World Echo

Multiple users have been sharing a video on social media platform X on July 14, 2026, alleging that it shows Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport after attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. However, the video shows a March 2022 Houthi attack at a Saudi Aramco facility. According to the Associated Press, on July 13, 2026, Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched missiles and drones targeting Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in retaliation for airstrikes they blamed on Saudi Arabia that struck Sanaa International Airport earlier the same day. No casualties were reported, but the exchange marked the most serious escalation between the two sides in years. The Houthis warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until the blockade on Sanaa airport is lifted, while Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the strikes on Sanaa were intended to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. Following a Houthi missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abh...

Lebanon and Israel resumed talks on Tuesday in the Italian capital, with Beirut hoping for progress towards securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon under a US-brokered deal, although expectations for swift progress were low. US-led diplomacy has emerged since Hezbollah and Israel returned to war on March 2 amid the wider regional conflict, moving forward despite strong objections from the Iran-backed group, which believes only Iranian pressure on Washington can secure an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal. Iran demanded an end to the war in Lebanon as part of its interim deal with Washington signed last month, but the agreement has been shaken over the last week by renewed US-Iranian hostilities in the Gulf. Read: Iranian army says Hormuz will never open by 'American aggression' Israel's ​military is occupying what it describes as a "buffer zone" about 10 km (6 miles) into Lebanon along the entire length of the Israeli border. Israeli officia...

50 years ago, farmers in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region used to open the windows in their barns at night during the summer to keep their cattle cool. Today, as heatwaves send temperatures soaring to record highs, those windows stay open round the clock to protect the cows, and ultimately their milk, the foundation of the area's centuries-old Parmigiano Reggiano cheese industry. "Extreme heat impacts milk's quality and quantity," said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, who also runs the dairy farm that his family founded in 1895 on the outskirts of Parma. Costs mount as cheese ages With temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), cows spend more time lying down, eat less and produce up to 10% less milk, one of the Parmigiano's only three ingredients alongside salt and rennet. Production of authentic Parmigiano Reggiano is only allowed in five provinces, mostly in the Emilia-Romagna re...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ​Sunday he planned to replace Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko after only a year in office, triggering the resignation ‌of the government. Zelenskiy did not specify who he would ask to lead the government or what Svyrydenko's new position would be, but added that there would also be changes among the heads of law enforcement agencies. He said the changes ​were needed to "ensure the implementation of an updated political strategy", but gave no further details. "I ​am grateful to Yuliia for her clear, steady, and effective work as prime minister, ⁠for her years of productive service on Ukraine's team, and I have offered her the opportunity ​to lead a new and important area of relations with a key partner," Zelenskiy said on X. "I ​expect that, together with MPs, we will make the corresponding changes in the Government of Ukraine." Ukraine dealing with corruption scandals Svyrydenko, an eco...

Israeli attacks killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a 9-year-old ​girl, Palestinian health officials said. Medics said Israeli gunfire directed at ‌a tent encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar. The Israeli military did ​not immediately comment on the girl's death. Israel's ​military told Reuters it had struck "terrorist" infrastructure, without giving further details. The ​ceasefire, opened new tab agreed in October 2025 between Israel and Hamas, halted major fighting in the enclave, but it has failed to stop Israeli attacks that have killed ​more than 1,000 Palestinians since it took effect. Four Israeli ​soldiers have been killed in Gaza over the same period. Read More: Israel targets more than 500 acres in occupied West Bank with military orders The latest ‌violence comes as Hamas leaders visited Cairo for further talks over implementing the sec...

Israel has issued 49 military orders targeting 2,093 dunams (517 acres) of privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank since January, the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission said Saturday. It said the orders, issued under “security measures,” do not formally confiscate the land or transfer ownership. They impose sweeping legal and physical restrictions, however, by allowing the removal or trimming of trees, restricting access to the land and preventing its cultivation. Read: Israel grants US confiscated Palestinian land to build Jerusalem embassy complex for $1 The commission said the measures are mainly concentrated around Israeli settlements, settlement roads, the separation barrier and military sites, effectively expanding Israeli control over Palestinian land without formally changing ownership. Israel issued 47 orders covering 1,613 dunams during 2025, compared with 49 orders affecting 2,093 dunams in the first half of 20...