WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, April 4, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, April 5, 2017.

Israeli threats

Israel’s Minister of Military Affairs Avigdor Liberman has said that Israeli forces will continue targeting Palestinian protesters in Gaza with live fire despite international condemnation. Palestinians say this is not a new policy but part of a larger Israeli plan to commit more massacres against peaceful demonstrators.

Oklahoma protests

In the United States, thousands of teachers and supporters for increased education funding have poured into the Oklahoma State’s Congress building for a third day of protest. The protesters occupied the entire House Gallery and crammed into the offices of their lawmakers. The strike affected the ten largest school districts in the state, and more than 200,000 students. A large number of those students and other protesters showed up to support their teachers to demand change. Meanwhile, in Arizona, teachers are considering plans for a potential walkout. Over the last ten years, state funding for education in Oklahoma has decreased by more than 9 percent, while the number of students has increased by almost the same amount.

Russia requests UNSC meeting

The Russian ambassador to the UN says Moscow has asked for a Security Council meeting over the poisoning of a former double agent in the UK. Vassily Nebenzia said Russia has called for the meeting to discuss London’s accusations against Moscow over the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. Earlier, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons out-voted Russia’s call for a joint inquiry into the issue. The Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement in the March 4 attack, which Britain says was carried out with a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union. This has triggered a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and inflamed tensions between Russia and Western governments.

US policy slammed

Iran's foreign minister has slammed the United States and Saudi Arabia for trying to reverse the successes made against the Daesh terrorist group in Syria. In a tweet, Mohammad Javad Zarif described Riyadh as the sponsor of Daesh. He also said that US President Donald Trump had demanded additional 4 billion dollars from Saudi Arabia to keep American troops in Syria. The top Iranian diplomat described the US military presence in the conflict-ridden Arab country as illegal. He said the move is aimed at undermining Syria’s national unity. On Wednesday, Trump said if Saudi Arabia is interested in the extension of the American forces' mission in Syria, it has to pay for it. The US supports anti-Damascus militants and has repeatedly attacked Syrian army positions. Syria has, on several occasions written to the UN, complaining that the US was flagrantly violating its sovereignty.

Poisoned relations

The first group of US diplomats expelled from Russia, amid a row over the poisoning of a former spy in Britain, has left Washington’s embassy in Moscow. The diplomats and their families left the compound and headed toward the airport. Kremlin has set April 5 as the deadline for all 60 US diplomats who have been expelled to leave the country. There has been a flurry of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions since the March 4 poisoning on UK soil of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. More than 150 Russian diplomats were ordered out of the US, EU states, NATO countries and other nations as punishment. The UK deemed it highly likely that Moscow was responsible for the attack, something which the Kremlin strenuously denies.

Border deployment dispute

Mexico’s senate has issued a stern rebuke to the US president over his decree to deploy National Guard personnel to the Mexican border. The senate urges Mexico’s government to cease cooperation with the US on migration and security. The Senate passed a motion unanimously, condemning Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric toward Mexico and calling his latest decision one more insult to Mexico. This after the US president ordered to deploy military forces to the Mexican border under the pretext of stopping illegal immigrants. Rights groups have already accused the White House of violating both US and international laws by putting legitimate refugees at risk of violence and persecution in their home countries.

New York shooting

New York police have shot dead an unarmed black man in yet another case of US police violence against African Americans. The man was reportedly shot 10 times by plainclothes and uniformed officers in the city's Brooklyn borough. Police say the man pointed a metal pipe at them. The victim, identified as 34-year old Saheed Vassell, was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. After the shooting, protesters hit the streets yelling “oppressors” as they faced off police officers. Witnesses say the police gave no warning before started firing at Saheed who was known to be mentally ill.

Lula’s imprisonment imminent

Brazil's Supreme Court has rejected former president Lula da Silva's bid to delay a 12 year prison sentence for corruption. The ruling can seriously affect this year’s presidential election in Latin America's biggest country. The verdict means the former president could be arrested within days, and barred from running the upcoming election. Lula is Brazil's most popular politician on record, and polls show he is the frontrunner of the October 7 vote. From 2003 to 2011, Lula oversaw Brazil’s economic growth and falling inequality during a commodity boom. His supporters see his conviction as a ploy to stop him returning to power. Lula was found guilty last August and sentenced to prison for accepting bribes.

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