World Echo

A New York Times opinion columnist has reported that Palestinian detainees have been subjected to sexual violence and other forms of abuse in Israeli detention facilities, citing interviews with former detainees and findings from rights organisations. In a column published on Sunday, columnist Nicholas Kristof said he interviewed 14 Palestinian men and women who described alleged sexual assaults, beatings, threats of sexual violence and humiliation during detention or encounters with Israeli forces and settlers. Kristof noted that there was “no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes,” but argued that Israeli authorities had created “a security apparatus where sexual violence has become,” citing a United Nations report. Read More: 'No home left' for Gazans stranded in West Bank since Oct 7 The article also referenced testimonies from former detainees who alleged abuse during imprisonment, as well as reports by organisations including Euro-Med H...

Israel's parliament passed a law late on Monday establishing a military tribunal to try hundreds of Palestinian militants who took part in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, a step lawmakers said would help heal national trauma. The surprise attack, led by elite "Nukhba" force fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was Israel's deadliest single day and the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. At least 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians. Israel responded by launching an assault on the enclave that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and left much of Gaza in ruins. Israel has been holding an estimated 200-300 fighters - the precise number is classified - captured in Israel during the attack, who have not yet been charged. Also Read: Israeli strikes in Gaza kill three, medics say, testing fragile ceasefire The special military court established by the law, to be presided over by a three-judge panel in Jeru...

China on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to China. China's "firm opposition to US arms sales to China's Taiwan region is consistent and clear," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing. Trump said on Monday that he plans to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing this week. According to The New York Times, a bipartisan group of senators has urged Trump to move ahead with the delayed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, which has been stalled at the State Department for months. Guo added that during Trump and Xi's summit in Beijing, the two leaders will have an "in-depth" exchange of views on China-US relations and other major issues concerning world peace and development. Also Read: Stung by Iran war, Trump heads to China in need of wins Trump also said that he would bring up the ca...

US President Donald Trump’s complaints about media leaks on the Iran war have triggered an aggressive investigation by the Justice Department, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing sources. Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks following last month’s Iran war, prompting the Justice Department to aggressively pursue leak investigations. Blanche pledged to seek subpoenas targeting reporters involved in sensitive national security stories, according to the report. In one meeting, Trump handed Blanche a stack of articles he viewed as threats to national security, marked with a sticky note reading “treason.” Also Read: Stung by Iran war, Trump heads to China in need of wins Senior Justice Department and Pentagon officials have also discussed the investigations, the report said. In particular, the report said, Trump has focused his ire on articles that provided details on how he arrived at his deci...

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for deeper cooperation between Africa and Europe in technology, energy, and innovation as the Africa Forward Summit opened in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Speaking during a high-level youth engagement forum at the University of Nairobi alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, Macron said Africa and Europe face similar challenges in reducing technological dependence on major global powers. “A lot of solutions are made in the US or made in China,” he said. “A lot of us today are consumers. So, I think we have a common fight, a common battle together of investment, which is to build our strategic autonomy for Europe and Africa.” Macron emphasised the need for stronger investment in infrastructure and energy to support artificial intelligence and digital development across the two continents. “No chance to build any AI infrastructure and computing capacities without energy,” he said, calling for ...

The British prime minister on Monday said he takes responsibility for "not walking away" and "not plunging our country into chaos" over last week's what he called "very tough" election results. "The election results last week were tough, very tough. We lost some brilliant labour representatives; that hurts, and it should hurt. I get it, I feel it, and I take responsibility," Keir Starmer said during an event in London. He noted that he is not going to shy away from the fact that he has got "some doubters, including in my own party," adding that he has to prove them wrong, and he will. "I take responsibility for navigating us through a world that is more dangerous than at any time in my life, and I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos." Also Read: UK's Starmer vows to fight on after Labour punished in local polls During his speech, Starmer vowed to rebuild the relationsh...