WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, May 22, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, May 23, 2018.

Venezuela expels US envoys

President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the expulsion of US charge d'affaires Todd Robinson and deputy head of mission in Venezuela, giving them 48 hours to leave the country. The United States later threatened to retaliate against Venezuela, saying Washington had not received notification of the expulsion through diplomatic channels. Maduro’s expulsion order came after the US imposed new sanctions against Venezuela over Maduro’s re-election in Sunday's vote. Maduro condemned the sanctions for inflicting suffering on the people of the crisis-hit Latin American nation. Earlier in the day, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry denounced the sanctions as a crime against humanity. Venezuelans are facing hyperinflation and dire shortages of food and medicine.

Trump casts doubt on North Korea summit

The US president has blamed his Chinese counterpart for a change in North Korea’s tone following Pyongyang’s earlier landmark overtures to Washington. Donald Trump was referring to a meeting between President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in early May. He made the remarks during a meeting with the South Korean president in the White House. Trump also raised doubts about his Singapore summit with Kim, saying there was a substantial chance the meeting would not happen as planned in mid-June. Last week, Pyongyang warned that the Kim-Trump summit could be canceled if the United States continued to push for a one-sided denuclearization deal. Pyongyang has been further infuriated by Washington’s comparing North Korea’s fate with that of Gaddafi-era Libya and continued joint military drills with South Korea.

Israel Gaza strikes

Israel has carried out an overnight attack on the Gaza Strip. Israeli drones have fired at least three rockets at Gaza's seaport. Israeli warplanes also targeted a security post in Northern Gaza.

Saudi Arabia widens crackdown on women's rights activists

Saudi Arabia has stepped up crackdown on activists, weeks before lifting decades-long ban on women’s driving. Amnesty International has announced the arrest of three people campaigning for women’s right. This raises the number of detained activists to at least 10 people, mostly women, while the Gulf Centre for Human Rights put the number at 12. The rights group called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of the individuals. Saudi state media accused the detainees of suspicious contact with foreign parties and providing financial support to enemies without giving more details. Saudi women have long been fighting for their rights and complained about the kingdom’s male guardianship system.

Anti-Iran sanctions

The United States Treasury Department has blacklisted five Iranian nationals for their alleged association with Iran’s ballistic missile program. The Treasury says the targeted individuals provided ballistic missile-related equipment and technical expertise to Yemen’s Houthi fighters on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the individuals have enabled the Houthis to launch missiles at Saudi Arabia. Mnuchin says they have also disrupted humanitarian aid efforts in Yemen and threatened freedom of navigation in key regional waterways. Iran has repeatedly denied accusations of providing ballistic missiles to Yemeni fighters.

US arms exports

The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly pushing Congress to increase the exports of US made weapons to the Middle East. Reports say administration and congressional sources have confirmed the existence of an ongoing informal 40-day review of the arms sale. It would deal with the transaction of 120,000 precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. There are no reports of the likely value of the sales. Key members of Congress have in the past objected to similar deals, delaying their reviews for months. Last year, Trump’s administration approved to sell nearly 7 billion dollars’ worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. The deal raised concerns from some members of Congress over American weapons being used in the Saudi-led bombing campaign on Yemen. Over 14,300 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war.

Facebook data scandal

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized to members of the European Parliament for a massive data breach. Zuckerberg also pointed to the importance of regulatory frameworks to protect the data of Facebook’s users. Zuckerberg’s apology to the MEPs is his latest attempt to draw a line under a data leak scandal that has rocked the world’s biggest social media network. Facebook’s CEO is due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday to further explain the issue. Last month, he also told US senators he was sorry for the privacy scandal. An inquiry was launched after revelations showed that political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, hijacked data of nearly 87 million Facebook users during the US presidential election in 2016.

Zarif slams Pompeo

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States has become hostage to pressure groups. Zarif’s comment was in response to the latest anti-Iran remarks made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The top Iranian diplomat dismissed Pompeo’s comments as untrue and based on old illusions. The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has also slammed Pompeo’s remarks. Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri says Iran will never seek permission from anyone to develop its defense capabilities. On Monday, Pompeo said the US will impose painful sanctions on Iran if Tehran does not limit its missile program. A day later, he expressed confidence that the US can develop a common approach with Europeans on Iran.

Lebanon's new parliament

Lebanon’s new parliament is set to convene for its first session after the May six vote. High on the agenda is to elect a speaker. Veteran politician Nabih Berri is widely expected to regain the post he has been holding for 26 years. The 80-year-old Berri is the head of the Shia Amal Movement and a close ally of Hezbollah. The resistance movement and parties that support it have now the upper hand at the legislative chamber with 70 of parliament's 128 seats. Once the speaker is picked, lawmakers will name a new prime minister. Saad al-Hariri is highly expected to get the post again. His party has lost more than a third of its power and has just 20 seats. That means Hariri faces a hard task to form a coalition government.