WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, November 18, 2017.

Hariri France visit

Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri has arrived in the French capital Paris, after a two-week mysterious stay in Saudi Arabia where he also announced his resignation. Hariri is due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron later in the day. Macron earlier said that he would host Hariri as Prime Minister of Lebanon since his resignation was not recognized in his home country. Hariri announced his resignation from the kingdom two weeks ago. The surprise move raised suspicion that Hariri may have been forced by Riyadh to resign. The Lebanese presidency has said it will not accept Hariri’s resignation unless he returns to Lebanon and tenders it in person.

Iran France warning

A senior advisor to the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution has issued a stark warning to the French president against meddling in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs. Ali Akbar Velayati said it is not in Emmanuel Macron and Frances’s interest to interfere in Iran’s missile program and strategic affairs as Tehran attaches great sensitivity to the issues. He said such meddling behavior will only discredit France. Velayati stressed that Tehran needs no one’s permission to possess missiles, saying Macron has no right to talk about the issue. The senior Iranian official added that no sovereign and independent state would put its national interests on sale. On Friday, the French president called for clarification of Iran’s policy on ballistic missiles, accusing Tehran of having an aggressive attitude.

US Poland missile sale

The US State Department has approved the sale of the surface-to-air Patriot missile system to Poland. The State Department says it has notified Congress of the approval of the deal which is worth up to 10.5 billion dollars. It marks the first time, NATO member Poland has bought the sophisticated missile system. The contract includes up to four radar sets, four control stations, and 16 launching pads. The deal still needs approval of the US Congress which has 15 days to raise any objections to it. The sale of Patriot missiles to Poland has been seen in line with NATO’s military buildup in Eastern Europe. Russia views the buildup near its borders as a provocation and accuses the western military alliance of posing a threat to regional and international peace.

German coalition talks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has resumed negotiations with other political blocs in a last-ditch effort to form a coalition government. Sources close to the negotiations say the talks are hanging by a thread. Merkel is trying to build an alliance with the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens. However, their deep policy differences, especially on immigration and climate change, have hampered the month-long negotiating marathon. They have already missed a Thursday deadline and said that talks will continue until Sunday evening. If they fail to reach a deal, snap elections will be held. Merkel’s party won only 33 percent of the votes in September's general elections, which was its worst performance since 1949.

Saudi Yemen blockade

Doctors Without Borders says it has not been able to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni capital Sana’a because of the Saudi blockade. The International medical charity group said it had not received authorization from the coalition to fly from Djibouti to Sana’a. The MSF noted that the reopening of the port in Aden, which is controlled by forces loyal to Riyadh, is far from sufficient to deliver aid. Yemen has been under blockade since March 2015. Last week, Saudi Arabia and its allies tightened the siege and closed all land, sea and air routes after a missile attack by Ansarullah forces on the Riyadh international airport.

Rafah crossing opened

Egypt has opened Gaza's border crossing, for the first time since the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas handed its control to the Palestinian Authority. Egyptian officials say they have opened the Rafah crossing for three days on a humanitarian basis. It comes weeks after Hamas ceded control of Rafah as well as two other crossings along the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority under a newly struck reconciliation deal. Hamas has been manning the crossings ever since its landslide election victory in the Gaza Strip back in 2007. The move then triggered an Israeli-Egyptian blockade that severely restricted the movement of most of Gaza's 2 million inhabitants. The recent Egyptian-brokered reconciliation effort is aimed at ending the rift between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

Anti-Mugabe protest

Thousands of protestors in Zimbabwean capital Harare are demanding the resignation of President Robert Mugabe amid escalated tensions surrounding the issue of his successor. People marched towards Zimbabwe’s State House while hailing soldiers in the crowd and chanting slogans celebrating Mugabe's downfall. This is while a source close to Mugabe says the president has no intention of stepping down. Robert Zhuwao, who is Mugabe’s nephew and a member of the ruling ZANU-PF party, says the march was engineered by the military to “disguise its coup”. The African country’s military forces seized power on November 14th in what they called an attempt to uproot corrupt politicians. They deny allegations of planning a coup. Zimbabwe’s political turmoil simmers deep after the 93-year-old leader sacked his deputy last week. Mugabe’s critics say the move was in favor of his wife Grace.

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