WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, March 10, 2019 to 0800 GMT, March 11, 2019.

Economic war on Syria

The Syrian president says his country now faces an economic war as it is emerging victorious from the years-long fight against foreign-sponsored terrorism. Bashar al-Assad said some hostile powers are waging the new war through boycotts, and economic siege. He added that any talk of political solution to the Syrian crisis while terrorism is still being supported and spread in the country would be an illusion. Assad made the remarks in a meeting with the Chinese assistant foreign minister in Damascus. The US has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Syrian companies and individuals. The European Union has also slapped an oil embargo on Syria, restricted investment in the country and frozen assets of the Syrian Central Bank. Damascus says the economic sanctions have blighted the lives of ordinary Syrians.

‘Sabotage’ and outage in Venezuela

Venezuela is suspending school and business activities on Monday as widespread blackout continues. This was the second such cancellation since power went out on Thursday. The government has accused the United States of masterminding the massive power outage, which plunged the South American country into darkness. President Nicolas Maduro said the outage was caused by an electromagnetic attack on a key hydroelectric complex. At least 15 patients with advanced kidney disease were reported to have died since Thursday. The electricity has been restored, but some areas are still in the dark. Meanwhile, opposition leader Juan Guaido said he will ask Venezuela’s legislature to declare a state of alarm, authorizing the delivery of the so-called international aid in response to the power outage.

Dutch demo

Around 35,000 people have marched against climate change in the center of the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Some protesters held up signs reading 'less meat, less heat' and 'eat your veggies'. The protesters demanded more action from politicians to combat climate change. The march was organized by several civil organizations. The protest came after an environmental research institute said the Netherlands wasn't doing enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Dutch Environment Assessment Agency said the target of reducing emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 was out of reach.

UNICEF concerned over Yemen

UNICEF says Yemen’s education sector has been damaged due to ongoing war as millions of children go without education in the country. The United Nations children's agency estimates that out of seven million school-aged children in Yemen over two million are not being educated. The agency said the conflict has rendered one in five schools in the country useless for education. It added that the schools either have been damaged or are being used in the fighting or as a shelter for displaced families. A regional UNICEF director described Yemen’s education sector as daunting. In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating war on Yemen to restore a Riyadh-aligned government. The war has badly damaged the country’s infrastructure and led to a major humanitarian crisis.

Iran-Iraq ties

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani arrives in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on a three-day official visit. Rouhani is in Iraq upon an official invitation by his Iraqi counterpart. This is his first such visit to Iraq since coming to office. Ahead of his trip, the Iranian president described relations between Tehran and Baghdad as special.

Deadly Saudi raid

Iran has strongly slammed the deadly Saudi airstrike that killed over 20 civilians in Yemen on Sunday. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi expressed regret over the international community’s silence in the face of Saudi war crimes. He said countries that sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and its allies are complicit in the atrocities. On Sunday, Saudi warplanes targeted residential areas of Tallan city in Hajjah province. The attack left 20 women and a child dead. The Saudi war on Yemen, which began in March 2015, has so far killed over 15,000 people, most of them civilians.

Fallout from Ethiopia crash

Ethiopia says it has grounded its Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, after a plane of the same model belonging to Ethiopian Airlines crashed on Sunday. Ethiopian Airlines says the cause of the accident is not yet known. However, it has decided to suspend using Boeing 737 MAX 8 until further notice, as an extra safety precaution. All 157 people onboard died, when a Nairobi-bound flight went down just six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa. Search operations are now underway to find the black box of the plane. China has also ordered domestic airlines to suspend operation of Boeing 737 MAX 8, following the crash. Back in October, another aircraft of the same model operated by an Indonesian airline crashed off Jakarta.

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