WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, July 15, 2018 to 0800 GMT, July 16, 2018.

Dara’a evacuation

In Syria, militants and their families have begun leaving the southern city of Dara'a under a deal reached with the government. Groups of militants handed over their weapons to government forces. The militants and their families headed to the northwestern Idlib province. The Russian government mediated the surrender deal. In a bid to minimize civilian casualties, Damascus and Moscow have been initiating talks with the militants to make them hand over the areas they control to the Syrian army without fighting.

Israel attack on Syria 

The Syrian army says Israel has launched a missile attack on a Syrian military site north of Nayrab airport in Aleppo countryside. The raid has caused material damage. Our correspondent Mohammad Ali in Damascus has given us the latest update on the situation.

Pakistan criminal probe

Pakistani authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the leaders of the political party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ahead of the country’s general elections. Police reports say the probe includes key figures such as the party’s current leader as well as former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The officials are accused of organizing a march on July 13, when Sharif returned to Pakistan. Authorities say the rally defied a ban on holding public demonstration at that time. Former Premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter were arrested upon their return from Britain. Sharif was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in jail over corruption.

EU-US trade tensions

The EU Council President rejects US President Donald Trump’s statement that the bloc is America’s trade foe. In a tweet, Donald Tusk said the European Union and the United States are best friends, and saying that the two are trade foes is fake news. In an interview with CBS, Trump branded the EU as a foe of the United States for what they do to Americans in trade. Trump has been attacking Brussels since the beginning of his presidency, saying EU countries are treating the US unfairly. He’s angry over his country’s trade deficit with the bloc, saying the US exports should surpass its imports. He’s already imposed tariffs on metal imports from US trade partners including, the EU members.

Israeli Iron Dome

Israel says it has reinforced its Iron Dome missile system amid a renewed conflict with the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said it has also called up some reserve army forces. The military threatened to take harsh action on the Hamas resistance group. Israel has recently increased its airstrikes against Gaza. The air raids have been the largest since the regime’s 2014 war on the costal enclave. Tel Aviv says the raids are in response to rocket fire from Gaza. Hamas has repeatedly stressed that the movement has a legitimate right to respond to any Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine.

Putin-Trump summit

The US president is set to meet his Russian counterpart in the Finnish capital amid worries at home and growing concerns among Washington’s European allies. Donald Trump arrived in Helsinki for talks with Vladimir Putin on Monday. The White House has set no agenda for the meeting, but Trump says it will lead to warmer relations. Russia says the summit will be some kind of step away from the current crisis relations. Just hours before the talks, Trump once again criticized his allies, his predecessor and the news media. He also refrained from making comments on the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump blamed what he called US foolishness and stupidity for bad relations between Washington and Moscow.

US police killing

Protesters have taken to the streets in the US city of Chicago, voicing their anger over the fatal police shooting of an African-American man. The demonstrators chanted slogans calling for an end to police brutality. They also demanded justice for the victim. Chicago police shot and killed 37-year-old Harith Augustus on Saturday. The police department later released the encounter footage that appears to show the victim reaching for his firearm in his waistband. But the video runs less than a minute and does not include sound, making it unclear what exchanges occurred before the shooting. The release of the body camera footage comes after violent clashes between protesters and the police on Saturday. Officials say the protests were triggered by rumors that the man was unarmed.

Morocco protest

Moroccans have staged a mass rally in the capital Rabat against the jailing of leaders and activists of a protest movement in the predominantly Berber region of Rif. The protesters called for the immediate release of the jailed activists of the Popular Movement, known as al-Hirak al-Shaabi in Arabic. In June, a court in Casablanca sentenced 39 people to terms of up to 20 years in jail in connection with the protest movement. Sunday’s march was called by detainees and their families who dismissed the verdict as political. In October 2016, protests erupted in Morocco following the death of a fisherman inside a rubbish truck in the northern city of al-Hoceima. The victim was trying to recover fish confiscated by police.