WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, December 30, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, December 31, 2017:

US's treaty violation

A senior Russian official has accused the United States of violating a key arms treaty by selling an advanced missile system to Japan.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said the fact that such military complexes could appear on the country’s eastern borders creates a situation that Kremlin cannot ignore in its military planning. The senior official said the measures are against the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banning the deployment of such systems on the ground. Ryabkov said Washington is already deploying missile systems at its bases in Romania and Poland near Russia’s western borders. Earlier this month, Japan formally decided to expand its ballistic missile system with US-made ground-based Aegis radar stations and interceptors. Tokyo said the measure is in response to a growing threat from North Korean missiles.

Puigdemont's plea

Catalonia's sacked president Carles Puigdemont has called on the Spanish prime minister to accept the results of the December 21 parliamentary elections, which gave a majority to pro-independence parties.

Puigdemont says the Spanish government has an opportunity to act like a European democracy and replace violent takeover of Catalonia with dialog. He demanded that Madrid adopt a new attitude and make reparations for the damage it has caused. Puigdemont says Catalonia has won the right to become a republic. The wealthy northern region voted for independence on October 1. The central government responded by taking over the region’s institutions of power. Puigdemont has been living in the Belgian capital since then to avoid arrest by Madrid.

Israel attacks Gaza

Israeli warplanes have once again launched airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip. The fighter jets pounded a center belonging to Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas. 

Deadly Saudi airstrike 

Saudi Arabia’s incessant airstrikes on Yemen continues to claim civilian lives.

In the latest attacks, at least four civilians were killed as Saudi fighter jets targeted a vehicle in Amran province. Earlier, 24 people lost their lives, when Saudi warplanes struck a residential area in the western province of Hudaydah. The raids came shortly after the Saudi air force pounded a farm in the town of Khukha in the same province, killing at least ten women. Saudi Arabia began the war on its southern neighbor in March 2015. Over 13,700 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.

Merkel and the German social split 

The German chancellor has vowed to swiftly form a stable government, after three months of failing to forge a new ruling coalition.

In her annual New Year’s speech, Angela Merkel pledged to address growing social divisions in the country. She noted that her government will seek to increase investments in security and defense, and will improve healthcare and education. Merkel also said that she will team up with France to hold the European Union together. German politics has been in limbo since November, when Merkel failed to forge a three-way coalition with the Free Democratic Party and the Greens. A recent poll shows that nearly 50 percent of Germans want her to resign if the upcoming coalition talks with the center-left Social Democrats also fail.

US police fatal shooting

Los Angeles police have arrested a man in connection with a hoax emergency call that led to a man's death in Kansas.

Tyler Barriss was arrested amid an investigation over the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Andrew Thomas Finch. Officials say the prankster called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim's address. The caller also reportedly said that Finch had poured gasoline inside his home to set it on fire. Officers subsequently surrounded the house and asked the man to put his hands up and move slowly. An officer then fired a single shot fearing that Finch was reaching for a gun. He died in hospital a few minutes later. The officer is now on paid leave pending the investigation.

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