WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, July 7, 2018 to 0800 GMT, July 8, 2018.

War on Yemen

The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says the enemy tries to take over Yemen by rejecting the United Nations envoy’s initiative to end fighting in the country’s western coast. Abdulmalik al-Houthi said the enemy tries to invade the city of Hudaydah under any pretext but its main goal is to control the whole country. He called on all Yemeni people to continue their fight against the Saudi-led coalition in the country’s west. Al-Houthi also praised the role of Yemeni tribesman in supporting the army in its fight in Hudaydah. He made the remarks after Yemen’s former president rejected an offer by the UN envoy that would have placed Hudaydah under the world body’s supervision.

US-North Korea talks

North Korea has slammed what it calls the United States’ gangster-like mindset in denuclearization talks. Pyongyang accused Washington of unilateral demands for denuclearization after two days of negotiations in North Korea’s capital between the US secretary of state and North’s officials. Pyongyang said US attitude is regrettable and called the outcome of the discussions worrisome. It argued that the issues the US delegation raised were the same ones that had amplified distrust and the risk of war in the past. The statement said Washington insisted on complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. This is while Pyongyang wants a phased approach under which both sides take steps at the same time. The reaction came just hours after Mike Pompeo described the high-level negotiations as productive.

South Sudan deal

South Sudan's warring leaders have reached an agreement to share power and end more than four years of civil war in the country. The deal was reached following a security meeting in Uganda’s capital Kampala. Sudan's foreign minister said under the deal, there would be four vice presidents, including the two current ones and the rebel leader Riek Machar who will assume the position of first vice president. Ahmed al-Dierdiry added that the forth position will be allocated to a woman from the opposition. The oil-rich African country has been plagued by a bloody war since 2013. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost in the conflict.

Anti-war protest in Brussels

Anti-war protesters have hit the streets of the Belgian capital in protest against the upcoming NATO summit which the US President, Donald Trump, is to attend. Belgian police said some 1400 people participated in the demonstration. Protesters were holding anti-NATO placards while chanting slogans against the US president’s visit. During the two-day summit, Trump is expected to tell US military allies that Europe must increase its military spending. Meanwhile, human rights activists and opponents of Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy took the opportunity to denounce the separation of families in the United States.

Palestinian hunger strike

Palestinian Commission of Prisoners’ affairs announced that prisoners held under administrative detention in Israel's Ofer Prison are refusing to eat as they kick start a campaign of hunger strike. The campaign is against their illegal detention at the hand of the Israeli army which is keeping them without any charge or trial. The strike has initially started by five prisoners in Ofer but more detainees are expected to join them by next week. From the occupied territories, Press TV’s Mona Kandil reports.

Turkey dismisses 18,000 employees

Turkey has fired more than 18,000 state employees. That’s part of an ongoing purge following a failed coup in July 2016. Nearly half of those sacked are police officers and more than 6,000 of them are military personnel. Some 200 academics have also got the sack under the new decree. The government accuses them of having links to terror organizations. Turkey has already dismissed around 160,000 civil servants. The mass dismissal comes as Turkey is expected to scrap a state of emergency on Monday two years after the attempted coup. That’s the day president Rejep Tayyip Erdogan is set to begin a new term with more powers.

Japan deadly floods

The death toll from torrential rain in southern and western Japan has risen to 76 with scores of people still missing. The heavy downpour, battering Japan for the third day, has forced millions of people out of their homes. Authorities have issued warnings for another wet day in several areas. The unprecedented rainfall has triggered landslides and sent rivers bursting their banks. Aerial footage shows overturned cars on flooded roads. The government has set up an emergency center and dispatched some 54,000 rescuers to affected regions. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says rescue workers are racing against time to save victims.

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