WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, August 26, 2017.

Fight against Daesh in Iraq

The Iraqi foreign minister says government forces have taken the control of seventy percent of the city of Tal Afar from the Daesh terror group. Ibrahim Ja’afari made the revelation while speaking to reporters in the capital Baghdad. The remarks came shortly after the Iraqi army announced that it has liberated more districts in Tal Afar. On Friday, Iraqi forces broke through Daesh’s lines, reaching the center of the Old City and a neighborhood around an Ottoman-era citadel. Tal Afar is Daesh last stronghold in Iraq and according to the government, up to 2,000 terrorists, mostly foreign nationals are holed-up there. The liberation of Tal Afar will cut the Takfiri terrorists’ links to both sides of the Iraq-Syria border.

Kashmir tensions

Two paramilitary soldiers and a police officer have been killed in an attack on police facilities in Indian-controlled Kashmir. According to police, at least two gunmen stormed the camp in Pulwama district, south of the state capital of Srinagar. The attackers detonated grenades and fired automatic assault rifles to get into the police facilities. Dozens of police families were evacuated from the area to prevent confrontation with local anti-India protesters. The disputed Kashmir region has witnessed deadly clashes between Indian forces and pro-independence groups over the past decades. The violence has left scores of people dead this year so far.

Syria militants’ chemical weapons

Russian troops have discovered and dismantled two chemical weapons facilities in regions previously controlled by militants in Syria. Head of the Russian military's branch for protection from chemical weapons, Major General Igor Kirillov, says Moscow will provide the data to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He didn’t elaborate on the exact locations of the destroyed facilities. The Syrian government turned over its entire chemical stockpile under a deal negotiated by Russia and the US back in 2013. The OPCW monitored the whole process and verified the destruction of the stockpile.

Brexit fallout

The European Union warned the UK against using the Ireland border-problem in its proposals on leaving the bloc, calling them “magical thinking”. During a press brief in Brussels, a senior EU official said the peace process between Northern and the Republic of Ireland should not be used as bargaining chip in Brexit talks. The unnamed diplomat was responding to the latest position papers coming from London. The UK had suggested the set-up of an invisible and frictionless border in Ireland during Brexit well as waivers for people and goods crossing the 310-mile long boundary. Resolving the border’s status is one of EU’s top priorities, before talks can move on to trade - an idea found inflexible by Britain. The next round of negotiations in Brussels is set for next week.

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey has hit the US State of Texas, wreaking havoc and causing destruction. Hurricane Harvey made landfall early on Saturday as a Category 4 storm, dumping torrents of rain over hundreds of kilometers of coastline. It gradually weakened to a Category 1 storm, still sustaining winds of nearly 150 kilometers per hour. No deaths have been reported yet. The hurricane has whipped trees and caused destruction. It is expected to drop a large amount of rain, up to one meter as it keeps battering Texas. Experts say the resulting flooding could be devastating. Corpus Christi is a major city in the state, now closest to the storm's center. Harvey is the fiercest hurricane to hit the US in more than a decade.

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