WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, December 27, 2017.

Yemen ‘horrible year’

The United Nations agency for Children has painted a dismal picture of children’s situation in Yemen, describing 2017 as a horrible year for them. The UNICEF representative in the war-torn country says Yemeni children could not have a year worse than 2017. Meritzell Relano says a crippling blockade and war by Saudi Arabia, coupled with a cholera epidemic and a disruption in health services, are taking a heavy toll on children. According to Relano, more than 80 children were killed or injured as a result of the conflict in December alone. The UN official has called for a political solution to end what she branded as a man-made war in Yemen.

US support for terrorists

Russia’s chief of general staff says the United States is letting terrorists in Syria train and make use of its military bases to mount attacks. General Valery Gerasimov said the US base near the town of Tanf in southern Syria has stationed and is training terrorists. Gerasimov cited data obtained by aerial and satellite surveillance to support the claim. He said a refugee camp, located in northeastern Syria, has been used by the US as a training camp for the remnants of the Daesh Takfiri group, including those evacuated from Raqqah. Russian officials had earlier condemned the US military presence in Syria for violating the country’s sovereignty. Moscow has said the US-led coalition is seeking to preserve terrorist organizations in Syria to promote its own agenda.

Myanmar media crackdown

A court in Myanmar has extended the detention of two Reuters journalists for two more weeks. The announcement came in the journalists’ first public appearance since their detention on December 12. When they appeared in court for the proceedings, they were allowed to meet their families. The journalists said they had not been mistreated in custody. Dozens of reporters and cameramen were outside the courthouse to cover the event. The two are in detention as a probe continues into allegations that they breached the country’s Official Secrets Act, which provides for the protection of state secrets and official information. The journalists had worked on the Reuters coverage of the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Iran slams US policies

The leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the United States is the country’s principal enemy but the Iranian nation is prepared to defeat this enemy in all arenas. Ayatollah Khamenei described the US government as ruthless that rules one of the most corrupt and oppressive countries. The leader said Washington lent full support to terrorist groups operating in the Middle East, including Daesh. He added that the US is backing regional despotic regimes, like Saudi Arabia and Israel, despite their atrocities against the peoples of Yemen and Palestine. Further in his speech, the leader slammed the administration of President Donald Trump for using the language of threat against Iran.

France Saudi call

French President Emanuel Macron has called for the complete lifting of the Saudi blockade on Yemen as the war-ravaged country is dealing with a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. In a phone conversation with the Saudi King, the French president expressed his concerns about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. He called on Saudi Arabia to allow humanitarian aid and commercial goods to enter the country. Macron made the call as Saudi Arabia continues with its indiscriminate aggression against its southern neighbor. Riyadh has also imposed a crippling blockade on the country. Over 13,600 people have lost their lives since Saudi Arabia launched its war on Yemen back in 2015. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis are also dealing with cholera outbreak as a result of the Saudi aggression.

Ukraine prisoner swap

The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian forces have begun to exchange more than 300 prisoners in the volatile eastern part of the county. The first group of prisoners was swapped near the town of Gorlivka, close to the pro-Russian forces’ de facto capital of Donetsk. It’s the largest such exchange since the outbreak of conflict in eastern Ukraine. There has been no prisoner exchange between Kiev and separatist groups for the last 15 months. The leader of separatists said more lists of captives were being compiled for the future swap. Fighting in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which border Russia, has claimed the lives of more than ten thousand people since 2014.

Bahrain sentences

A Bahraini court has sentenced 10 citizens to life in jail on alleged terror charges amid crackdown on political dissent. They were accused of forming terrorist groups and manufacturing explosives and bombs. The court also sentenced another defendant to ten years. They all were stripped of their Bahraini citizenship. The ruling came two days after over a dozen civilians were handed down death penalties and jail sentences on same charges. Bahrain’s parliament has authorized military courts to try civilians charged with terrorism. The opposition group, Al-Wefaq, has denounced the decision. The tiny Persian Gulf kingdom has been gripped by pro-reform protests since 2011, with its Sunni royal family resisting demands for a constitutional monarchy. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in regime’s crackdown on protests.

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