WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Tens of thousands of supporters of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement gather in the capital Sana'a on September 21, 2017 to mark the third anniversary of the revolution. (Photo by AFP)

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, September 21, 2017.

Yemenis remembering revolution

In the Yemeni capital Sana’a, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered to mark the third anniversary of the country’s September 21 Revolution. Large crowds from across the country have been flocking to Sana'a since Thursday morning. They’ve reaffirmed their commitment to the government in Sana’a and the Popular Committee Forces that have been fighting against the Saudi-backed coalition in the Arab country. On September 21, 2014, forces belonging to the Popular Committees including the Houthi Ansarullah movement took over the capital Sana’a. They deposed the Saudi-backed government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. Hadi resigned from his post and fled the country. The Ansarullah movement, their Houthi allies and other forces later formed a government of national unity that has been in power ever since.

Iraqi army advances

Iraqi forces have recaptured several villages near the Daesh-held town of Hawijah in the northern Kirkuk province. Over two dozen Daesh terrorists were killed in the offensive, which was launched with the support of the Popular Mobilization Units. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the Hawijah operation on Thursday. Hawijah, located west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, is one of the last areas in Iraq that Daesh still controls. The Takfiri terrorist group has suffered heavy losses in recent weeks in both Iraq and Syria.

Kurdistan referendum row

Iraq, Iran, and Turkey have renewed their strong opposition to the planned referendum for secession in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. Foreign ministers of the three countries issued a joint statement against the move after a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Ibrahim Ja’afari, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Mevlut Chavushoglu reaffirmed their commitments to the territorial integrity and political unity of Iraq. They considered the planned referendum as unconstitutional, warning it could provoke new conflicts in the region. The trio stressed the importance of dialog to resolve the differences between Baghdad and Erbil. The semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq has set September 25 for the plebiscite. Nobody except Israel has supported the planned vote.

Iran Leader slams Trump

The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has lambasted US President Donald Trump for his recent anti-Tehran speech at the UN. Ayatollah Khamenei described Trump’s comments as absurd, abominable and foolish which were uttered out of confusion. He said the words were expressed not from a position of power but out of anger, frustration and idiocy. Iran’s Leader stressed that the US is angry at Iran as it has witnessed its longtime wishes going down the drain due to the Islamic Republic’s influential presence in the region. Ayatollah Khamenei then criticized the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries. He said the agreement has some loopholes as any wrongdoing by the other side is not considered a violation but any action from Iran is regarded against the accord. Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Tehran is willing to cooperate with the world but does not rely on foreigners solely.

Russia US warning

Moscow has threatened Washington that it will retaliate if US-backed forces in Syria continue targeting government troops. Russia said it will use all available weapons in response to any attempted attacks that can clash with the Syrian army’s offensives. The warning was issued shortly after the army troops came twice under the fire of the artillery shot by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. This is while all parties have agreed on the establishment of a de-confliction line in the area. SDF claims to be persistent in repelling Daesh terrorists from the area. But Russia says the forces have diverted from the battle to take Raqqa and Dayr-al-Zawr from Takfiri terrorists.

Crackdown on Rohingya Muslims

Myanmar’s army chief has called on internally displaced people in Rakhine State to return to their homes. General Min Aung Hlaing did not refer to 440,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to escape the army’s heavy-handed crackdown. He also defended the army’s violence against the minority group, saying that government forces handled the situation as best as they could. The remarks come as the United Nations has condemned the crackdown as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The vast majority of Rohingya Muslims are women and children, most of them malnourished and vulnerable to diseases.

Catalonia tensions

The Catalan vice-president has said pressures by Spanish authorities have dealt a blow to the region’s planned independence referendum slated for October 1. Oriol Junqueras added that the central government's moves made it obvious that the rules of the game have changed. The remarks came a day after Spanish police detained over a dozen Catalan officials including the secretary general of economic affairs suspected of preparing the vote. The police said they had also seized nearly 10 million ballot papers destined for the vote which is deemed illegal by Madrid and Spain's Constitutional Court. Thousands of demonstrators have once again gathered in Barcelona to protest against the police operations. Earlier, Catalonia’s president stressed that the referendum will go ahead despite the police raid.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku