WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, March 17, 2019 to 0800 GMT, March 18, 2019.

Venezuela reforms

Venezuela’s vice president says the country’s president is planning a deep restructuring of the government. In a twitter post, Delcy Rodriguez said the purpose of the planned reshuffling by Nicolas Maduro is to protect Venezuela. Maduro has changed many cabinet members since he took office in 2013. The Venezuelan president is locked in a power struggle with opposition leader Juan Guaido. Most western countries support Guaido as the rightful president. The South American country was paralyzed earlier this month as a result of a widespread blackout that lasted nearly a week. Maduro has blamed the blackout on cyber-attacks by the US and domestic sabotage by the opposition.

US-led attacks in Syria

Ten civilians, including women and children, have been killed in a US-led attack on the town of Baghouz in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr province. The victims came under fire as they were fleeing from Daesh terrorists. Thousands of people have escaped the town of Baghouz since US-backed Kurdish forces launched an offensive in February to capture the last stronghold of Daesh in eastern Syria. Ordinary civilians, Daesh terrorists and their families are among those fleeing Baghouz.

Boeing probe

Ethiopia says flight data from last week’s crashed plane in the country shows clear similarities with the crash of a plane in Indonesia last October. Both planes were Boeing 737 Max 8 models and both crashed minutes after takeoff. Ethiopian Transport Ministry said the data retrieved from the Ethiopian Airlines plane’s black boxes were validated by a US team. However, US officials said they have not validated the data yet. The ministry said a preliminary report would be released within 30 days. Concerns over the plane’s safety caused airliners worldwide to ground the model. The suspension has wiped billions of dollars off Boeing’s market value.

MbS ‘secret campaign’

American officials who have read the classified intelligence reports related to Saudi crown prince say Mohammed bin Salman authorized a secret campaign to silence dissidents. The officials say the campaign started more than a year before the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and it included kidnapping and torture of Saudi citizens. According to the officials, at least a dozen clandestine missions were carried out by members of the same team that killed Khashoggi in Istanbul in last year. The details come from classified intelligence assessments about the Saudi campaign and from Saudis with direct knowledge of some of the operations. Last November, the US Central Intelligence Agency concluded that bin Salman had ordered Khashoggi’s killing. Riyadh denies the prince's involvement.

France strike

Eurostar trains from Paris to London have been hit by cancellations and severe delays due to a work-to-rule industrial action. The French customs officers who staged the strike are demanding higher pay and better working conditions. They are seeking to demonstrate what might happen if full border controls are put in place once Britain leaves the European Union. Sunday's work-to-rule was just the latest in a string of strike actions by the French customs officers. Work-to-rule strikes began in early March, in the Channel ports of Dunkirk and Calais, northern France. The strikes led to long delays for trucks waiting to cross into Britain.

New Zealand terror attacks

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, says her cabinet has agreed in principle on tougher gun laws. Ardern told reporters that changes will be announced within ten days of what she called a horrific act of terrorism. The premier also announced an inquiry into Friday’s terror attacks that targeted two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch. A gunman shot dead 50 Muslim worshippers, using five assault weapons. Authorities say he had bought the weapons legally, including two semi-automatic rifles. Brenton Tarrant, a white supremacist, live-streamed the carnage and posted a racist manifesto online. He has been charged with murder.

Anger at UK spyware exports

A new report says the UK has sold 75 million pounds of spyware and telecoms hacking equipment to scores of countries, including many that have launched brutal crackdown on political activists. The report, issued by Campaign Against Arms Trade, said the technology was sold to countries which have dubious human rights records, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Turkey. The revelation alarmed human rights groups that say the abuse of the surveillance equipment by autocratic regimes is being ignored. The report said the UK technology, capable of mass spying of citizens’ communications, has been licensed for export to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has been under spotlight over the murder of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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