WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 0900 GMT to 1700 GMT, October 19, 2018.

Kandahar vote delayed

Parliamentary elections in the Afghan province of Kandahar have been delayed by one week a day after a local police chief was killed in a Taliban attack. The decision was made after election commissioners recommended suspending the vote in the southern province. The suspension deals a severe blow to the election process which is already plagued by security threats, as well as technical and organizational problems. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the killing of General Abdul Razeq won’t fundamentally change the security situation in the province. Razeq died of wounds he sustained during an attack by Taliban militants. Afghanistan is holding parliamentary elections on Saturday despite deep security concerns.

UK Saudi response

The British government says it is taking the alleged killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi very seriously. Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt says Britain’s reaction will be considered and depend on the response by Saudi Arabia. Hunt says London is assessing how seriously Riyadh is taking the matter. Several human rights groups have called on the United Nations to establish an independent probe into the fate of Khashoggi. Turkish officials have searched a forest near Istanbul for the missing journalist. Ankara is said to have recordings which prove Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The case has strained relations between the kingdom and many of its Western allies.

slamming US Palestine move

The United States has downgraded its diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, placing it under the authority of a new American embassy to Israel. The US secretary of state says the consulate general will be replaced by a new Palestinian Affairs Unit. Mike Pompeo says the new office will be inside the controversial US embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds. The move means the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, will be the main go-to person for Palestinians. Friedman has been repeatedly condemned by Palestinians over his support for settlements. Pompeo claims the changes do not signal a change in US policy. Palestinians have condemned the move.

EU-UK Brexit row

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator says the issue of the Irish border could wreck the whole exit deal which, he says, is ninety-percent done now. Michel Barnier says he thinks an accord is necessary, but a no-deal Brexit is still a possibility. He says Brussels has no intention, whatsoever, to punish London over its decision to leave the bloc. The French politician noted that the EU officials do not want to impose a hard Brexit either. Meanwhile, proposals have been made over extending the Brexit transition period for a few months, so the deadlock in the negotiations is resolved. Germany’s European Affairs minister said the extension alone could not solve the problem.

Bahrain rights concerns

Ten human rights NGOs have called on the UN human rights officials and experts to condemn the imprisonment of women activists. In a joint letter, the signatories raised concern for “the total inefficacy” of Bahrain’s human rights mechanisms. They called for the immediate and unconditional release of three female detainees. Hajer Mansoor, Najah Yusuf, and Medina Ali went on an open-ended hunger strike in protest against their degrading treatment and dire situation in the women’s prison in the Bahraini town of Isa. The ruling Al Khalifah regime has been pressing ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on human rights campaigners and pro-democracy activists in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

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