Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, June 30, 2018.
‘US efforts will fail’: Leader
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the enemies will not be able to come between the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment. Ayatollah Khamenei was speaking at the graduation ceremony of IRGC cadets at Imam Hussein University. He said the enemies have explored every avenue towards harming Iran and have now resorted to economic pressure. Iran’s Leader, however, noted that Tehran will not give in to pressures and the US will fail to do any harm. He said the Islamic Republic has managed to defeat all domestic and foreign enemies with the support of its people. Ayatollah Khamenei further slammed Washington for selling arms to some Persian Gulf Arab states and building bases in those countries in order to keep the ruling families in power.
Battle for Dara’a
A UK-based monitor says eight militant-held towns in Syria’s southwest agreed to reconcile with the government. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the towns are in Dara'a province. The reconciliation deals were brokered by Russia. Syria’s media broadcast live images from one of the liberated towns. The two provinces of Dara’a and Quneitra are mostly controlled by foreign-backed militants. The army has pledged to free all those areas and the rest of Syria.
Afghanistan ceasefire
Afghanistan’s president announces a formal end to his government's ceasefire with Taliban militants. In a news conference in the capital Kabul, Ashraf Ghani called on the militants to engage in a new round of peace talks. He said security forces can now resume their operations against the Taliban militants. In mid-June, the government and the Taliban reached a three-day truce deal. The Afghan president had extended the measure unilaterally by ten days. During the time, the militants staged several deadly attacks on Afghan forces and civilians.
Missing Thai soccer team
There is still no sign of a youth soccer team believed to have been trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for over a week now. As the search entered its seventh day, rescuers still had no idea of the whereabouts of the missing group. Heavy rain has flooded the cave and hindered search operations. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has also visited the site and called for greater efforts and more effective measures to rescue the 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach. The local soccer team visited the cave after their training session last Saturday. They have not been seen since then, but their bicycles have been found at the cave entrance.
Anti-Trump protests
Wide scale demonstrations are taking place in the United States against President Donald Trump's immigration policies. One of the first rallies began in New York City as people from all walks of life converged on the streets in protest. People have started to gather near the White House in Washington DC where the largest demonstration is expected to take place. Protests are expected in all 50 US states. Organizers say more than 750 rallies are planned across the America. The protesters are angry at the separation of children from their detained parents who crossed the US-Mexico border as part of Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy.
US ambassador quits
The United States’ ambassador to Estonia resigns his post in protest to President Donald Trump’s anti-Europe rants. James Melville described Trump's comments on NATO and the European Union as a reason for his decision to step down. Melville rejected as factually wrong, Trump’s claim that the EU was set up to take advantage of the US, or NATO is as bad as the North American Free Trade Agreement. The veteran diplomat said such remarks prove it’s time he resigned as the US envoy. Melville was nominated for the post by former President Barak Obama in 2015. The US ambassador to Panama also stepped down in January, citing Trump’s policies.
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