World Echo

The US Supreme Court refused on Monday to let Donald Trump fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as it stood firm to preserve the central bank's cherished independence against an unprecedented challenge by the Republican president. The court, in a 5-4 ruling, blocked Trump from removing Cook for now, providing a safeguard for the Fed specifically, even as it boosted the president's power over government in a separate landmark ruling on Monday. In that ruling, involving Trump's dismissal of a Federal Trade Commission member, the court expanded presidential authority to fire leaders of other US agencies, overturning ​a precedent dating to 1935 in the process. No other president since the central bank's founding in 1913 had sought to oust a Fed governor. In his second term as president, Trump has tested the limits of presidential power in numerous other ways as well. Unproven allegations Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the ruling, said Trum...

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Monday that “no technical talks” with the US were scheduled this week in the Qatari capital Doha, refuting US media reports about talks to be held this Tuesday. Gharibabadi said media reports about holding technical working-group talks between Tehran and Washington in Doha “are not confirmed,” state news agency IRNA reported.  “Technical meetings of the working groups are not scheduled for this week,” he added. Read: Iran says $6B of its funds in Qatar ‘should be released’ under US deal Gharibabadi said consultations with Qatar were continuing, including efforts to follow up on the implementation of US commitments under the recently signed memorandum of understanding. “Although consultations with Qatar – including on following up on the implementation of the other party’s commitments – are ongoing as usual, the news from some media ou...

Iran and the United States ​agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said on Sunday, raising ‌hopes of saving an interim peace deal that was under pressure from days of tit-for-tat strikes. “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU. Both sides will stand down for now, and vessels can move freely," the official said, referring to the 14-point memorandum of understanding that was agreed on June 17 under which the strait would be reopened for traffic. Axios, which first reported the cessation ​of hostilities, citing a senior US official, said talks would resume Tuesday in Qatar. A return to diplomacy would follow several days of strikes and counterstrikes since ​an Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with both the US and Iran accusing the ⁠other of breaking an interim ceasefire that was agreed to on June 17. Iran launche...

The number of Iranian cyberattacks against Israel has shot up since the launch of the ​US-Israeli offensive against Iran this year, a senior ‌Israeli security official was quoted as saying on Monday. Yossi Karadi, Director General of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, told German ​newspaper Die Welt that in June 2025, ​during Israeli military operations against Iran, Israel's ⁠authorities registered around 1,600 hostile cyber incidents. During the ​same month in 2026, the number had jumped to ​some 4,800 incidents, he told the paper. Read: Iran and Oman hold first meeting of joint committee of Strait of Hormuz, Gharibabadi says "Some groups are very skilled," Karadi said, according to the German text of the ​interview. "We can handle them, but we have to ​take them seriously. Unlike in the kinetic realm, there's no ‌ceasefire ⁠in cyberspace." Karadi said the attacks were directed against systems used by Israel's critical infr...

A crown was blown off an ancient column in a UNESCO-listed site in Lebanon's port city of Tyre. A pilgrimage site for Muslims and Christians alike was destroyed in another southern town. Israeli strikes pummelled the Mamluk-era market in the city of Nabatieh and troops razed centuries-old Lebanese border towns. Israel's nearly four-month air and ground campaign that it says was targeting Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah has damaged or destroyed revered heritage sites across southern Lebanon, Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told Reuters. Despite a ceasefire that took hold a week ago, authorities have yet to build a full picture of the damage as Israeli troops still occupy a zone about 10 km (6.2 miles) deep into Lebanon that is off-limits to Lebanese, Salame said. "We cannot work under the shadow of occupation," he said. Read: Hezbollah chief rejects Lebanon-Israe...

France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heatwave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher. Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and homes. Read: Europeans told to protect themselves as deadly heatwave takes its toll Europeans have been enduring blistering conditions during a heatwave that has been linked to dozens of deaths - shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure. Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was ‌the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average. Extreme heat eases in France The heatwave has been moving east. But while France's weather agency said the extreme he...