WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, May 28, 2017.

Morocco arrests

Moroccan police have arrested 20 people after two days of violent clashes in a northern city. The violence in Al Hoceima left three policemen critically injured and several protesters hospitalized. The clashes erupted during demonstrations against alleged corruption, repression and unemployment. The demonstrators confronted the police as they tried to arrest the leader of pro-reform movement, Hirak for interrupting a Friday prayer sermon. Tensions have been running high in Morocco since October when a fishmonger was crushed inside a garbage truck while trying to retrieve fish confiscated by the police. The incident triggered mass protests unseen since the anti-government uprising of the 2011.

Kashmir curfew

Thousands have defied a strict curfew in Indian-controlled Kashmir to take part in the funeral of a pro-independence commander killed by army forces on Saturday. The mourners chanted slogans against Indian rule in the disputed region. The funeral was held in the southern town of Tral despite the strict security lockdown enforced in the area and the regional capital Srinagar. The curfew was meant to prevent fresh protests following violent clashes that erupted between demonstrators and security forces on Saturday. One civilian was killed and several others injured in the confrontation.

Life under war

Normal life is going on in Syria’s Aleppo, a city once gripped by devastating war. Residents of the northwestern city freely celebrated the start of the fasting month of Ramadan for the first time in four years. Their city was liberated by the Syrian Army last December following a deal that saw all militant and terror groups in the city leave. The mood of Ramadan this year is festive with people taking to bustling markets to buy foodstuff.

Sri Lanka floods

Search operations are underway to save thousands of people trapped in Sri Lanka’s flood-hit areas, after torrential rains and mudslides killed dozens in the south Asian country. Rescuers are trying to use improving weather and receding floodwaters to find survivors among nearly one hundred people who have gone missing over the past two days. The UN says it is assisting in relief efforts, while the Sri Lanka Red Cross has said that it is receiving help from the Indian military and a couple of other countries. Unusually heavy rains on Friday triggered a series of mudslides, causing rivers to burst their banks. The disaster has affected half a million people and claimed at least 126 lives.

Philippine civilians trapped  

Some 2,000 civilians remain trapped in a southern Philippine city where the army is engaged in fierce fighting with Daesh-linked terrorists for nearly a week. Officials say most of Malawi residents have fled the city but those locked up in the districts controlled by Abu Sayyaf militants cannot leave. There are reports of intense street fighting and non-stop airstrikes near the besieged areas. The clashes in southern Philippines began on Tuesday when terrorists from the Abu Sayyaf militant group raided the city of Malawi and beheaded a police chief. On Sunday the bodies of ten civilians executed by the militants were found near the city. That brought to nearly one hundred the number of people killed in the unrest.

Bahrain crackdown

The families of five Bahrainis shot dead by regime forces last week have slammed authorities for preventing them from holding funeral services for their loved ones. In what is likely to increase tensions in the already tense Persian Gulf kingdom, the family members called the ruling al Khalifah regime’s action a crime. The interior ministry says the five were buried after contacting the families to attend funeral services. Victims' families demand authorities hand over the bodies for a proper funeral ceremony, something the officials refused to do. The five unarmed protesters were killed in a raid on the house of top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim. The widely condemned raid came just days after a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region.

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