WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, July 18, 2018 to 0800 GMT, July 19, 2018.

Syria evacuates people from Idlib

Thousands of people are being evacuated from two towns besieged by militants in Syria’s northwest. The towns of Foua and Kafarya are in Idlib province. Eighty eight buses along with Red Crescent ambulances entered the area to evacuate some seven thousand residents. Earlier, the Syrian army reached a deal with the foreign-backed militants over the evacuation. The government will in return release 1500 prisoners linked to militant groups. Foua and Kafarya have been surrounded by armed groups for years. Thousands of locals have already left the towns under similar deals.

Yemen retaliatory attack

One of Yemen's biggest political organizations hails what it describes as a successful attack on Saudi oil giant, Aramco. Ansarullah says a long-range drone hit the facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Ansarullah also says economic targets are ideal for retaliatory attacks. The group, whose forces back the Yemeni army, pledged to intensify such operations in the future. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been conducting almost daily airstrikes on Yemen. The war has so far killed nearly 15,000 Yemenis.

‘US businesses hurt’

The US Federal Reserve chairman admits that American firms are being hurt by the exchange of tariffs on key products. Jerome Powell said there is a rising chorus of concerns among individual companies in the US. Powell warned the issue affects investment decisions. He said the US protectionist economy is less competitive and productive. Powell said lower economic activity could push up prices. The International Monetary Fund’s chief also warns the US economy is vulnerable to damage from the global trade war. Christine Lagarde said there are signs global growth could begin to decline.

NGO slams UK arms sales

A UK-based NGO says Britain, in 2017, doubled arms sales to regimes blacklisted by the Foreign Office as human rights abusers. The Campaign Against Arms Trade said London sold arms to 18 regimes including Saudi Arabia Bahrain and Israel. The CAAT also revealed the government and arms companies failed to monitor or evaluate how the military hardware is being used. It said London provides dictatorships with the means to kill and a huge degree of political support. The report shows Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of British arms. It also highlights the central role of UK-made fighter jets and bombs in the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Israeli controversial bill

Israeli lawmakers have passed a controversial bill that would allow the establishment of Jewish-only communities. The law, which declares an exclusive right of self-determination for Jews, was adopted by a vote of 62-55. It strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew. The Israeli prime minister hailed the vote as a defining moment in the annals of Zionism. Palestinian members of the Knesset, however, called it an instance of apartheid. The law had drawn criticism by a wide range of NGOs and rights groups as a racist bill that would divide the society. Palestinians in the occupied territories form about 20 percent of the population.

Trump damage control

The US president has once again contradicted himself. Donald Trump now says he holds his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin responsible for meddling in the 2016 US election. The US president said that in his talks with Putin, he was very strong on the fact that Moscow cannot meddle in the US voting processes. Trump said he accepts Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats’ assessment that Russia continues to be a threat to US elections. This was in contradiction with his earlier remarks at a cabinet meeting.

Iran nuclear deal

Iran says it will stay in the 2015 nuclear deal only if the other signatories to the agreement compensate for the losses caused by Washington’s withdrawal. The statement is part of the tenth report to Parliament by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on the implementation of the nuclear deal. The report underlines that the remaining parties to the agreement should take action to secure Iran’s benefits under the deal. The statement also says that the United States will be responsible for any consequences of its unilateral and illegal pullout from the JCPOA. As mentioned in the report, Iran’s nuclear activities, especially in the field of research and development, have continued over the past three months in keeping with a plan by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Turkey state of emergency ends

A two-year state of emergency imposed after Turkey's failed 2016 coup has ended on Thursday. President Rejep Tayyip Erdogan had promised to lift the state of emergency during his re-election campaign last month. He, however, said that the government would introduce new counter-terrorism legislation and will take tougher actions against threats to Turkey’s security. The bill he talked about is due to be discussed in parliament on Thursday. Under the state of emergency hundreds of thousands were arrested or dismissed from their jobs. They were accused of supporting US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara accuses him of organizing the 2016 failed coup. Gulen denies the accusations.