World Echo

The Israeli military’s announcement on Friday that the commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armoured Brigade was killed in southern Lebanon has renewed scrutiny of the same unit linked to the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, in Gaza. In a statement, the army said Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, from Beit HaShita and commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade, was killed along with three soldiers after their tank was targeted during operations in southern Lebanon. According to The Times of Israel daily, Ben Simhon is the fourth commander of the 52nd Battalion to be killed or wounded since the start of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The battalion has drawn international scrutiny over its role in the killing of Hind Rajab, who died in Gaza City in January 2024 after Israeli forces struck the vehicle carrying her and several relatives. Rajab survived the initial attack and remained trapped inside the car while speaking b...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Mashhad on Saturday for high-level meetings aimed at advancing diplomatic efforts following the recent Iran-US memorandum of understanding (MoU). Iran's IRNA  and Fars news agencies reported that he would visit the Imam Reza Shrine and hold meetings before leaving for Tehran. Pakistan's Interior Minister, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, arrived in Mashhad Saturday. Local authorities in Razavi Khorasan told IRNA that he is to visit Imam Reza Holy Shrine and hold political meetings, which will later extend to Tehran. No further information has been released. pic.twitter.com/rnVA3870uu — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) June 20, 2026 Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told ISNA that Naqvi's visit was part of Pakistan's continued mediation efforts to bridge remaining differences between Tehran and Washington and preserve the momentum generated by the recently announced understanding. In an e...

The US Supreme Court on Thursday limited the application of a decades-old federal law that bars firearms possession by certain drug users, rejecting a position taken by President Donald Trump's administration that had threatened the gun rights of millions of Americans who ​use marijuana and own firearms. The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss an illegal gun possession charge brought under the law at issue against Ali Hemani, an American-Pakistani ‌dual citizen and Texas resident who told authorities he was a regular marijuana user. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the ruling, wrote that the government had failed to show that its prosecution of Hemani complied with the US Constitution's Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms". The Trump administration had defended the law, though midway through the case it softened its position on barring marijuana users from owning guns. ...

US President Donald Trump has insisted that the deal he has reached with Iran is superior to the one that President Barack Obama sealed in 2015, while Trump's critics say at this point he has gotten much less and given up much more to Tehran. Here is how the two ​agreements compare: What each deal is - and isn't They are very different. The “memorandum of understanding” that Trump signed with Iran is not a final agreement but ‌a one-and-a-half-page, 14-point framework negotiated on and off over a period of weeks. It has launched a 60-day negotiation period to seek a full settlement of the nearly four-month war, with many hurdles yet to overcome on issues that include Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Also Read: Iran's chief negotiator says US talks bound by Tehran's 'red lines' Obama’s pact was a finished, detailed document titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan ​of Action (JCPO...

An Indian state health authority is investigating how liquid discharged from Apple supplier Tata's iPhone components factory has affected farmers, some of whom complained about skin issues from contamination in their farmlands, according to three officials and a document ​reviewed by Reuters. The health investigation opens a new front in an environmental dispute that has become a test case for India's push to become a major manufacturing hub for Apple iPhones. The Tata Electronics plant in ‌Hosur in southern Tamil Nadu state was sent a warning notice by the state pollution control board on May 25 for allegedly contaminating groundwater in adjacent farms. Tata said in a statement this week that the pollution board had dropped its scrutiny after confirming its analysis of recently collected water samples from inside the facility did "not indicate any contamination". The pollution board and the state have not commented on the matter and di...

Multiple users on social media platform X since June 16, 2026, have been sharing an alleged classified Indian Ministry of Defence document claiming that India is preparing “Operation Sindoor 2.0” and considering fresh military action across the Line of Control (LoC) by exploiting protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. However, the document is AI-generated. Pakistan and India fought in a four-day conflict in May 2025. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh. The hostilities prompted diplomatic engagement by regional and international actors, eventually leading to a ceasefire and a reduction in military activity. “Operation Sin...