computer and you have to buy one of these little cards that cost $2 and allows you to surf for one hour. >> though cheaper than before, the price is still high on the average salary of $20. cubans aren't allowed to have internet at home, so while not exactly legal, this resourceful cuban pays a foreigner who is eligible for a connection to buy
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him a line to the only option available, a painfully slow, outdated phone line connection. in the meantime, there's the cell phone clinic, where cubans download apps, like a guide to restaurants, nightclubs and much more. >> off line. off. >> the database is included on the phone because people don't have internet on the phone. >> that is set to change promises the government. according to cuba's first vice president, the state will guarantee secure and widespread use of internet for the development of the nation and will strive to make this resource available, accessible and affordable to all. it's a major shift for a government reluctant until now to grant unfettered internet access to millions of cubans who
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are impatient to join another revolution, the one that links them to the digital world. al jazeera, havana. >> you won't find it in currency exchange, won't find you the outside one tiny russian village, but the invention has russian although shorts in a flag. we follow the money. >> three hours out of moscow and down the road is a strange fiscal controversy. this is the version of fort knox or the federal reserve, a battered medical box holding the cash stash. the village currency invented, minted and printed by a farmer. >> people have always exchanged things among each other. we haven't created the process we just made it digital.
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in russia, for village work, you used to get a bottle of vodka, which was stable currency. we are doing the same thing, we don't use vodka anymore, we printed these pieces of paper. >> he and friends use the paper for loans and to trade goods and labor with each other. it means their real money can be saved for more ambitious things like building a village bar house. >> anyone interested in the thrust of currency trading, the vital question, of course, is what is one worth? >> 10 eggs. this bucket, five, and a goose here, a not unreasonable 60. >> those it has proven resilient to the storms buffeting the ruble. when your purchasing power is pegged to the potato, it doesn't much matter what's happening in the money markets. this is a man with anarchist leanings who has made things difficult for the authorities in the past and the authorities are none too impressed with the
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currency. >> they came and wanted to see the currency, so i made them to chop some wood to earn it. we all laughed. suddenly, a month ago, i got summonsed to court with scary words like urgently withdraw this money and destroy it, because it threatens russia's economy. >> his lawyer said the case against him is hopelessly confused. >> even the prosecutor himself when i asked him or the central bank representative, no one could explain why they think they are money surrogates. they couldn't say what criteria there are nor a money surrogate but claim that is what it is about. they couldn't claim the threat to the russian federation's payment system. >> his next appearance in court is july 1. until then, he is staying on his
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farm looking after his animals around slightly relishing all the fuss. >> you can read much more about the currency on our website aljazeera.com. you'll find the day's other top stories, aljazeera.com. "america tonight". fighting for the right to die. >> i want my final days to be as happy as possible and i want to live my life - until the bad outweighs the good. >> also, the fight to live. >> this $85 prescription will be some people's only option. everyone needs to read what is in this bill. it's bad
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