WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEALDINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, November 1, 2017 to 08:00 GMT, November 2, 2017.

NYC truck attack suspect ‘enemy combatant’

The perpetrator of a deadly attack in New York City has been charged with terrorism offenses. Sayfullo Saipov appeared at a Manhattan federal courtroom in a wheelchair. His lawyer did not seek bail as Saipov was ordered to remain in custody. Authorities say the assailant drove a truck down cycle path intentionally, killing eight people, before being shot by police. The FBI says it has apprehended a second man in connection with the attack. Meanwhile, the US government says it would consider Saipov as an enemy combatant. Rights groups have accused the White House of double standards by tapping into domestic feeling to further political objectives based on religion or ethnicity.

Israeli crackdown

Israeli forces have used teargas and live ammunition to suppress protests denouncing the infamous Balfour Declaration in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The Palestinians were attacked as they took to the streets on the one-hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration that supported the establishment of Israel. At least one person was injured and many others suffered from tear gas inhalation as they marched from the southern and northern ends of the city toward the separation wall. During the march, Palestinians hurled stones and shoes at the effigy of the author of the declaration, Arthur Balfour, while burning a copy of the declaration. The march was called by various Palestinian factions to denounce the declaration and the recent comments of the British prime minister celebrating the centenary of the declaration.

Abadi accuses Kurds of ‘reneging’ on deal

The Iraqi Prime Minister has accused the Kurdish regional government of reneging on an agreement to withdraw their forces from disputed zones in the north of the country. Speaking to journalists, Haider al-Abadi, said Kurdish Peshmerga forces had gone back on the accord reached on Sunday for the pullout from a border post with Turkey. Abadi added that Iraqi security forces would enforce the full law if the Peshmerga don’t stick to the agreement. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command accused the Kurdish officials of using talks to buy time in order to strengthen their defenses. It threatened to resume military operations against Kurds in the country's north. Tensions between Baghdad and Erbil have surfaced since a secession referendum by Kurds last month.

Rohingya influx

The European Union has raised the alarm about an appalling humanitarian situation the Rohingya children are facing in Bangladeshi refugee camps. The EU Commissioner described the Rohingya crisis in the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar as the biggest in decades. Christos Stylianides stressed that the number of children with acute malnutrition is beyond imagination. He said the situation in refugee camps where thousands of Rohingya Muslims have taken asylum can only be addressed with a comprehensive and coordinated humanitarian response. Meanwhile, at least 2,000 Muslims are struck at Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh as they are fleeing persecution in the South Asian country. The United Nations has described the violence against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing.

Puigdemont not to return to Spain

Catalonia's ousted president Carles Puigdemont says he will not return to Spain to face rebellion charges at a top criminal court on Thursday. His Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert, who made the announcement, says Puigdemont may be detained if he returns to the country. He says they are still waiting for further reactions from Spanish authorities and that his client has no intention of seeking asylum in Belgium. Last week, the Madrid government dismissed the Catalan president and over a dozen members of his former administration after the region declared independence from Spain. The Spanish prosecutor is seeking to charge the group with rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. They could be sentenced to 30 years in prison if found guilty.

US deadly shooting

A shooting incident at a Walmart store in the US state of Colorado has left at least three people dead. Police say the gunfire occurred in the city of Thornton, northeast of Denver. In an earlier tweet, the Thornton police said they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down”. An hour after the initial alert, police said the gunfire had ended and that there is not an active shooter at present. Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles have converged on the scene. Witnesses reportedly heard about 30 gunshots. The US is already on high alert following Tuesday's terror attack in New York.

Kurds rally for salary

Iraqi Kurdish civil servants have taken to the streets of the city of Sulaymaniyah demanding the government pay their salaries. The demonstrators also took a swipe at former KRG president, Masoud Barzani. The protesters also demanded that Baghdad “rescue the Kurdish people from tyranny”. The march came a day after the Iraqi government announced plans to start paying salaries to Kurdish Peshmerga forces and civil servants working for the Kurdistan Regional Government. The semi-autonomous region has been struggling to pay the Peshmerga and other employees since 2014 after a dispute over oil-sharing revenue with Baghdad.

Compensation for Balfour Declaration

The Palestinian government has renewed calls on the UK to apologize for the 1917 Balfour Declaration which triggered the creation of the Israeli regime decades later. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement on the 100th anniversary of the controversial declaration, saying the British government must also recognize the state of Palestine. The PA also said Britain bears responsibility for the implications of the Balfour Declaration and must compensate the disasters that have plagued the Palestinians since the declaration. A century ago on November 2, then-British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour proclaimed Britain’s support for the formation of Israel on Palestinian land. British officials say they’re proud of the declaration and would not apologize for it.

Civilian deaths alarm

Human Rights Watch has warned of an increasing loss of civilian lives in the wake of a new anti-terror policy in the US. HRW called on the Trump administration to immediately publish its so-called new policy on targeted killings outside conventional battlefields. The rights organization said President Donald Trump’s rule increases the risk of drone-related civilian deaths. US media said Trump recently approved new rules that dismantle much of the Presidential Policy Guidance on targeted killings issued in 2013 by then President Barack Obama. This change gives US forces greater latitude to attack people they consider members of armed groups. The US says it killed as many as 3,100 people from 2009 to 2016 in the so-called targeted-killing operations in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere; however, civil society groups argue that the number is much higher.

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