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This photo taken on July 14, 2017, shows a view of al-Aqsa Mosque in the old city of Jerusalem al-Quds, after it was locked down earlier in the day by Israeli security forces. (Photo by AFP)

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, July 15, 2017.

Slamming al-Aqsa closure

Condemnations are pouring in following Israel’s recent move to shut down the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem al-Quds. The Arab League warned about the consequences of Israel’s dangerous closure of the Mosque and its ban on Friday prayers. It said the move would adversely affect the so-called peace process and fuel conflict and extremism. Turkey and Jordan also called for the lifting of the entry ban imposed by Israel. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry slammed the move as a violation of the sanctity of Islamic sites and a provocation of Muslims around the world. On Friday, Israeli forces shut down al-Aqsa after a deadly shooting at the mosque’s compound. Three Palestinians and two Israeli police officers were killed in the incident. A number of people were also arrested.

Saudi ‘imminent executions’

A leading rights group has called on the US and the UK to stop Saudi Arabia from executing 14 people who face death based on evidence gathered under torture. London-based charity, Reprieve, said nearly all of the convictions were meted out for protest-related charges. Reprieve described the imminent executions as an extremely worrying move from the increasingly brutal regime in Saudi Arabia. The group added that the convicts included at least one juvenile and a disabled man. It said executing such people would be an appalling breach of international law. The charity stressed that Saudi Arabia was using the fight on terrorists as a pretext to sentence juveniles and protesters to death. It said Riyadh seemed to have stepped up the executions under the new Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, after 14 people were put to death earlier this week.

Controversial meeting

A former Soviet counter-intelligence official says he attended a meeting with US President Donald Trump's senior aides and his son last year. Rinat Akhmet-shin, now a lobbyist, says he accompanied Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya accidentally after meeting her for lunch. He says Veselnitskaya told Donald Trump Junior that she had the details of possible illegal funds being funneled to the Democratic National Committee. According to Akhmetshin the lawyer failed to offer any evidence to prove the claim and Trump’s son appeared to lose interest. Trump Junior has already acknowledged that he met with the Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign. US Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for a probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Moscow has denied any links to Trump junior meeting with the Russian lawyer.

Turkey coup anniversary

Turkey is celebrating the first anniversary of last year's failed coup attempt. Authorities have declared July 15 an annual national holiday describing the foiling of the putsch as a historic victory of Turkish democracy. Nearly 250 people, not including the plotters, were killed when an army faction sent tanks into the streets and warplanes into the sky in a bid to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The coup was thwarted within hours.

US Muslim travel ban

The US Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to block a federal judge's ruling on President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The verdict issued by a court in Hawaii last Thursday exempts grandparents of people living in the United States from the travel ban. The Trump administration had already provided a list of family members such as parents, spouses etc who were exempt from the travel ban, but it excluded grandparents. Trump's March 6 executive order temporarily bars visitors from six predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran. After a series of judicial roadblocks in the lower courts, the administration scored a partial victory in June, when the Supreme Court ruled that it could proceed with the ban. However, the court said people with a bona fide relationship to a US person or entity were exempt.

Qatar-Saudi Arabia crisis

The Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has cautioned that a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors is heading towards a long estrangement. Writing on social media, Anwar al-Gargash added the 40-DAY old crisis is far from a political solution. On Friday the Qatari foreign minister dismissed as baseless terror funding allegations against his country by a Saudi-led Arab alliance. Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani says there has been no evidence submitted to prove the allegations against Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed diplomatic and commercial sanctions on Doha. The quartet accuses Qatar of disrupting regional security, an allegation the Persian Gulf Island has strongly rejected.

Iranian math genius dies

Iranian math genius Maryam Mirzakhani has died at the following a long battle with cancer. The 40-year old Iranian-born mathematician lost her battle as cancer spread to her bone marrow. She was the first woman to receive the prestigious Fields Medal nicknamed the Nobel Prize of mathematics for her outstanding contributions to geometry and dynamical systems. She was also a two-time gold medal winner in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Mirzakhani became a professor at the Stanford University's mathematics department in the US after earning her Ph.D from Harvard University in 2004. Prior to moving to the US, she graduated from Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology in 1999.

Stopping Brexit?

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says there’s a chance Britain will remain in the European Union, stressing that halting Brexit is absolutely necessary. The ex-premier highlighted the many negative fallouts of Brexit including the slowing economic growth as well as the hit that the pound sterling received after last year’s EU membership referendum. Blair has published an article in which he slams the idea of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister. He warns that following Brexit, this would leave Britain flat on its back. Blair has also promised that based on his conversations within Europe, some EU leaders are willing to compromise on the bloc’s immigration policies to help Britain stay in. Blair left office in 2007 but his interventions in British politics have never faded away.


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