Ronahî: The explosion happened yesterday in the town of Ayyash in western Deir ez-Zor. Security forces reported that the blast occurred inside an ammunition depot belonging to the Defence Ministry.

Ronahî: According to the latest information eleven people lost their life and ten people were wounded and taken to hospital. Search operations are still continuing, so the figure could change.

Kamîran: So they are still searching at the site of the explosion — that means yesterday’s count is not final.

Ronahî: Correct. The Deputy Defence Minister of the eastern region, Samir Awso, expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their life, and Sipan Hemo also conveyed his condolences. So far the cause of the explosion has not been disclosed and no party has claimed responsibility.

Kamîran: Yesterday we discussed the decision on lessons in Kurdish. Today that debate has moved from schools into the streets.

Ronahî: Yes. Students from Til Temir and the villages of Amuda rejected the Transitional Government Education Ministry’s decision — the decision that limits Kurdish-language education to three hours per week.

Ronahî: Student Nur Khidr from the village of Silindir said she has read and written in Kurdish for years and that starting again in Arabic is difficult for them. Students in Til Temir also want the Kurdish language to receive official status and for the curriculum to be delivered in Kurdish.

Kamîran: And it is not only students, it seems.

Ronahî: No. Elders in the Jazira region also stated that a comprehensive educational plan is needed to protect the mother tongue and called for the Kurdish language to be made official in the constitution. On another front, residents of the town of Suwayda in eastern Deir ez-Zor want the decision to close the Suwayda Education Administration to be reversed because it affects administrative services in the schools.

Kamîran: Fuel prices are also a topic we return to almost every day.

Ronahî: And the reason is clear: the Syrian Transitional Government keeps raising customs duties and fuel prices, with the latest increase on the morning of the thirteenth of September. Prices of basic goods are rising while incomes are falling — purchasing power has dropped sharply.

Ronahî: The clearest impact is visible in the countryside of Hasaka. A thousand-litre water tanker now costs nearly one hundred fifty thousand Syrian pounds, whereas before it ranged between seventy-five thousand and one hundred thousand.

Kamîran: So almost double in a short time. And this is water, something people cannot do without.

Ronahî: Indeed. People in Hasaka also say diesel is very expensive and has affected their lives from every side. The rise in the price of water is directly linked to the rise in the price of fuel.

Ronahî: Another piece of news related to roads: on Friday in different parts of Syria three people lost their life in accidents and fires and thirty-nine people were wounded.

Ronahî: The Civil Defence reported that in twenty traffic accidents alone three people lost their life and thirty-seven people were wounded, and fifty-nine fires were extinguished. On the Qadmous–Baniyas road twenty-two people were also wounded in an accident.

Kamîran: And I heard that such an incident also happened in our region.

Ronahî: Yes, on the international M-four highway between Til Temir and Qamishli a fuel tanker caught fire while it was moving. The vehicle burned completely and the driver lost his life.

Kamîran: Let us move to the political sphere.

Ronahî: Presidential Adviser Mazloum Abdi met Tribal Affairs Presidential Adviser Jihad Isa Al Sheikh during his tour of Aleppo province. Recent developments and local and tribal issues were discussed.

Ronahî: Before that Abdi met Aleppo Governor Azzam Al Gharib at the provincial building. In that meeting Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed, Kobani Brigade Commander Mahmud Barkhudan and Unification Committee member Khazna Nabi were also present.

Kamîran: The actual content of these meetings has not yet been disclosed, as far as is understood.

Ronahî: Correct — so far only general headings have been reported, not any concrete outcome.

Ronahî: And news from Europe: the German Interior Ministry plans to ask the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to re-examine the residence rights of a large number of Syrians who hold protection status.

Kamîran: This is still a plan, not a decision that has come into force.

Ronahî: Exactly. According to government sources cited in a Swiss newspaper, instructions can be issued after the election of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament. No specific number has been mentioned and neither has the method of review.