World Echo

US lawmakers expressed support for the families of the victims of a fatal shooting at the Islamic Centre of San Diego on Monday. Authorities said that five people, including two suspected shooters, were killed in the incident. California Senator Adam Schiff said on X that he is “heartbroken" by the shooting. "My prayers are with the families of the three precious lives lost today,” he said. I’m heartbroken by the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and my prayers are with the families of the three precious lives lost today. Today's shooting is a horrific attack on Southern California's Muslim community. Every American should be able to practice their faith… — Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) May 18, 2026 “Today's shooting is a horrific attack on Southern California's Muslim community. Every American should be able to practice their faith without fear of violence. And we must never be silent in the face of...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart and his "long-time good friend" Xi Jinping, intending to show their ties are unshakeable days after a visit by Donald Trump. The confirmation of Putin's trip came just hours after Trump wrapped up his visit on Friday, the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade and one aimed at stabilising their turbulent relations. Putin and Xi are set to discuss how to "further strengthen" Russia and China's strategic partnership and "exchange views on key international and regional issues", according to a Kremlin statement. Their ties have deepened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Putin visiting Beijing every year since. Moscow is diplomatically isolated on the global stage and is heavily dependent economically on Beijing, with China now the main buyer of sanctioned Russian oil. Setting warm tones for the visit, the two ...

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been discharged from a cardiac care unit and sent home, weeks after being transferred from prison to hospital following a suspected heart attack, a foundation run by her family said on Monday. Mohammadi, 54, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison for her campaign to advance women's rights and abolish the death penalty in Iran. She was sentenced to a new prison term, the foundation said in February this year, in the build-up to the US and Israeli war against Iran. She suffered a suspected heart attack in late March and was transferred to a hospital a month later, first in the northwest city of Zanjan, then, after a temporary suspension of her sentence on heavy bail, to Tehran's Pars Hospital, the foundation has said. "Her recovery demands strict medical supervision outside prison walls. Returning her to detention is a death sentence," the foundation quoted Mohammadi's daughter, Kiana Rahmani,...

A Trump administration-backed celebration of US religious heritage on Sunday highlighted conservative Christian leaders' ties to the president as critics expressed that the gathering did not reflect the country's diverse faith landscape. Thousands of people attended the nine-hour programme, called "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," for a mixture of popular worship music and speakers from evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholic traditions. Sunday's events included video messages from members of the Trump administration, such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. All of them generally stuck to the prevailing theme of the day, touching on the Judeo-Christian roots of the country's founders and the themes they incorporated into some landmark documents such as the Declaration of Independence. The event m...

China will address US concerns about shortages of certain speciality rare earths caused by Beijing's export controls, the White House said on Sunday in a factsheet outlining the major deals agreed during a summit last week. China's rare earth export controls - introduced in April 2025 in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs - continue to tightly restrict exports of some rare earths despite a deal last October in which the White House says China agreed to allow shipments to freely flow. Beijing's grip has been tightest over speciality rare earths such as yttrium and scandium, used in defence, aerospace and chipmaking, both of which were highlighted in the factsheet. Also Read: Trump says US and China are aligned on Iran, Tehran must make a deal soon "China will address US concerns regarding supply chain shortages related to rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium," it rea...

North America’s largest commuter rail system, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), shut down early Saturday after five unions representing nearly half of its workforce went on strike across the New York City area, according to media reports. The Washington Times reported that the strike followed months of deadlocked contract negotiations over wages and healthcare premiums, despite mediation efforts by the administration of Donald Trump. Union leaders said no new talks were scheduled, according to the daily. “We’re far apart at this point,” Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.” Read: Epstein files on display at New York pop-up exhibit, all 3.5 million pages Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Janno Lieber accused unions of planning the walkout regardless of concessions, saying the agency “gave the union e...