World Echo

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom it demolished the East Wing of the White House to make space for, barring work from proceeding without congressional approval. US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project. The White House quickly filed a notice to appeal while Trump fumed at the ruling. “We built many things at the White House over the years. They don't get congressional approval," he told reporters in the Oval Office a short time later. He also noted that the ruling will allow work on underground bunkers and other security measures around the White House grounds to continue – even though those will be paid for by taxpayers, not the private donors and Trump himself, whom the president has promised will cover the cost of the ballroom. Read: Donald Trump to...

At least 18 people were killed when an inflatable boat carrying migrants sank off Turkiye's western province of Mugla on Wednesday, the coastguard said in a statement, adding that search and rescue efforts continued in the area. The coastguard said the boat, with an outboard motor, was detected at 0300 GMT off the coast of Mugla's Bodrum district, and that it tried to flee despite repeated warnings to stop. The boat later took in water due to adverse weather and sea conditions in the area and sank, it added. Also Read: Coastguard rescue 52 migrants off Greece, boy missing A coastguard helicopter and three boats were dispatched to the area for search and rescue operations, the coastguard said, adding that they had rescued 21 people so far. The statement did not say where the boat had departed from or where it was heading. The Aegean Sea is a frequent transit route for thousands of migrants attempting to cross from North Africa and the Middle East into Europe, particularly from T...

A broker for United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a significant investment in major defence companies in the days before the Iran war, according to the Financial Times (FT). The Pentagon, however, has dismissed the report. According to CNBC, FT reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF. The ETF, which has about $3.1 billion in assets, counts companies such as RTX Corp, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, among its largest holdings, BlackRock data showed. The CNBC report states that according to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data, the ETF has lost 12.4% in the past month, around the time when the Iran war started. Read: Crude oil tanker off Dubai hit by Iranian strike after Trump's latest threats FT also said that the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker did not move forward as the fund wa...

Israel’s Knesset approved a controversial law on Monday allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, with 62 lawmakers voting in favour, 47 against and one abstaining, according to an official Knesset voting record. A contentious bill introduced by the far-right Jewish Power party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was approved in its second and third readings in the Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in favour of the bill, according to Israeli media. The bill passed its first reading in November. Critics say the bill’s scope would, in practice, apply almost exclusively to Palestinian prisoners, raising concerns over discriminatory enforcement. The vote exposed sharp divisions between the ruling coalition and opposition, including Arab parties. SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY The bill was heavily favoured by right-wing and religious coalition parties such as Likud (led by Netanyahu), Shas, Religious Zionism, and Jewish Power (colored in red). Centrist and l...

Heavy rain that triggered severe flooding and caused buildings to collapse has killed 22 people and injured 32 in Afghanistan over the last two days, the country's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday, as it warned of continued risk due to bad weather. Most of the deaths were reported from the central and eastern provinces of the war-shattered South Asian nation, including Parwan, Maidan Wardak, Daykundi and Logar, where torrential rain triggered flash floods and caused houses to collapse in rural and mountainous regions, the authority said. Conditions remained "unstable" in parts of the country on Monday, with continued risk of further rain and flooding in some areas, it said. Also Read: Operation Ghazab Lil Haq against Afghan Taliban resumes after Eidul Fitr pause "Twenty-two people were killed, 32 injured and 241 houses damaged in flooding and other weather-related incidents across 13 provinces over the past two days," an NDMA official...

US President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that Iran is sending the United States 20 oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning. "And now, today, they gave us, as a tribute — I don't know, I can't define it exactly, but they gave us, I think out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil — big, big boats of oil — going through the Hormuz Strait, and that's taking place starting tomorrow morning," he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, DC. "I would only say that we're doing extremely well in that negotiation," Trump said. He added that he is "pretty sure” the US will make a deal with Iran, “but it's possible we won't.” "I do see a deal in Iran," he said, adding it "could be soon." Trump also said the US is negotiating with Iran both "directly and indirectly." Read: Trump calls Iran's current leaders 'very reasonable' as Pakistan prepares to host talks When...