WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, August 4, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, August 5, 2017.

Hezbollah anti-terror fight 

The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has hailed the resistance movement’s fighters for dislodging Nusra Front terrorists form the town of Arsal which borders Syria. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Syrian army’s support played a major role in helping Hezbollah forces defeat the terror group. He also thanked Iran, saying the Islamic Republic has been backing and funding the resistance movement in its fight against terrorists. He added that the liberated areas will be handed over to the Lebanese army. Nasrallah also said Hezbollah will help the army dislodge Daesh terrorists from border areas. He added that Hezbollah does not need Washington’s support in its battle against terror groups. His remarks come a day after Hezbollah announced its fighters regained control over all areas in Arsal and flushed all terrorists out of the region.

Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly

In Venezuela, the newly-elected Constituent Assembly begins its first session amid protests by the opponents and supporters of the government. The all-powerful assembly is tasked with rewriting the constitution and it holds sway over all branches of government. The body’s high-profile members have pledged to target the opposition-controlled parliament and the office of Venezuela’s rebellious chief prosecutor. Maduro says the assembly will help bring peace to his country. Opposition leaders, however, have dismissed the body as a tool for an illegitimate power grab by Maduro and have called on their supporters to take to the streets to show their anger.

DR Congo killings

The UN human rights investigators have warned of ethnic cleansing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid violence in the country’s Kasai region. The regional chief of the Human Rights Office also blamed anti-government militias for the crimes. Scott Campbell said the atrocities could amount to crimes against humanity. He detailed more than 250 extrajudicial or targeted killings in Kasai from mid-March to mid-June, counting dozens of children among the dead. The violence in Kasai erupted last September after a tribal chieftain was killed in clashes with forces loyal to President Joseph Kabila. The killing sparked violence that has escalated ever since. More than 3300 people have been killed and 1.4 million others displaced in the fighting.

Mass grave in Iraq

A mass grave containing the remains of 40 bodies has been discovered in Iraq’s Anbar province. Iraqi authorities found the burial site in the provincial capital Ramadi. Officials believe the remains to be civilians executed by Daesh terrorists. The body parts were decomposed and showed signs of gunshot wounds to the skull. It is the latest of such shocking finds made by Iraqi troops in recent months. In May, Iraqi authorities announced the discovery of three mass graves in three separate areas, one of them in the center of Ramadi, containing the remains of civilians and soldiers killed at the hands of Daesh Takfiris. Iraqi army forces and fighters from Popular Mobilization Units retook Ramadi in December 2015.

Civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria

The civilian death toll from US-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has increased as the coalition acknowledges casualties in its previous operations. The coalition said 21 civilians were killed in its past air raids, bringing the toll up to 624 since the onset of its campaign in late 2014. The US led coalition called the civilian casualties unintentional. It made the announcement after launching a probe into allegations of over 130 civilian deaths that were not mentioned in the coalition’s previous report. This comes as Air-wars monitoring group has put the civilian death toll at over 4700 during the same period. The US and its allies have been pounding Syria without consent from Damascus or the UN.

Call for justice

Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have staged another peaceful protest to demand the release of their jailed leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky. The cleric has been in detention for nearly two years now with his lawyer repeatedly warning about his deteriorating health condition. Press TV Correspondent Danjuma Abdullahi reports from the Nigerian capital Abuja.

West Bank clashes

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil also known as Hebron. Three Palestinians and one Israeli settler sustained minor injuries in the clashes. Israeli soldiers intervened but failed to stop the scuffles. Tensions escalated in al-Khalil a few weeks ago after Israeli settlers occupied a building in the city and began squatting there. They consider the building to be a sacred place and claim they’ve bought it legally but Palestinians deny the claim. The city of al-Khalil is one of the most settler-infested cities in the occupied West Bank.

Rouhani's swearing-in

Foreign dignitaries keep arriving in the Iranian capital to attend President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration ceremony, scheduled for Saturday. So far, more than seventy foreign delegations and top officials have arrived in Tehran. They include Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Britain's deputy foreign secretary, the Syrian vice president and Pakistan’s parliament speaker. The United Nations secretary general has also sent his representative to the Iranian capital. Delegations from about one-hundred countries, including several heads of state will attend the event. President Rouhani was re-elected with a landslide victory in May. On Thursday, the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei officially endorsed Rouhani’s presidency.

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