WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, September 14, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, September 15, 2017.

‘Ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar

Amnesty International says it has irrefutable evidence of systematic burning of Rohingya villages by Myanmar's security forces. The prominent rights group says a new analysis of the existing videos, satellite images and witness accounts points to 80 large-scale fires in Rakhine State over the past three weeks. An official with Amnesty International says Myanmar's security forces attack villages, shoot residents and burn down their houses. Tirana Hassan says the atrocities legally qualify as crimes against humanity. Also, a researcher with the rights advocacy group says the government is engaged in a clear campaign of ethnic cleansing against the country’s minority Rohingya Muslims.

Anti-Iran sanctions

The US Treasury Department has announced new sanctions on 11 Iranian individuals and companies. The sanctions target an engineering company, two air transport firms and an IT organization. They are accused of supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps or engaging in cyber attacks against US banks. The sanctions freeze the companies' assets in the US and prohibit US companies from doing business with them. Meanwhile, Washington has extended sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal. President Donald Trump has, however, said Iran is violating the spirit of the agreement. He refused to say whether his administration will avoid recertifying the agreement. Trump has time and again criticized the JCPOA, and his administration has continued to impose sanctions against Tehran despite the deal.

‘North Korea fires missile’

North Korea has fired an unidentified missile from its capital Pyongyang. Japan says the missile has flown over it. South Korean and US militaries say they are analyzing details of the launch. South Korea's presidential Blue House has called for an urgent National Security Council meeting. The launch comes a day after the North threatened to sink Japan and reduce the US to "ashes and darkness" for supporting sanctions on it. The US and its allies argue that tougher sanctions can force North Korea to curb its nuclear and missile programs. The North, however, says it needs the technology to respond to US provocations in the region.

No renegotiating the JCPOA

The Iranian foreign minister has reiterated that the Iran nuclear deal cannot be re-negotiated. Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter it’s time Washington began to comply with its obligations under the nuclear agreement as Iran is doing. He added that Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear deal is verified based on the provisions of the deal, and not what the US or others say. Zarif’s comments come as Bloomberg in a report claimed that US diplomats have approached European officials to see if they would support Washington’s push for extending limits on Iran’s nuclear activities. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during his trip to Britain that American authorities are still discussing what measures to adopt vis-à-vis the nuclear deal. He however noted that no final decision has been made in that regard, yet. British Prime Minister Theresa May also stressed the importance of the Iran nuclear deal to Tillerson during a brief meeting in London.

Syria gains

The Syrian army has made further gains in its battle against Daesh terrorists in the strategic eastern province of Dayr Al-Zawr. Backed by allied forces, government troops managed to liberate the key village of Baqeliyah in northwestern Dayr Al-Zawr. The swift advance comes following intense clashes with the Takfiri group on Wednesday. Engineering units are destroying mines planted by the terrorists around the village. Syrian forces have also regained control of a water-pumping station in the region. Earlier this month the army broke a three-year-long Daesh siege on Dayr al-Zawr city, the provincial capital of the oil-rich province.

Russia drills

Russia says the West is whipping up hysteria over its ongoing joint military drills with Belarus. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also rejected NATO claims that Moscow is not being transparent regarding the war games. Peskov added that the drills are something normal that any other country might also conduct. The exercises kicked off under the code-name ZAPAD on Thursday. Moscow says nearly 13,000 troops are involved in the drills, but NATO believes the number is much higher. Russia also insists that the maneuvers are purely of a defensive nature and not directed at any other country or group.

Iran’s aid for Rohingya

Iran has dispatched its first humanitarian aid package for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The shipment was prepared and sent by Iran’s Red Crescent Organization and includes nearly forty metric tons of food and medical supplies. An evaluative team has also been deployed to Bangladesh to see how and when the next aid deliveries could be made. Tehran has expressed readiness to set up makeshift hospitals in the areas, where the displaced Rohingya are now staying. Red Crescent officials say the Myanmar government has refused to allow the delivery of such humanitarian aid to the persecuted Rohingya Muslims inside the Southeast Asian country. Nearly 400,000 Rohingya have fled the violence in their home country and made their way to neighboring Bangladesh.

Trump humiliates AG Sessions

New revelations indicate that US President Donald Trump unleashed a string of insults on his Attorney General after a special counsel was appointed to investigate alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia. According to a New York Times report, the President accused Jeff Sessions of disloyalty after he learnt about the counsel, calling him an idiot. President Trump blamed Sessions for the appointment of Robert S. Muller, saying the Attorney General shouldn’t have recused himself from the Justice Department’s Russia investigation. According to the report, Trump had also asked Sessions to resign. The Attorney General had reportedly told the President at the time that he would quit. Trump, however, rejected Sessions’s resignation after a number of his advisors argued that dismissing the Attorney General would only create more problems for the president who had already fired former FBI director James Comey.

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

www.presstv.co.uk