WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, April 3, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, April 4, 2017.

Solidarity with Palestine

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reiterated Tehran’s support for Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel. During a phone conversation with the chief of Hamas political wing, Zarif stressed the necessity of comprehensive actions by the Islamic world and the United Nations for condemning Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. Zarif also told Ismail Haniyeh about the Islamic Republic’s plan to follow up the issue at the UN General Assembly, the non-aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Haniyeh for his turn, expressed gratitude over Tehran’s sympathy with the people of Gaza and the Islamic Republic’s support for the Palestinian resistance.

Trump border military plan

The US president has vowed to deploy military forces to the Mexican border to stop illegal immigrants until his promised wall is built and proper security is in place. Donald Trump, however, gave no details on the size or mission of a military border deployment. Trump also lamented what he described as “horrible US immigration laws” that left its southern border poorly protected. Earlier, Trump threatened to cut aid to Honduras amid reports of a caravan of asylum seekers heading for the US. The US president has taken a hard line on immigration since he took office in 2016. His efforts, however, failed to produce a deal on immigration or funding a border wall with Mexico in the US Congress.

California shooting

Three people have been injured in a shooting attack on the headquarters of the Google-owned video sharing service YouTube in San Bruno, California. According to police, a person was found dead with a self-inflected gunshot wound. The deceased female is suspected to be the shooter. Police in the city have warned people to stay away from the area. The police said the building has been fully evacuated and an investigation into the incident is underway. The motive behind the attack remains unknown. The incident comes after the mid-February shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people lost their lives. The massacre once again sparked debate over gun control laws in the US.

China-US trade showdown

China has strongly condemned the US measure to hit Beijing with 25 percent tariffs on some 1,300 products, warning it is ready to retaliate. Beijing noted that it will take “corresponding measures of equal scale and strength” against US products. Earlier, the US officials unveiled a list of 50 billion dollars in annual Chinese imports set to be targeted by Washington tariffs. The list included industrial technology, transport and medical products. China and the US have been engaged in an escalating trade confrontation initiated by US President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. China has repeatedly stressed that its retaliatory moves are intended to safeguard its interests and balance losses caused by the new US tariffs. Beijing says Washington’s measures violate World Trade Organization rules.

Iran-Russia cooperation

Iran’s defense minister has hailed cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism in Syria. Brigadier General Amir Hatami told his Russian counterpart that Iran will continue the joint effort with Russia against terrorism. Hatami, who is in Moscow to attend a security conference, said the cooperation led to the liberation of much of the Syrian territory held by terror groups. Sergei Shoigu said the two countries’ teamwork in Syria has brought “appreciable results”. Shoigu noted that Moscow and Tehran now need to focus on restoring Syria and helping refugees, who fled the war, return home.

Oklahoma teachers protest

Thousands of teachers have marched for a second day in different parts of the US state of Oklahoma, demanding higher state spending on public education. Educators gathered in the state capital, Oklahoma City, chanting "fund our schools" and "we're not leaving". They called on lawmakers to pass a tax package that would raise an extra 200 million dollars for the state school budget. The walkout has shuttered schools in the state’s two biggest cities. In 2016, the National Education Association ranked Oklahoma among the bottom five states in the US in terms of per-student expenditure and average teacher salaries. Similar protests on Monday forced the closure of a great number of public schools in the state.

Cooperation against terrorism

The Russian president says the Daesh Takfiri group has been militarily defeated in Iraq and Syria, but remains a security threat to the world. Vladimir Putin says Daesh has the potential to rapidly change its tactics and conduct terror missions across the globe. Addressing the Moscow Conference on International Security, Putin has said other extremist groups pose great danger as well. He has called for multilateral cooperation to ensure new measures are in place to counter the security threat. In 2014, at the height of its power, Daesh conducted a large-scale offensive across Iraq and Syria.

Probing Kunduz attack

The Afghan government says it will investigate Monday’s airstrike in Kunduz Province which killed dozens of people. There are conflicting reports on who the casualties were. Afghan officials had earlier said the raid targeted a Taliban meeting in the Dasht-i Archi district. But locals say the target of the strike was a religious school and dozens of children were killed and injured. Meanwhile, the Taliban have rejected the government’s claim and say the airstrike targeted a school. President Ashraf Ghani has appointed a task team to investigate the incident. The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan is also probing the airstrike.

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