WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, March 27, 2019 to 0800 GMT, March 28, 2019.

Rejecting US's Golan move

The United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting at Syria’s request regarding the US decision to recognize the occupied Golan Heights as Israeli territory. At the meeting, all member states, except the US, condemned Washington’s decision. The UK ambassador said the US move was in violation of Security Council resolutions. The Russian envoy said the decision not only violates international law but also complicates the Syria peace process. South Africa said the Security Council would have acted without hesitation if the violations had been committed by any regime other than Israel. The Syrian envoy stressed that the US decision was null and void, with no legal effect.

Israeli attacks on Syria

Israeli warplanes have fired several missiles toward Syria’s northern city of Aleppo. In a statement, the Syrian army said its air defenses managed to shot down a number of the missiles. There has been no reports of casualties as of yet. Over the past years, Israel has frequently attacked targets in Syria. Last year, several Syrian military bases located in the provinces of Hama and Aleppo came under Israel’s missile fire. Damascus says Israeli airstrikes help terror groups operate inside Syria.

Brexit talks

British lawmakers have approved a piece of legislation to delay the date  rejected all eight different proposals for the future of Brexit. The voting was an effort to break a deadlock in the parliament, which has so far rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal twice. Earlier, May said she would be ready to step down, if her Brexit deal was approved by the parliament. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacted to May’s offer, saying that showed her Brexit talks were "about party management, not the public interest". Meanwhile, May suffers fresh setback as the DUP, a unionist political party in Northern Ireland, announced that it would vote against her deal for the third time.

US ruling on Iran rejected by Luxembourg

Iran’s foreign ministry says the United States must realize that it cannot steal Iranians’ wealth by fabricating lies. The ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi said, the US has attempted to turn the world public opinion against Iran at a heavy cost. He added, Washington must realize that the Iranian nation is different from the countries which earn the US support at the expense of giving their people’s wealth. Qasemi was reacting to a Luxembourg court ruling that refused to uphold a US court decision against Iran. Back in 2012, the court accused Iran of supporting al-Qaeda that carried out the 9/11 attacks. The American court ruled to help victims’ families claim with Iranian assets worth 1.6 billion dollars held by a Luxembourg-based clearing house. Iran has denied any involvement in the attacks, and described the Luxembourg court ruling as a success.

Secret US-Saudi deal

The United States has reportedly approved six secret contracts to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia. According to Reuters, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has provided his stamp of authorization for American companies to start preliminary nuclear-related works. An un-identified source has been quoted as saying that no deal has reached yet to ship equipment that would go into a plant. The companies, which were approached by Riyadh, have requested their cases to be kept secret. The administration of President Donald Trump has pursued a wider deal on sharing US nuclear technology with the Saudis. The kingdom aims to build at least two nuclear plants. Many American lawmakers are concerned that sharing such technology with Riyadh could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Algeria protests

Protesters have gathered in the Algerian capital demanding the overthrow of the entire political elite and criticizing the army’s plan to declare President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit for office. The protesters described the plan as “another conspiracy against the Algerian people.” The idea is based on the Article 102 of the constitution which signals an end to Bouteflika’s 20-year rule. According to the article, Chairman of Parliament's Upper House, Abdelkader Bensalah, would serve as caretaker president for at least 45 days in the nation of more than 40 million people. Meanwhile, Algeria's Army Chief, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, said the country's military remains committed to its role according to the constitution.

Japan's oil imports

A Japanese government official says the country has extended state-backed insurance to cover oil imports from Iran. The official told Reuters that the measure was approved by parliament on Wednesday, and will take effect from April for one year. The approval allows Japanese refiners to continue loading oil cargoes from Iran, although they still need a US waiver on sanctions against Tehran. Japanese refiners have been pushing Tokyo to extend the waiver after it expires in early May. Japan, South Korea, India and China are among the countries that were granted a waiver to buy the Iranian oil, after the US re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic last year. The sanctions had been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal BUT the US resumed its anti-Tehran measures after unilaterally withdrawing from the accord last May.

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