WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 0900 GMT to 1700 GMT, October 5, 2018.

Afghanistan rejects US plan to privatize war

Afghanistan has rejected plans offered by an American private military company to take over training and advising Afghan armed forces. A national security advisor to the Afghan president condemned the move, calling it destructive and divisive. The advisor said the Afghan government and people will never allow the counterterrorism fight to become “a private, for-profit business”. US Defense Secretary James Mattis had earlier rejected the plan, saying the move is not a wise idea. Human Rights Watch has already warned against US efforts to privatize its war in Afghanistan, arguing that the move endangers civilian lives. The reactions come as the founder of private military contractor, Academi, has been lobbying to privatize parts of US military operations in Afghanistan for more than a year. The company, formerly known as Blackwater, has a notorious record in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded its 2018 Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leads a hospital in the eastern city of Bukavu. Murad is an advocate for the Izadi minority in Iraq and for refugees and women’s rights in general. She was enslaved and raped by Daesh terrorists in the city of Mosul in 2014.

Indonesia quake

Indonesian officials say the number of those missing following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami is over 1,000. A spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency says more than 1,000 houses have been buried by the tsunami, so the estimated figure would make sense. Authorities had earlier said some 100 people were unaccounted for. Search and rescue workers are continuing their efforts to find any possible survivors. The death toll from the disaster has risen to over 1,500. The United Nations says nearly 200,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

EU-Iran trade ties

The head of the European Commission says the EU is sticking to its agreement to safeguard financial transactions with Iran. Jean Claude Juncker says the bloc is in intensive talks with Americans while sticking to the agreement with Tehran. Juncker says Europeans have to stand by their word with regard to Iran. On September 24, the EU announced that it will establish a mechanism for direct payments to Iran to offset the US sanctions on financial transactions with the country. The so-called Special Purpose Vehicle was announced after a meeting in New York between Iran and the five remaining signatories to the nuclear deal. The EU said the vehicle will assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran. It comes following the US unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

Russia-India missile deal

India has agreed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 surface to air missile systems, disregarding US warnings that such a purchase could trigger sanctions. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the deal was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for an annual summit. The contract is estimated to be worth more than five-billion dollars and gives the Indian military the ability to shoot down aircraft and missiles at unprecedented ranges. The United States has said countries trading with Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors would face automatic sanctions under the US law. Last month, Washington imposed sanctions on China’s military for its purchase of combat fighters as well as the S-400 missile system from Russia this year.

South Korea ex-president jailed

South Korea’s former president Lee Myung-bak has become the latest among a series of political and business leaders who have faced convictions for corruption. Lee was handed 15 years in prison by a court in Seoul. He was convicted of accepting illegal payments of around ten-million dollars from major South Korean companies such as Samsung. Lee is the fourth former South Korean president to be jailed. His successor Park Geun-hye was also sentenced to 24 years in prison in April for influence-peddling.

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