WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 0900 GMT to 1700 GMT, July 11, 2018.

US-NATO budget row

The US president has called on the NATO member states to increase their military spending. Donald Trump made the remarks during a meeting with NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, in Brussels. Trump also demanded that NATO allies reimburse Washington for the cost of defending the member states. He also launched a blistering attack on Germany over a gas pipeline deal with Russia.

Germany court ruling

A member of a neo-Nazi cell has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in Germany. Beate Zschaepe was found guilty of ten counts of murder in shootings of eight Turks, one Greek, and a German policewoman. The court imposed the maximum penalty due to what it called the exceptional severity of the crime. Zschaepe is the last of the trio gang known as the National Socialist Underground which carried out the killings between 2000 and 2007. The group reportedly pursued an ideology of white racial supremacy by targeting migrants. The other two members killed themselves in 2011 after being found by the police. Zschaepe has denied any role in the murders.

Afghanistan attack

Gunmen have raided a government building in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad, killing at least ten people and wounding ten others. Local officials say the assailants opened fire on employees inside the office of the Education Department. They took dozens of people hostage. Police exchanged fire with the attackers in an attempt to set the hostages free. The standoff ended after several hours of fierce fighting. No group has claimed responsibility for the raid. This is the third major attack in less than two weeks in Jalalabad. On Tuesday, a bombing by the Daesh terror group killed at least a dozen people.

Merkel-Trump spat

The German Chancellor has hit back at the US president after he accused Germany of being a captive of Russia. Upon her arrival at a NATO summit in Brussels, Angela Merkel fired back at Donald Trump, saying her country makes independent decisions. She also defended Germany's contribution to the western military alliance and said Berlin had done a lot for NATO. Earlier, the US president slammed Germany for failing to raise its defense spending and contribution to the alliance. Trump also launched a blistering attack on Germany over a gas pipeline deal with Russia. He said it was a bad thing for NATO that Germany was controlled by Russia.

Iran-Russia ties

A senior advisor to Iran’s Leader is in Moscow to hold talks with top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin. Ali Akbar Velayati is to give Putin a message from Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, he will also elaborate on Tehran’s stance on the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Upon his arrival in Moscow, Velayati said Iran and Russia enjoy strategic and long-term relations which have generated fruitful results over the past few years.

Japan deadly floods

Japan was hit with unprecedented levels of torrential rains in the past week, that caused flooding and landslides. Nearly 180 people have been killed and millions forced to evacuate. Search and rescue is underway to find the possible survivors, but authorities say more rain is to come.

Pakistan politician funeral

Thousands of people have attended a funeral procession for a politician who was killed in a bomb attack in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Haroon Bilour, leader of Awami National Party’s local branch was killed on Tuesday. He was among the 20 people who lost their lives in a massive explosion. A 16-year-old bomber detonated his explosive belt in a crowd of people attending the ANP’s election rally. The attack came ahead of general elections slated for July 25. Meanwhile, lawyers in Peshawar have observed one-day strike in protest to the killing of Bilour who was also a lawyer. The militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the blast that happened just when Bilour wanted to address the crowd.

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