WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, June 10, 2018.

SCO summit ends

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has wrapped up its 18th annual summit in China. The two-day event ended with heads of SCO permanent members signing agreements on trade, security and other issues. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit was held in the Chinese city of Qingdao. President Xi Jinping hosted leaders from other permanent members as well as observer states including Iran. During his speech at the summit, the Chinese president rejected what he described as selfish, shortsighted and narrow trade policies. He said China supports building an open world economy. His comments come amid China’s trade dispute with the United States. The dispute began after the US increased tariffs on Chinese imports.

Europe JCPOA take

Iran’s parliament speaker warns time is running out for talks with Europe on the 2015 nuclear deal. Ali Larijani says Iran can no longer wait for the agreement’s European signatories to make good on their promise to protect Tehran’s interests. Larijani also says Britain, France and Germany must make their decision swiftly or Iran will take necessary measures. The Iranian parliament speaker has also condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to get the three European governments on board with the US to scuttle the nuclear deal. Larijani says Israel is bent on pushing the Middle East into another crisis.

North Korea leader Kim in Singapore

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in Singapore for a historic summit with US President Donald Trump. Kim has already met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He is scheduled to meet Trump on June 12. Trump was in Canada to attend a meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. He has now departed for Singapore. Security is tight at and around Singapore’s Capella Hotel, where the two leaders are set to meet. The talks could end a nuclear stand-off between the two arch foes. Trump says he might invite Kim to the US if their planned summit goes well.

Iraq ballot boxes burnt

In Iraq, a storage site housing ballot boxes from the May parliamentary election has caught fire in the capital. The accident comes days after the parliament ordered a full ballot recount. Authorities say the site was divided into four warehouses, but only one of them has burned down. They say the ballot boxes belonged to the al-Rusafa district in Baghdad. Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the remaining parts. The fire happened days after the parliament passed a law, mandating a nationwide manual recount of votes from the election. There are allegations of widespread electoral violations in the May vote. The election saw al-Saeroun, a political alliance led by high-ranking cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, winning the majority of the seats.

Spain’s Basques call for independence  

Thousands of people from Spain's Basque Country have taken to the streets calling for a regional independence vote. Demonstrators joined their hands to form a human chain running over 200 kilometers. The move was organized by Basque group Gure Esku Dago meaning In Our Own Hands and ran from the city of Donostia to the Basque parliament in Gasteiz. The Spanish government, backed by the constitutional court, maintains that any voting on regional independence is illegal. Catalonia voted for independence in a referendum last October, but Madrid responded harshly to the move, annulled its result and arrested independence leaders.

DR Congo politics

Thousands of anti-government protesters have held a rally in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa, calling for a united front in the presidential election. The demonstrators gathered to hear a message from opposition leader Moise Katumbi who is in exile. He appeared via Skype to address his supporters. Katumbi urged the crowed to present a common candidate at the presidential election. He argued that this is the only way to bar President Joseph Kabila from being elected to the office for the third time. Protesters called for a free and democratic election that is scheduled for December 23.