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 9, 2017.

Slamming Aggression

Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has condemned Israel's latest aerial incursion into Gaza as a dangerous violation. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the deliberate barbaric incursion will have consequences, for which Israel will be responsible. On Tuesday night, Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on several locations in the Gaza Strip. As a result, five Palestinians were injured and dozens of homes were damaged. Israel said the airstrikes were in response to what it called an earlier rocket attack from Gaza. Tel Aviv often targets Gaza with airstrikes. The territory has also been under a sea, land and air blockade by Israel for a decade now.

Kenya Election Protests

Tensions and division are growing among Kenyan citizens amid the opposition claims of rigged elections. Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga says results from Tuesday’s presidential vote are a complete fraud attacking the country’s democracy. Odinga says hackers had infiltrated the database of the election commission and manipulated the results. The election commission has rejected the opposition’s claims of fraud and hacking. Ballots at 92 percent of polling stations have been counted. Incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta is in a wide lead with 54.4 percent of the vote. Odinga has got 44.7 percent. Odinga’s supporters have taken to the streets in the western city of Kisumu, where police have fired tear gas to disperse them.

Yemen Blood Crisis

Saudi Arabia’s tight blockade on Yemen keeps worsening the humanitarian crisis in the impoverished nation. Yemen’s Blood Bank says it is on the brink of collapse due to severe shortage in materials it needs to operate. Mohamad al-Attab reports from Sana’a.

Korean Peninsula Tensions

China has called on the US and North Korea to avoid words and actions that escalate the complicated and sensitive situation following Washington’s threats against Pyongyang. China's Foreign Ministry made the warning in a statement after Donald Trump warned that North Korea would be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen before. Meanwhile, France has asked Washington and Pyongyang to take responsible measures to de-escalate the situation. Germany has also expressed concern, urging restraint. Berlin has denounced military options, and called for diplomatic efforts to address the issue.

France Attack Arrest

French police have arrested a suspect following an attack on soldiers outside the capital Paris. Officials say it’s too early to say for certain that the man was the driver who rammed a car into a group of soldiers. Six soldiers were injured in the attack. The suspect was arrested after a shootout on a highway north of Paris. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb says the car attack was deliberate and calculated. He says this shows the importance of a new terrorism law enshrining the state of emergency in place in France since 2015. In November that year, 130 people were killed in a night of carnage in Paris. Since then, over 100 people have been killed in terrorist attacks across the country.

Afghanistan Massacre

Families of the hostages who were released following last week’s massacre in Afghanistan’s northern province of Sar-e-Pol recount their trauma. At least 60 people including women and children were killed in the mass killing in the Mirzawalang district. This, after the Taliban militants captured a mainly Shia village on Saturday. Witnesses say the militants went from house to house shooting villagers. They also took a number of civilians behind a hill and shot them. The assailants bearing Taliban and Daesh banners are said to have kidnapped nearly 50 girls and women. The Afghan Defense Ministry says the operation to retake the valley has started. The failure of the government and NATO forces to respond in time has outraged the residents of the flashpoint area.

US Nuclear Threat

US President Donald Trump has boasted of the strength of the US nuclear arsenal, following his warning to North Korea. Trump left a tweet saying the American nuclear arsenal is far stronger and more powerful than ever before. Washington and Pyongyang have traded threats over North Korea’s weapons program. Trump has threatened North Korea with fire and fury, after Pyongyang announced it is examining plans to fire nuclear-capable ballistic missiles at a US island in Western Pacific.

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