WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, June 8, 2018 to 0800 GMT, June 9, 2018.

US ‘illegal’ tariffs

The US president says progress has been made in trade talks with Canada. Donald Trump made the remarks as he met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Quebec. Trump said G7 leaders would manage to agree on a joint statement amid a dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs. Meanwhile, the Canadian foreign minister described the US tariffs as illegal.

Separated families in US

An increasing number of illegal immigrant children are being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border due to Washington’s new controversial immigration policy. A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, that the family partitions have sharply increased over the past weeks. This comes after the Donald Trump administration said there were over 600 family separations in a two-week period in May. The administration made the announcement after the implementation of the new zero tolerance policy toward illegal migrants. Before the policy came into force, there were nearly 1800 family separations in the 17 months through February of this year. The zero tolerance means all illegal migrants are arrested and criminally charged after entering the US. This leads to children being separated from their parents. The policy has been denounced by the United Nations as well as rights activists.

Save African children

The United Nations has warned that malnourishment is threatening the lives of half of all under-five-year-olds in Africa’s Lake Chad region. The top UN aid chiefs for the region said nearly 500,000 children of that age group are suffering from severe malnutrition. This is besides some five million older people who are acutely food insecure. The UN coordinators for Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon issued the warning. They said the world body needs 1.5 billion dollars to fund humanitarian operations there, but is receiving only a third of the funding. They added that lower financial support directly affects food rations, as well as other basic services. The Lake Chad region has been the hotbed of Boko Haram terrorist operations since 2009. The coordinators said this has fueled the crisis.

UN Gaza meeting

Palestine has called for international protection for its people as more civilians get killed by Israeli forces. The Palestinian envoy has also called on the United Nations General Assembly to adopt a resolution seeking investigations into the killings in the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, the United States vetoed a draft resolution that condemned Israel's use of force against Palestinians. An emergency UN General Assembly meeting has also been called for Wednesday in this regard. The session was scheduled after Mansour and representatives of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation met with General Assembly President to request the meeting. The developments unfold as more Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli soldiers on Friday as they were marking International Quds Day in Gaza.

G7 division

Divisions between the US and its allies were laid bare on the summit of the group of seven industrialized countries in Canada, lowering expectations for a breakthrough at the talks. Media reports say Washington's G7 allies contradicted trade tariffs recently imposed by the administration of US president Donald Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sided with his European and Japanese colleagues against what he called the illegal tariffs. Ahead of the summit, the US allies had voiced their opposition to the tariffs, saying they can spark a damaging trade war. Trump unilaterally imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. The move has outraged his allies.

Warning on Yemen assault

A senior UN official has warned that an anticipated Saudi-led assault on the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah could cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Larke said humanitarian agencies in Yemen are deeply concerned about a possible attack. He added the UN and its partners estimate that as many as 600,000 civilians are currently living in and around Hudaydah. He said the port city is the single most important point of entry for the food and basic supplies into war-ravaged Yemen. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross also expressed misgivings over the situation in Yemen.

Afghanistan ceasefire

The Taliban have agreed to a ceasefire with the Afghan government on Eid al-Fitr celebrations that mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The militant group agreed to the truce two days after it was announced by President Ashraf Ghani. The ceasefire will begin either on Friday or Saturday, as Eid al-Fitr falls on one of these days. The government had said the ceasefire would last for a week, and would exclude Daesh and other terror outfits. But the Taliban say they will stop fighting for three days adding that they will defend themselves, if attacked. They’ve also pledged to continue their operations against foreign forces. The Taliban have been fighting the Afghan government, since their regime was ousted 17 years ago.

Israeli violence

Israeli forces continue their brutal tactic against Palestinians holding anti-occupation protest in the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian man was struck in the face by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces near the so-called buffer zone on Friday.  The horrific scene captured on camera shows the 23-year-old Palestinian splattered in blood with the gas-spewing projectile embedded next to his nose. Witnesses said Haitham Abu Sabla was hit while he was watching protesters taking part in Friday’s rally east of Khan Younis town. According to a Gaza hospital official, the victim has been placed on life support after the canister was removed by surgery. Four Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli soldiers on Friday as they were marking International Quds Day in Gaza.