World Echo

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...

US President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, only hours before Secretary ‌of State Marco Rubio was to meet alliance ministers in Sweden on Friday amid deep divisions over the Iran war. Trump, in a Truth Social post, cited his relationship with Poland's conservative nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, as the reason behind his decision to send additional troops. "Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, ​who I was proud to endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be ​sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump said in the post. It was a surprising turnabout after weeks ⁠in which Trump fiercely criticised NATO members for not doing more to help the US-Israeli military campaign. He has said he is considering withdrawing from ​the alliance and questioned whether Washington was bound to honour its mutu...

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Friday condemning the United States' action to sanction the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, along with several Lebanese officials and citizens. بیانیه وزارت امور خارجه در محكوميت اقدام آمریکا در تحریم سفیر ایران در لبنان و تعدادی از مسئولان و شهروندان لبنانی pic.twitter.com/FYWvXzcYN1 — وزارت امور خارجه (@IRIMFA) May 22, 2026 The statement on X read that "Washington's imposition of sanctions on representatives of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, and our ambassador in Beirut, is an incitement to sedition in Lebanon." ندين فرض عقوبات على ممثلين عن حزب الله ومسؤولين من حركة أمل وضباط عسكريين وأمنيين في لبنان. فرض واشنطن عقوبات على ممثلين عن حزب الله وحركة أمل وسفيرنا في بيروت إثارة للفتنة في لبنان. https://t.co/aJtsSHLm3W — السفارة الإيرانية- لبنان (@IranEmbassyLB) May 22, 2026 The United States on Thursday sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked individuals it accused of “obstruc...

China said it supported Cuba and urged the United States to "stop brandishing the judicial stick" against the country, after Washington indicted the Caribbean island's former leader Raul Castro on murder charges. The US charges against the 94-year-old former president -- announced on Wednesday -- fuelled speculation that President Donald Trump will try to topple the communist state. "The US side should stop brandishing the sanctions stick and the judicial stick against Cuba and stop threatening force at every turn," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing Thursday, when asked about the US charges. "China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference," Guo said. Also Read: Cuba warns of 'bloodbath' if US attacks Russia also said on Thursday that it would provide active support ​to Cuba despite attempts by the United ‌States to intimid...

Japan on Thursday dismissed criticism from China and Russia over its "remilitarisation" as "unfounded." Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a joint statement on Wednesday that Japan is accelerating remilitarisation and threatening regional peace and stability. Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said at a news conference that Japan wants China to "change its behaviour" over issues such as Beijing’s military activities, which he said are a "cause for serious concern for the international community," and urged Russia to "stop its invasion of Ukraine," according to Kyodo News Agency. Putin concluded a two-day visit to China on Wednesday. Japan’s relations with China have deteriorated since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks last November that China's possible use of force against Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province, could constitute a survi...