World Echo

An ​Indian pollution regulator has alleged that wastewater discharged from a Tata components factory for Apple's iPhone has contaminated the ‌groundwater for nearby farms and warned of a forced shutdown unless Tata gives a satisfactory explanation. India's Tata Electronics is central to Apple's push to diversify iPhone production beyond China and is the second-biggest supplier to Apple in South Asia after Taiwan's Foxconn. The Tata plant under investigation is in Hosur in southern Tamil ​Nadu state and makes back panels and other components for iPhones. Farmland owners near the plant had complained for months ​to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board that wastewater from the factory was contaminating their land and ⁠open wells. The complaints led to five state inspections between December 2025 and May 2026, according to details from a previously unreported regulatory ​notice dated May 25 and reviewed by Reuters. The inspections found that Tata discharged w...

An Indian military transport plane crashed on Saturday while landing at an air force station in the country’s remote northeast, the military said in a statement. The Russian-made Antonov An-32 “met with an accident today while landing at Jorhat,” a city in Assam state, the air force said. The statement gave no details of casualties and did not say how many people were on board at the time. “A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident,” it said. News channel NDTV broadcast images of the crash site, showing a thick black plume of smoke and the aircraft apparently broken into pieces. The An-32, a twin-engine turboprop, is specially designed to perform well at high altitudes and in extreme climates. Read: A year after deadly Air India crash, families await answers The Indian air force operates about 100 of them for military supplies and civilian aid in the country’s remotest mountain areas. The last majo...

Pope Leo on Friday issued a stern warning to human traffickers and criminal groups who exploit desperate migrants trying to reach Europe through Spain's Canary Islands, telling them to "repent" before God or face being sent to hell. On the final day of a week-long tour of Spain, in which the pontiff has urged global leaders to treat migrants more humanely, Leo said he wanted to directly address those who "take advantage of peoples' desperation (or) organise death routes". "Stop. Repent," said the first United States pope. "For every life lost, every family deceived ... you will have to appear before divine justice." "Repent while there is still time," he said, invoking the Catholic belief that someone who did evil in life must confess their sins and make amends or be sent to hell in death. Tears and blood of migrants 'cry o...

India on Friday summoned a US diplomat in New Delhi for the second time in a week to protest attacks on vessels off the coast of Oman amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, official sources told Anadolu. Jason Meeks, the charge d’Affaires of the US diplomatic mission, was summoned to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to protest attacks on commercial vessels, the sources said. On Thursday, the Indian government said that at least three Indians were killed after US forces targeted the vessels off the coast of Oman. Previously, New Delhi had summoned Meeks on Wednesday to protest the attacks. An Indian External Affairs Ministry official said Thursday that the US Navy launched attacks on three vessels that carried Indians off the coast of Oman. Read: Trump says Iran war deal close as Strait of Hormuz tensions linger All the vessels were foreign-flagged but carried Indian seamen. According to the US Central Command, it disabled Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer an...

Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups will meet in France on Friday to urge the international community not to abandon a two-state solution, as Paris seeks to keep the issue alive amid the Middle East war. The meeting, attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from dozens of countries, marks one year since the United Nations-backed New York Declaration, which set out a roadmap toward Palestinian statehood and prompted around a dozen countries, including France, Britain and Canada, to recognise a Palestinian state. "Given the current situation in the region, marked by seemingly endless conflicts, too many civilian casualties and a cycle of violence, and in light of the stalled implementation of the Gaza ceasefire ... we believe this conference is now more essential and urgent than ever,” France's Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Thursday. Re...

Bangladesh and India have agreed to deepen cooperation along their shared border with improved intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols, according to a joint statement released on Friday, amid strained relations over alleged undocumented migration. Dhaka has accused Indian authorities of attempting to force migrants across the border without due process, complicating efforts to stabilise ties following the 2024 ousting of Sheikh Hasina and India’s broader effort to identify and deport undocumented migrants. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) described the discussions as “cordial, positive and forward-looking”, according to the statement released at the end of a four-day meeting of top border officials in New Delhi. The regular talks also covered “illegal, inadvertent and forcible crossing ...