WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, October 4, 2018 to 0800 GMT, October 5, 2018.

US biological arms

Russia says the US is operating a secret biological weapons lab in Georgia. The Russian defense ministry says they received the information from a former state security minister in Georgia. The commander of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops says the lab is being run near the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Igor Kirillov says the lab was established in 2011 and biological warfare agents including anthrax and diseases such as the Mediterranean fever and dengue fever are being researched there. Both the US and Georgia have denied the claims.

US war in Afghanistan

A senior US general says an American soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. General Joseph Votel, who oversees US forces in the Middle East, declined to offer more details about the death. This brings to seven the number of US service members killed in Afghanistan this year. More than two-thousand American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US invaded it in 2001. The Pentagon says there are currently about 14,000 US service members in Afghanistan.

Brexit talks

European Council President Donald Tusk has warned Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May she must make a serious effort to negotiate a Brexit deal. Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Tusk added that the EU will not give up on its key interests because of Brexit. He said the bloc, however, wants to build close ties with Britain after Brexit. Tusk hit back at the UK government for comparing the EU to the Soviet Union, saying the comparison is insulting. Earlier, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had likened EU citizens to Soviet prisoners.

Saudi war on Yemen

The European Parliament has called for imposing an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia because of its deadly war on Yemen. The European lawmakers made the call in a resolution. They also urged the EU to stop selling arms and military equipment to other Saudi allies and all sides involved in the conflict. The lawmakers condemned attacks on civilians in Yemen and demanded that independent investigations into alleged human rights abuses and humanitarian law violations be carried out. Nearly 15,000 Yemenis have been killed since the start of the Saudi-led war on its neighbor in early 2015.

Israeli demolition

Israel has demolished a Palestinian home in the Negev desert, leaving a family homeless. A Palestinian mother along with her nine children lived in the torn-down home in the Kuseifeh village. Israeli officials say the Bedouins had built their home without the proper permit. But Palestinians say the building permits are almost impossible to get. Human rights groups say Israel has destroyed dozens of Palestinian villages since 2011 to pave the way for building more settlements. The plan has caused the displacement of thousands of Bedouins and the dispossession of their historical lands in the Negev.

India deportation

India has deported a number of Rohingiya refugees who had escaped a deadly army crackdown in Myanmar. The move came despite international calls on New Delhi not to put the lives of the refugees at risk.  

China-US tensions

Ridiculous and unwarranted. That’s how China has characterized Washington’s accusations that Beijing is interfering in US internal affairs. The country has emphasized that it has always followed the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called on the US to stop slandering China. The comments came after US Vice President Mike Pence accused China of trying to influence the American public opinion ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections. Pence also accused China of military aggression, commercial theft and widespread human rights violations. The two countries are already involved in a trade war which analysts say threatens the global economy.

Anti-Kavanaugh protest

US police have arrested more than 300 protesters during a rally in Washington DC against President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court. A number of celebrities and other notable personalities were among those arrested for illegally entering the Supreme Court and refusing to leave. They were part of a bigger demonstration that was going on outside the building to protest Brett Kavanaugh’s likely confirmation to the Supreme Court. A similar protest took place in front of the Trump Tower in New York City. Kavanaugh has been accused by a female university professor of sexual misconduct related to the early 1980s. But a week-long FBI report sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday found nothing to corroborate sex assault allegations against the 53-year-old judge. The Democrats denounced the report as incomplete and too narrow in scope. The Senate will hold a procedural vote on the nominee on Friday.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir