WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, April 14, 2019 to 0800 GMT, April 15, 2019.

Finland elections

Finland's leftist Social Democrats have clinched a narrow victory in Sunday's general elections, which also saw a surge for the far-right Finns Party. Rinne’s party secured 40 seats in parliament on an anti-austerity agenda. Only point two percent of the votes separated Social democrats from the Finns Party that won 39 seats. The far-right party that campaigned almost entirely on an anti-immigration platform, more than doubled its presence in parliament. The conservative National Coalition Party came in third with 38 seats. Finnish governments are typically a coalition of three or four parties that form the minimum 101-seat majority in parliament. Outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipila said his Center Party was the election's biggest loser. The voter turnout at Sunday’s election is estimated at around 72 percent.

‘Ridiculous’ US claim

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denounced US claim of Tehran’s intervention in Venezuela, calling it preposterous. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Moussavi, said Donald Trump’s administration wants to once again transform Latin America into US backyard, ignoring the fact that the nations of the world have been awakened. Moussavi said while Venezuela’s government has requested the Iranian experts to help improve the water and electricity system there; the United States has plundered 30-billion dollars of Venezuela’s currency reserves. He noted that Washington has targeted the Venezuelan people with economic terrorism and asked them to either revolt against their legitimate government or starve. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, claimed last week that Iran has a financial presence in South America and remains a global threat.

Anti-Israeli sentiments

An Israeli delegation has dropped its plan to take part in a scheduled business conference in Bahrain. The organizers of the conference said the Israeli team cancelled its participation citing security reasons. This comes after members of parliament in Bahrain condemned the attendance of Israelis in the four-day event that starts in Manama on Monday. Some protests were also held in the city against the visit. In February, Israeli media said Bahrain had informed Tel Aviv two years ago that it was interested in normalizing bilateral ties.

Sudan situation

Sudan's transitional military council has arrested members of the former government of President Omar al-Bashir as it tries to appease anti-government demonstrators. The council has vowed to reform the country’s intelligence service and refrain from dispersing protesters. It has also called on the opposition to pick the next prime minister. On Thursday, the military council removed Bashir after months of demonstrations against his three-decade rule. It has pledged to hand over power to a civilian government after a transitional period. But, protesters demand the military do so immediately. Since December, Sudan has witnessed rallies sparked by rising food prices.

Ukraine solo debate

With just one week remaining until Ukraine's presidential election run-off, President Petro Poroshenko has held a one-man debate in the country's largest sports stadium. Poroshenko spoke alone to the audience in the capital Kiev since his rival Volodymyr Zelenksy didn’t attend the event. Both candidates agreed to the televised debate but failed to reach a consensus on the date it would take place. The incumbent used his 45-minute wait at the podium to answer journalists' questions and attack his absent rival. Zelenksy has so far ignored the usual rules around campaigning. He staged no rallies, gave few interviews and communicated with his supporters via social media.

Iran's enrichment right

Iranian Foreign Minister slams a comment purportedly made by the French ambassador to the US over Tehran’s right to uranium enrichment after 2025. In a tweet, Mohammad Javad Zarif said neither the nuclear deal, nor the Non-Proliferation Treaty or the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 prohibits Iran from enriching uranium now, in 2025, or beyond. The Iranian top diplomat urged the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal to read the document they signed on to, and pledged to defend. On Sunday, Iran summoned the French envoy to Tehran to protest remarks made by his counterpart Washington. The French envoy to the US has reportedly rejected Tehran’s right to uranium enrichment after 2025 when the Iran nuclear deal terminates.

Saudi war on Yemen

A non-profit research group says Saudi Arabia is looking for a way to pull out of its war on Yemen but does not know how. The International Crisis Group has made the conclusion based on what its high-ranking officials have witnessed during their trips to Yemen, and after holding talks with officials from the Saudi-led coalition. The group, which studies ways to end conflicts across the world, says Riyadh needs to find a political exit to the crisis. It also advised the Saudi rulers to accept the realities about the Ansarullah group and the fact that they won’t surrender through military means. The International Crisis group also urged the US to lead the way by finding its own exit. The group added that Washington is culpable for the calamity befalling Yemen and can play a crucial role to end the conflict by stopping its arms shipments to the Saudis.

Trump's ‘hateful rhetoric’

The United States house speaker has expressed concern over the safety of Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar, following the president's recent twitter post against her. Nancy Pelosi said that Donald Trump’s tweet and his hateful and inflammatory rhetoric creates real danger to the congresswoman. She added that she spoke with the sergeant-at-arms to ensure that Capitol Police are conducting a security assessment to safeguard Ilhan Omar, her family and her staff. Pelosi also urged the president to take down what she described as his disrespectful and dangerous video. Meanwhile the White House defended Trump’s move, denying incitement of violence against Omar. In a twitter post, President Trump featured a clip of Omar's speech and combined it with footage from nine-eleven attacks. In her speeches, Omar had described nine-eleven as some people did something.

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