World Echo

Over 1.5 million Muslims began filling a vast tent city in the holy city of Mecca on Monday for an annual Hajj pilgrimage carried out against the backdrop of hopes for an end to the war in the Middle East. The white-robed pilgrims on buses or on foot arrived at the sprawling encampment in Mina after performing the "tawaf" — walking seven times around the Kaaba, the giant black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque. The start of the Hajj came as United States President Donald Trump continued to send mixed signals over a possible agreement to extend an uneasy ceasefire with Iran and a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This year's rites, drawing Muslim worshippers from across the world, including Iran, follow waves of Iranian attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours. Read: What we know about the possible US-Iran deal Saudi officials have been keen to keep conflict far from the minds of visitors, many of whom have travelled long distances for on...

The United States and Iran appear closer than ever to a deal that would end a war that has engulfed the Middle East and disrupted the global oil market. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the world might “get some good news” soon after President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been “largely negotiated” and would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Before Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei spoke of “a trend towards rapprochement” with Washington, but warned that “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues.” He said on state television that Iran’s “intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement,” before a final deal is reached within 30 to 60 days. What do we know about the possible agreement? Nuclear question Baghaei said that the nucle...

More than 20 people are trapped under the rubble of a building under construction in the Philippines that collapsed on Sunday, officials said, as rescue ​efforts continued. Five people were confirmed trapped, including two in contact with rescuers, ​and 18 more were feared under the rubble, officials said. "We have five ⁠confirmed trapped victims, and we have a figure of 18 workers from the list ​of construction workers on duty today, but no feedback yet from their families. This ​brings the estimated number of trapped victims to 23 as of today," Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, told a press briefing. At the site of the collapsed multi-storey building ​under construction in the city of Angeles, north of the capital Manila, rescuers were seen ​clambering over a mound of concrete slabs and mangled steel, covered in green netting, searching for ‌survivors. The ⁠number of rescued, including those in the vicinity, remai...

Iran on Saturday attributed difficulties in the Pakistan-mediated negotiations between Tehran and the United States to what it described as Washington’s repeated failure to uphold its commitments, contradictions, and excessive demands, according to Press TV. It stated that Iran's UN mission warned that the US's excessive demands and obstructionism pushed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into "free fall." The mission stressed that without genuine progress on nuclear disarmament, the NPT had no future. "The NPT Review Conference failed for the third consecutive time due to obstructionism by the United States and its allies." Iran's UN mission warns that US excessive demands and obstructionism have pushed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into "free fall," stressing that without genuine progress on nuclear disarmament, the NPT has no future. Follow: https://t.co/B3zXG74hnU pic.twitter.com/DdnthFcEtf — Press T...

A product tanker sailing within 200 nautical miles west of the Yemeni Island of Socotra was approached by a small craft carrying five people, but turned away after the vessel's armed security team was deployed, the UK maritime agency said on Saturday. "The Master of a product tanker has reported that the vessel was approached by a small craft with 5 persons onboard, closest point of approach 100m. "The vessel’s Armed Security Team were deployed, and the small craft altered course away from the reporting vessel," the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said on X. UKMTO WARNING 060-26 Click here to view the full advisory note⤵️https://t.co/WrarTo5yId#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/mpYuKuuPfX — UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) May 23, 2026 No further details were immediately available. The development came after the UKMTO said Friday that it received a report of another incident involving a tanker located 98 nautical miles nort...

Hundreds of people protested outside Ireland's parliament on Thursday to express outrage at the death of ‌a Congolese-born man after he was restrained outside a Dublin department store in an incident some compared to the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Yves Sakila was detained by security guards on one of the capital's busiest shopping streets last Friday in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident, police said. ​He became unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead. A video of the incident widely shared later on ​social media showed Sakila being pinned to the ground by at least five men for almost ⁠five minutes as bystanders watched. Two of the men held his face to the ground and at one point one of ​them appeared to kneel on his head or neck for a few seconds. "We call this a George Floyd moment," said David ​Kaliba, a 35-year-old physics student who went to a north Dublin suburban high school with Sakila, referring to a Black Minneapol...