WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, May 1, 2019 to 0800 GMT, May 2, 2019.

Venezuela coup attempt

The Venezuelan president has declared victory over an attempted coup in the Latin American country. Nicolas Maduro was addressing tens of thousands of supporters during a rally in the capital Caracas. He accused US National Security advisor John Bolton of orchestrating the attempt to topple his government. Maduro stressed that supporters of his predecessor Hugo Chavez remained committed to the late leader's socialist ideals. The Venezuelan president said he will reveal more details about the events of the past two days in the near future.

Saudi war on Yemen

The Saudi-led military coalition has launched several airstrikes in Yemen, targeting an air base adjoining Sanaa's airport. Al-Masirah TV, run by the Ansarullah movement, confirmed 13 airstrikes on al-Dulaimi air base. The Saudi-led coalition earlier said that Ansarullah fighters were using the airbase in the capital to launch drone and ballistic missile attacks. Saudi Arabia, along with some of its allies, launched a war on Yemen in March 2015. The onslaught has left over 15,000 Yemenis dead and pushed millions to the verge of starvation. The war has also devastated most of the country’s infrastructure.

Mueller report row

The US attorney general will reportedly not testify before the House of Representatives in connection with the so-called Mueller report on the president's alleged Russia ties. The Justice Department has reportedly told the House Judiciary Committee that William Barr would decline to testify before the panel on Thursday. The refusal comes amid disagreements over the format of the hearing. On Wednesday, Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and defended his decision to clear President Donald Trump of criminal obstruction of justice in the Russia inquiry. He also criticized special counsel Robert Mueller for not reaching a conclusion of his own on the issue in his report. Democrats accuse Barr of trying to protect the Republican president, who is seeking re-election next year.

Criticizing US sanctions

Qatar says tightening sanctions on Iran’s energy sector will harm countries that rely on the Iranian oil supplies. Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that the unilateral US sanctions do not help resolve crises which must be settled through dialog. The United States has urged buyers of Iranian crude to stop their purchases by May First. This ends six months of waivers that were given to Iran’s customers to import limited volumes. Washington has threatened to take punitive measures against Iranian oil importers.

Assange to stand trial

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is scheduled to appear in a British court on Thursday for his first hearing over an extradition request from the United States. The US has requested for extradition of the Australian whistleblower so that he could face charges of conspiracy for working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Manning passed hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, exposing the US military wrong-doing in the Iraq war, and diplomatic secrets about scores of countries. Assange was arrested on April 11 after spending seven years in Ecuador’s embassy in London. On Wednesday, a British judge sentenced Assange to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.

No to racism

Thousands of people in Austria take part in an opposition party rally amid calls for the resignation of the governing right-wing party’s leader. Heinz Christian Strache and his far-right Freedom Party are accused of adopting racist anti-Islam policies. Strache recently caused controversy by saying he would fight the “replacement” of the native Austrian population.

US arms sales

A new study shows the US signed more than one billion dollars in new missile contracts in the three months since its withdrawal from a key arms control treaty with Russia. The study was conducted by two anti-nuclear campaign groups PAX and ICAN. They reported that 1.1 billion dollars worth of new contracts were signed with six mainly US companies. Campaigners warned that the pullout from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has fired the starting pistol on a new Cold War. US President Donald Trump announced last October that his country would leave the INF agreement, concluded between the US, and the former Soviet Union in 1987. Russia responded by saying that it would also leave the pact. The US accuses Russia of violating the INF; a charge that Moscow denies.

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