World Echo

French high school student protests resumed on Monday on a much smaller scale than in past weeks as pupils returned from a two-week break, with youngsters trying to blockade a few high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, French media reported. Hundreds of France's more than 3,000 high schools were blockaded in the weeks prior to the break. The protests, which began in the Paris suburbs in September, have spread across France and broadened beyond education to focus on the cost of living, drawing in trade unionists and activists and sometimes turning violent. A wave of so-called "Gen Z" protests has swept across European countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium and Albania, driven by grievances including the cost of living, the poor state of schools and perceived corruption Last month French protests degenerated into violent clashes with the police and outright riots in several cities, with shops looted, in a test for President Emmanuel Macron's minority ...

Iran's strikes on more than two dozen US bases in the Middle East focused on early-warning systems before hitting aircraft and buildings, causing billions of dollars in equipment damage, according to an Associated Press analysis. The AP independently verified damage to American targets using satellite imagery from multiple providers and spoke to four regional officials who were briefed or have firsthand knowledge of what was hit. The AP found that, through August, more than 115 drone or missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iranian-backed militias damaged or destroyed structures on 26 military bases and other sites with US equipment. The AP found that Iran initially focused its attacks on aircraft hangars and systems that detect incoming strikes, clearing the way for further strikes on warehouses, troop housing and more. The damage has significantly reshaped the American foothold in the Middle East, with two regional officials saying the US has moved many of its assets out of ...

Bangladesh recorded its highest monthly dengue death toll of the year in October, with experts warning the outbreak is unlikely to ease significantly before December. The outbreak has killed 418 people and led to more than 133,000 hospital admissions this year as of October 30, according to health ministry data. October alone accounted for 173 deaths, surpassing September's 148 and making it the deadliest month of 2026 so far. The surge comes as Bangladesh is also battling the world's worst measles outbreak, which has killed more than 1,200 people, placing additional strain on an already stretched healthcare system. Doctors said many dengue patients were only seeking hospital admission after developing severe complications. At the state-run Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka, 279 dengue patients were being treated after 67 new admissions in a single day, hospital director Mirza Golam Sarwar said. "We are getting many patients in shock. Their...

Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators on Saturday to discuss paths out of war in the Gulf, a source who was briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, as diplomats try to avert new fighting after the US midterm elections this week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that President Donald Trump has not decided whether to launch new strikes against Iran, but would prefer to resolve the conflict diplomatically. Trump has held off on strikes on Iran in recent weeks ahead of midterm elections that will determine whether his Republican Party will retain its thin majorities in both houses of the US Congress. Saturday's talks in the Qatari capital followed more than 12 hours of discussions on Friday between Iranian and Qatari envoys in Tehran, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source said the talks were being coordinated in regular contacts with Washington. Countries in the region have been anticipating that Trump could...

Former conservative presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro said Friday that he fled Brazil to the United States because he was a victim of "persecution" in his country. Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday's election runoff to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, secretly left Brazil on Tuesday and arrived in Florida aboard a private jet on Wednesday after traveling through Argentina and Ecuador. "The persecution began even sooner than I imagined," the senator said during an Instagram livestream in which he discussed his decision to flee after his Brazilian passports were canceled as part of a money laundering investigation. In the video, he recounted how police informed him Monday that his passports were being revoked as he left a visit to his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest. "With tears in his eyes, he told me: 'You know where they're going with this, don't you?'" he said of his father. "I told...

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday that "discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria's entry into the Makkah alliance", a regional pact that brings together Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Shaibani’s remarks came during a regional security session at the Manama Dialogue 2026, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). He said Damascus was an "integral" part of regional security and would support any framework aimed at protecting regional stability. The minister stressed that the region was "in greater need than ever" of developing joint deterrence and defence systems. Addressing the conflict in Yemen, Shaibani reaffirmed Syria's support for the Yemeni government in restoring its sovereignty and stability across the country. He also urged all parties to support the unity and sovereignty of states. Separately, the Syrian foreign minister said Israel has carried out more than 1,...