WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, April 21, 2019 to 0800 GMT, April 22, 2019.

US backtracks on anti-IRGC threats

The US has backtracked on its threat to penalize anyone engaged in business with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps after putting the group on its terror blacklist. According to Reuters, citing three current and three former US officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has granted exemptions to foreign governments, firms and NGOs who have dealings with the IRGC. The exemptions would allow partner governments like Iraq and Oman as well as humanitarian groups in the region such as the ones in northern Syria and Yemen, to maintain their relations with the IRGC without fear of repercussions. Washington designated the group as a terrorist organization on April 15, creating a problem for foreigners who deal with it directly or indirectly.

Ukraine’s presidential election

Final exit polls from Ukraine’s presidential election run-off confirm that comedian and satirist Volodymyr Zelenskiy is the country’s next president. With no previous political experience, his campaign focused on his difference with the other candidates rather than on any concrete policy ideas. Now, Ukrainians wait to see how and to what direction he will lead the country. Here’s a report.

Deadly attack in Mali

In Mali, an attack on an army base has left 11 soldiers dead and many more wounded. According to a local lawmaker, armed assailants, arriving in 11 vehicles, attacked the military outpost in the town of Guire in southwestern Mali. The lawmaker also said the attackers burnt the camp and took equipment. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. In the past few years, central Mali has been overrun by al-Qaeda linked terrorists. Last week, rampant violence led to the resignation of the entire Malian government which came under fire for failing to tackle terrorism.

Bloodshed in Sri Lanka 

Police in Sri Lanka say the death toll from the Sunday bomb attacks has risen to 290. About 500 people were also wounded in the bombings that rocked multiple locations including the capital, Colombo. No group has claimed responsibility yet. Authorities say 13 people, all of them Sri Lankans, have been arrested in connection with the attacks. Police have tightened security in Colombo. They say they have successfully defused an improvised pipe bomb near the city’s main airport. President Maithripala Sirisena has called a national Security Council meeting on Monday.

Pakistan PM on official Iran visit

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has officially welcomed Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in capital, Tehran. The welcoming ceremony took place at the Sa’ad-Abad palace. After that, Rouhani and Khan sat down for talks on the expansion of relations between the two countries. The Pakistani prime minister began his two-day visit on Sunday by arriving in the Iranian city of Mashhad. There, he met with local officials and paid a visit to the holy shrine of the eighth Shia Imam. This is Imran Khan’s first visit to Iran, after he became Pakistan’s prime minister last year.

Possible Trump impeachment

Chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee is not ruling out the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump, following the release of the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report. Jerrold Nadler said Trump could be impeached if it is proven than he has obstructed justice in Mueller's Russia investigation. Nadler also said Congress first needs to see Mueller’s full and un-redacted report. The redacted version says Trump has committed obstruction of justice. But, it falls short of concluding he has colluded with Russia in the 2016 US presidential election. President Trump has called the entire investigation crazy, fabricated and untrue.

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