WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, February 6, 2019 to 0800 GMT, February 7, 2019.

Brexit dispute

British Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly preparing to delay the second parliament vote on her Brexit deal until the end of February. British media say the vote will not be held next week as expected because the premier will not have renegotiated her deal in time. Meanwhile, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has put forward five demands for backing May’s deal which include a close alignment with the EU's single market. Commitments on UK participation in EU agencies and avoiding a return to a hard border in Northern Ireland are his other demands. Last month, British MPs rejected May's original Brexit agreement. They voted to demand the premier seek changes to the accord. European Council President Donald Tusk, however, has ruled out the possibility of renegotiating Britain’s departure deal. Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29.

IMF warning

The International Monetary Fund says the economic policies implemented by the Italian government will harm the poorest the most. In its annual report, the IMF warned that the policies could make the country vulnerable to a renewed crisis of market confidence. The organization added that Italy can be forced into a remarkable financial contraction, pushing its weakening economy into a recession. The IMF expects the Italian economy to grow by no more than point six percent this year, which is well below the government's estimate of one percent. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio was quick to reject the IMF report, blaming the organization for starving people for decades.

Arming terrorists in Yemen

A senior US lawmaker has called for an investigation into reports that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have transferred weapons to al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Yemen. Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel said efforts must be made to prevent such incidents from happening again. He also slammed the revelations as troubling. Engel added that the Foreign Affairs Committee must continue to press for a response to civilian casualties in Yemen. Meanwhile, a high-ranking State Department official said the agency is aware of the reports and is seeking additional information. The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to both countries. The weapons have also been used in attacks against Yemen that have killed thousands of civilians, many of them women and children.

Turkey Syria agreement

The Turkish foreign minister says work to implement an agreement between Ankara and Washington over the Syrian town of Manbij has recently accelerated. Mevlut Cavusoglu said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has asked for the immediate implementation of the deal. The accord focuses on the withdrawal of Kurdish militants from the town. Manbij is controlled by US-backed SDF forces that are allied to the Kurdish YPG. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed PKK militants.

US Israel support

United Nations diplomats say the US has resisted calls to slam Israel’s unilateral decision to end an international observer force mission in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, also known as Hebron. Kuwait and Indonesia requested a closed-door meeting to raise concerns after Israel said it will not renew the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, or TIPH. Tel Aviv claimed the mission is biased against Israeli settlers. The UN Security Council discussed Israel’s decision and every member state except Washington expressed their disapproval of the move. The UN has called on Israel to clinch a deal with the observer force to ensure its continued role in protection of Palestinians. The force was created after the massacre of 29 Palestinians by settlers in 1994.

Intra-Afghan dialog

The Taliban have hailed the two-day talks with senior Afghan politicians, held in the Russian capital, as “very successful”. Head of the Taliban delegation Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said the two sides agreed on many points, and decided to continue talks in the future. He also stated that the two sides hope to achieve a durable peace in the war-ravaged country. The Taliban official added that the group is negotiating the full withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. The Taliban, however, noted that no timetable has been agreed with the US government for the pullout of American forces.

US gun violence

The US House Committee on the Judiciary has criticized President Donald Trump for ignoring the issue of gun violence in his State of the Union address. Jerry Nadler made the remarks during the first hearing on gun violence held in the House of Representatives in nearly eight years. He slammed Congress for failing to address the issue in recent years, adding that gun violence has turned into an epidemic plaguing the United States. Nadler called on the government to take practical measures to tackle the problem. The hearing came a week ahead of the anniversary of a school shooting in the state Florida in which a gunman killed 17 people. The incident marked the deadliest high school shooting in US history.

Macedonia NATO membership

NATO states have signed an agreement with the Republic of North Macedonia, clearing the way for the Balkan state to become the alliance’s 30th member. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov led the accession protocol signing ceremony in Brussels. The process now moves to the capitals of the 29 members, where the protocol will be ratified. Greece had previously blocked its neighbor's NATO membership over a name dispute. Athens saw the former Yugoslav Republic's name as a threat to its own administrative region of Macedonia. The Balkan nation agreed to change its name to "the Republic of North Macedonia" to gain access to NATO and the European Union.