World Echo

Dutch police on Saturday said ​they were investigating reports ‌of an explosion overnight at the Israel Centre ​in the central ​Dutch town of Nijkerk. According to Israeli media, there were ⁠no reports of ​injuries, and the damage ​at the site, run by the Christians for Israel charity, ​was minimal, a ​police statement posted on social ‌media ⁠said. “This attack affects not only us but is also a signal to the Jewish community in the Netherlands, which has long been confronted with threats and intimidation. This is a cause for great concern to us,” the statement said. Read: UK charges three men with arson over attack on Jewish community ambulances The Israel Centre houses Christenen voor Israel, a Dutch-Christian organisation whose stated goal is “to be in solidarity with Israel and combat all forms of antisemitism,” according to the Jerusalem Post. It was not clear if the incident was related to a ​series of ​attacks ⁠against Jewish sites in Europe ​since the war in ​Iran. Police ⁠said...

When Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar recently called Pakistan a fixer for acting as a messenger between the United States and Iran, the insult betrayed a profound sense of marginalisation – and was, in a sense, an involuntary acknowledgment of reality. An analysis published in Foreign Policy magazine argued that in US President Donald Trump's eyes, being a fixer is not a mark of shame but a badge of utility. Trump has found in Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir "exactly the sort of interlocutor that he likes – a hard-power operator with direct access to the White House and a willingness to sell himself as useful." This, according to the article, "has left Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an awkward position, relegated to receiving a single phone call from Trump about the crisis in the Middle East" – with Elon Musk listening in on the line. Read: Pakistan emerges where India could not Pakistan, meanwhile, has...

Negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing steadily, China said on Friday, following reports that ​the neighbours were meeting there to ‌try to end their worst conflict since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. China, which shares a western border with ​both nations, has been trying to mediate between ​the allies turned foes, holding telephone calls with ⁠their foreign ministers and sending a special envoy ​on visits in March. "Both Pakistan and Afghanistan attach importance ​to, and welcome, China's mediation, and are willing to sit down for talks again, which is a positive development," foreign ministry ​spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily press conference. #FMsays China has been mediating Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks, with consultations progressing steadily, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday, adding that both Pakistan and Afghanistan value and welcome China's mediation efforts. #Afghanistan #Pakistan pic.twitter.com...

Dozens of international law experts in the US have signed an ​open letter saying that American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes, after ‌President Donald Trump reiterated his threats this week to strike Iran's power and desalination plants. Trump, who has previously offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, said in a televised speech on Wednesday that the war could escalate if ​Iran did not give in to Washington's terms, with strikes on its energy and oil ​infrastructure possible. Over 100 international law experts in the US, including from schools like ⁠Harvard, Yale, Stanford and the University of California, said in the letter, opens new tab released on Thursday, that ​the conduct of US forces and statements by senior US officials "raise serious concerns about violations of international ​human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes". The letter particularly noted a mid-March comme...

US Army Chief ​of Staff Randy George was fired on Thursday by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, three US defence officials told Reuters, in ‌the latest purge among the Pentagon's most senior ranks. Even as Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing a general during wartime is nearly without precedent. The Pentagon confirmed that George, who had more than a year left in his term, "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief ​of Staff of the Army effective immediately." The Pentagon said in a statement it was grateful for George's decades of service. "We wish ​him well in his retirement," it said. Two of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hegseth has ⁠also fired General David Hodne, who leads the Army's Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green, head of the Army's Chaplain ​Corps. The department did not give a reason for George's departure, which comes ...

The UN Security Council is to vote on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats said on Friday, but veto-wielding China made clear its opposition to authorising any use of force. Two diplomats said the meeting of the Council's 15 members and the vote were set for Saturday morning, rather than Friday as earlier planned. Friday is a UN holiday. Oil prices have surged since the United States and Israel struck Iran at the end of February, unleashing a conflict that has run for more than a month and effectively closed the key shipping artery. Diplomats said Bahrain, the current chair of the Security Council, finalised a draft resolution seen by Reuters that would authorise "all defensive means necessary" to protect commercial shipping. Earlier on Thursday, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani told the council that a vote would be held on Friday, "God willing", adding that Bahrain looke...