WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, August 23, 2018 to 0800 GMT, August 24, 2018.

Saudi war complicity

Human Rights Watch has strongly criticized a US-backed investigative team for what it called covering up war crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In a new report, the rights group says investigations by the Joint Incidents Assessment Team lack transparency, impartiality, and independence. It says the US-backed team has only provided deeply flawed analyses and reached dubious conclusions. The report says governments selling arms to Saudi Arabia, including the US, the UK, and France, are complicit in serious violations in Yemen. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team was established in 2016 to investigate the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes on civilian targets. Thousands of people have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies invaded Yemen in 2015. On Thursday, Saudi airstrikes on Yemen’s Hudaydah province left dozens of civilians dead, including 22 children.

Russia response to US sanctions   

Russia says all options are on the table should Moscow retaliate against the latest round of US sanctions. Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, says there are attempts by Washington to review the outcome of a presidential summit in Helsinki. Ryabkov says Moscow has NOT seen any signs that Washington is ready to normalize relations. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump met in the Finnish capital and reached some preliminary agreements. This week, the US placed more sanctions on Russia in response to suspected violations related to cyber-attacks and North Korea.

UK Brexit concerns

A new poll in Britain shows a growing negative shift in public opinion towards the government’s handling of Brexit negotiations. The study by Sky Data says 69-percent think the government cannot strike a good deal when Britain leaves the European Union. Back in March, the figure stood at 37-percent. The poll was conducted before Downing Street published notices in case of a no-deal scenario. Six out of ten people think opinion has turned against Brexit since the referendum in 2016. Over the past two years, there has been little progress in talks between London and Brussels. Many lawmakers fear Britain will depart the EU in March next year with a bad deal or no agreement at all.

Syria talks

The United Nations says its Special Envoy has invited Iran, Russia and Turkey to talks on forming a constitutional committee for Syria. Alessandra Vellucci says the two-day talks will start on September 11. The committee to draft a new constitution for Syria will be made up of representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition. The negotiations are expected to be followed by parallel UN talks involving the United States. All initiatives aimed at ending the war have failed so far. Since 2016, the UN has held nine rounds of indirect negotiations between Damascus and the opposition.

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