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 10, 2017.

Saudi activists at risk

Prominent advocacy group Human Rights Watch has warned about the imminent execution of 14 members of the Shia community in Saudi Arabia. The HRW says that the kingdom’s authorities transferred the 14 men from Dammam to Riyadh in mid-July and kept some of them in solitary confinement without any explanations. They’ve had no contact with the outside world since then. The men who are from the city of Qatif in the Shia-majority Eastern Province have all been convicted for protest-related offences. The Saudi Supreme Court upheld their conviction based on confessions they later withdrew saying they were obtained under torture. According to the HRW, Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court has rejected all torture allegations without investigating them.

Britain homelessness

A new analysis has found that the number of families declared homeless across Britain has risen by a third since 2011 when the Conservative Party took power. The report by the charity group Crisis shows that nearly 60,000 British families were homeless between April 2016 and March 2017. That was a 34 percent rise on the same period six years ago. A total of 159,000 households are sofa surfing, rough sleeping or living in unsustainable accommodation. The report says hostels, tents, cars, public transport, squats, women’s refuges or winter night shelters are the most common temporary places for the homeless to stay. The Crisis has warned that the number of rough sleepers would rise by 76 percent in the next decade unless the government takes long-term action to tackle the problem.

Korea on the edge?

Fire and fury, the US President has threatened North Korea more harshly than ever. Pyongyang, in turn, says it plans to launch a missile strike against the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Turkey crackdown

Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for dozens of people, including journalists, on suspicion of links to last year's attempted coup. The suspects were believed to be users of an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames Gulen for orchestrating the abortive putsch, but he denies any involvement. Turkish media said the detention warrants were aimed at the media branch of Gulen's network. Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs, and over 50,000 detained for alleged links to last summer’s abortive coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Rights groups and some of Turkey's allies have expressed concern over the ongoing crackdown, particularly against journalists.

US-North Korea tensions

World stocks have plunged for a third day in a row as exchange of military threats escalates between the US and North Korea. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 1.1 percent of its value, while Frankfurt's stocks tumbled up to one percent. Major indices in Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York also shed considerable points. This came hot on the heels of an explicit threat by US President Donald Trump against North Korea. Trump threatened that Pyongyang will be met with a fire and fury response like the world has never seen if it presses ahead with its nuclear and missile programs. The North has hit back by every now and then threatening Washington with missile strikes that will turn the US into a sea of fire.

Syria gains

Syrian government forces have advanced against foreign-backed militants in the southern province of Suwayda. Troops captured an area of 1,300 square kilometers near Jordan’s border in their latest push. They also liberated several strategic hilltops. The Syrian army says it is now controlling all border observation points along the Jordanian border. The operation in Suwayda began last week. The province has been the scene of clashes between Syrian government forces and various terrorist groups in the past six years.

Kenya disputed vote

Kenya’s opposition coalition demands its candidate be declared president, claiming it has evidence Raila Odinga has won Tuesday’s election. Musalia Mudavadi said the published official results that put incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta in a strong lead are based on a hacked system. The opposition said the result forms from the majority of the over 20,000 polling stations uploaded to the election commission’s website were fake. The election commission has, however, rejected the allegations as ridiculous. The body says the opposition does not have any credible data to back up its claims. Kenyan authorities are calling for restraint by supporters of the two candidates. Tensions are high in the country after the opposition’s vote-rigging claims. Several protesters have been killed during clashes between the supporters of Odinga and security forces.

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