WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT on August 20, 2017 to 08:00 GMT on August 21, 2017.

Terror in Spain

Spanish police have killed a man wearing a possible explosives belt in the town of Subirats, west of the city of Barcelona. Police have confirmed that the slain man was the driver of a van which rammed into a group of pedestrians in Barcelona last week, killing 15 people. Earlier, Spanish authorities identified the suspect as Younus Abu Ya’aqub. The 22-year-old Moroccan is believed to be the last member of a 12-man cell that have all been killed or arrested since last week. Over 100 people injured in the twin acts of terror in Barcelona and the resort city of Cambrils.

Deadly US airstrikes

Over two dozen civilians have been killed in airstrikes by the U-S-led coalition in the Syrian city of Raqqah. Seven children are reportedly among the dead. The U-S-led air raids targeted a densely-populated area in the Daesh-held city. This is the second mass killing of civilians by such attacks in Raqqah in as many weeks. 29 people died in similar bombardments in the city on August 9. The US-led coalition is conducting air attacks in support of offensives by Arab and Kurdish fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces who are advancing toward the de facto capital of Daesh in Syria. The coalition says its air raids have killed at least 600 civilians in Iraq and Syria since June 2014. The figure is, however, far lower than the death toll documented by independent groups.

Korean Peninsula tensions

China says the ongoing joint military drills by the U-S and South Korea are not beneficial to the Korean peninsula where the situation is sensitive and fragile. Washington and Seoul began their annual drills on Monday, amid tensions with North Korea over its missile program. Press TV’s Frank Smith has the details from Seoul.

US navy "operational pause"

The US Navy has halted its fleets’ operations after a destroyer collided with a tanker near Singapore, leaving 10 sailors missing and five injured. The incident flooded water into the USS John S. McCain. This forced the destroyer to limp into the port in Singapore under escort later. US Navy Admiral John Richardson ordered all navy fleets to stop operations across the world to reassess the situation. It was the second major accident involving a US warship within two months. A search operation is underway to find the missing sailors.

US Afghanistan strategy

US President Donald Trump is set to unveil his administration’s strategy for Afghanistan after 16 frustrating years of conflict in the south Asian country. The White House said Trump would make a televised statement from Virginia. The US president in June gave his Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. On Sunday, Mattis said the new strategy is the result of a rigorous process. The U-S and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. There are currently nearly 9,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Washington claims that the massive military presence is only aimed at maintaining security across the country. However, reports indicate that over 26-thousand civilians have been killed since the US troop deployment to Afghanistan in 2001

US nukes overhaul

The US Air Force says it has awarded contracts to Boeing and Northrop Grumman to replace the country’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. Officials say the air force gave Boeing a 349-milion-dollar contract and Northrop Grumman was granted a 329-milion-dollar pact to advance the technology needed to replace missiles that date back to the 1970s. The projects is scheduled to be done by August 2020. The contracts are a part of planned overhaul of the U-S nuclear arsenal. This is while arms-control advocates argue that the US Air Force could save billions by extending the life of the existing missiles instead of overhauling.

Iran warning

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says the country is capable of resuming 20-percent uranium enrichment at its Fordo facility in less than five days. Ali Akbar Salehi warned that Iran will stun the US if it moves to undermine the nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries. Salehi made the comments in the wake of a warning by President Hassan Rouhani that Iran can snap back to the pre-nuclear deal status if the US violates the agreement. Salehi stressed that the president’s warning is backed up by hard facts. Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has also warned that Tehran will give Washington a proportionate response if it violates the nuclear deal. This comes after the US president said he is seeking ways to declare Iran in violation of the nuclear agreement. He has also imposed new anti-Iran sanctions that Tehran says breach the pact.

Civilian casualties

Air raids by the US-led coalition claim more civilian lives in the Syrian city of Raqqah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 42 people were killed in a barrage of airstrikes on Daesh-held territories on Monday. The monitoring group says nineteen children and twelve women were among the dead. This is the third mass killing of the civilians by the US-led coalition in Raqqah in the past two weeks. On Sunday, 27 people were killed and 29 others died in similar bombardments in the city on August ninth. The US-led coalition is conducting air attacks in Syria without the consent of Damascus or UN mandate. The Syrian government has repeatedly called on the UN to stop the coalition strikes in the country.

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