WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, January 3, 2019 to 0800 GMT, January 4, 2019.

Pelosi reclaims House

The newly-elected speaker of the US House of Representatives says she is under no illusions that working with Republicans will be easy in the era of President Donald Trump. Nancy Pelosi was speaking after claiming the speaker’s gavel for the second time. She added that Democrats will debate to open the government as the partial shutdown enters its 13th day. Earlier, Pelosi said the House may go for the indictment and impeachment of Trump. She said her colleagues will wait and see what comes out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe before deciding whether to impeach the president. The 116th US Congress convened with Democrats taking the majority in the House after eight years of being out of power.

US-Mexico border wall

The US president says calls are growing for the construction of a border wall with Mexico amid a standoff over funding the multi-billion dollar project. Donald Trump added that the American people will not have border security without the barrier. He demanded that the new Congress fund the wall. But Democrats, who now hold the majority in the House, have ignored his demand which has led to the partial government shutdown.

Wall Street plunge

Wall Street suffers another pummeling following a downbeat outlook from Apple on China sales and surprisingly weak US manufacturing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 2.8 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 slid 2.5 percent. And, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank three percent. Apple also plunged 10 percent in its worst session since 2013, losing almost 75 billion dollars in market value. The tech giant has trimmed its sales forecast for the upcoming quarter, citing weak iPhone sales in China due in part to the US-China trade war.

US govt. closure impasse

The US House of Representatives has approved legislation to end the partial government shutdown without funding President Donald Trump's border wall project. The bills will fund the Department of Homeland Security through February 8 and some other agencies and departments to the end of the current fiscal year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that Democrats don't plan to budge from their refusal to allocate wall money. The White House is expected to veto the measures. The US president earlier said calls are growing for the construction of the border wall.

EU-UK Brexit negotiation

The European Commission has reiterated its position that the Brexit withdrawal agreement cannot be reopened and the European Union has already started the ratification process on this basis. At a press conference in Brussels, Mina Andreeva told reporters that no further meetings are foreseen between the Commission's negotiators and the UK negotiators. She said negotiations have been concluded between the two sides. Andreeva added that the deal that is on the table is the best and only agreement possible. British lawmakers are set to vote on May’s deal later in January. The premier has already delayed the vote once after admitting that it was set to be defeated in the parliament.

US Syria airstrikes

The US military has increased airstrikes in Eastern Syria despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from the Arab country. Media reports say US fighter jets fiercely raided villages on the banks of the Euphrates River in the past week. The attacks caused civilians in the densely populated rural region to flee, but with no place to go or hide from the bombardments. In the latest episode, eleven members of one family were killed during an assault on the Syrian village of Sha’afa in Dayr al-Zawr province. The area near the Syrian-Iraqi border is still occupied by the Daesh Takfiris. The US-led coalition has acknowledged killing over a thousand civilians since it started its military campaign in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

UK airport security

The two major international airports in the British capital have ordered military-grade anti-drone equipment following disruption at UK’s second-busiest airport last month. London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports announced the purchase of defenses worth several-million pounds. The equipment was confirmed to be at an equivalent level to that provided by the Armed Forces. Media reports say the technology includes the Israeli-designed Drone Dome system. In December, Gatwick was paralyzed for a few days after drones were spotted flying near the airport field south of central London. The incident forced authorities to ground flights and shut down the airport over safety concerns. The army and police snipers were deployed to hunt down the drones. Two people were consequently arrested in connection with the incident.

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