World Echo

Poland has barred Chinese-made vehicles from entering military facilities due to concerns their onboard sensors could be used to collect sensitive data, the Polish Army said on Tuesday evening. The army said in a statement that such vehicles may still be allowed onto secured sites if specified functions are disabled and other safeguards required under each facility's security rules are in place. Read: Foreign cars flow to Russia through China, skirting Ukraine war sanctions To limit the risk of exposing confidential information, the military has also banned connecting company phones to infotainment systems in vehicles manufactured in China. The restrictions do not apply to publicly accessible military locations such as hospitals, clinics, libraries, prosecutors' offices, or garrison clubs, the army said. It added that the measures are precautionary and align with practices used by NATO members and other allies to ensure high standards of protection for defence infrastructure.  ...

A senior imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem said on Tuesday that Israeli authorities have barred him from entering the compound, just days before the start of the holy month of Ramazan. "I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed," Sheikh Muhammad al Abbasi told AFP. He said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect from Monday. "I had only returned to Al Aqsa a month ago after spending a year in the hospital following a serious car accident," Abbasi said. "This ban is a grave matter for us, as our soul is tied to Al Aqsa. Al Aqsa is our life." The month of Ramazan, during which Muslims observe a fast from dawn to dusk, is expected to begin this week. During the holy month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed. On Monday, Israeli police sai...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar left for New York on Tuesday to participate in the high-level United Nations Security Council briefing on the situation in Palestine and attend talks related to the Gaza 'Board of Peace'. The Foreign Office said he departed for New York from London after accompanying Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his two-day visit to Vienna for key engagements. After accompanying Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz on his two-day visit to Vienna for key engagements, Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 has departed for New York via London. In New York, DPM/FM will participate… — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) February 17, 2026 It said he would participate tomorrow (Wednesday) in the high-level UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East and Palestine, ahead of joining the prime minister in Washington DC. According to the statement, ...

Long overshadowed by his parents and heir to one of Bangladesh's most powerful political dynasties, the country's new Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, has finally stepped into the spotlight. At 60, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) takes charge of the South Asian nation of 170 million, driven by what he calls an ambition to "do better". A year and a half after the deadly uprising that toppled previous prime minister Sheikh Hasina's iron-fisted rule, the BNP won a "sweeping victory" in parliamentary elections on February 12. Tarique was sworn in today, leading a more than two-thirds majority in parliament. "This victory belongs to people who aspire to and have sacrificed for democracy," he said in a speech. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman today took oath as the Prime Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. This marks the beginning of a new chapter committed to democracy, justice, and the people’s mandate....

Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have jointly condemned Israel's decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as so-called "state land" and approve procedures for the registration and settlement of land ownership across extensive areas of the occupied West Bank In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the ministers said the move "constitutes a grave escalation aimed at accelerating illegal settlement activity, land confiscation, entrenching Israeli control, and applying unlawful Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." 🔊PR No.4️⃣4️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan UAE, Indonesia, Türkiye , Saudi Arabia, Qatar Condemning Israel’s Illegal Decision of Designation and Occupation of Occupied West Bank as State Land and Illegal Settlement Activit...

Flooding and fierce winds have pushed Madagascar's death toll from Cyclone Gezani to 59, with more than a dozen people still unaccounted for, the country's disaster agency said on Monday. It is the latest in a string of tropical storms to batter the southern African island in recent months, underscoring its vulnerability to increasingly extreme weather fuelled by climate change. At least 59 people had been killed countrywide by the cyclone, which slammed into Madagascar on February 10, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNRGC) said, while more than 16,000 people have been displaced by storm waters. A previous report had put the death toll at 43. Most of the fatalities were reported in the port city of Toamasina on the east coast, formerly known as Tamatave, Madagascar's second-largest urban centre with around 400,000 inhabitants. Another 15 people remain missing nearly a week after the cyclone struck, according to BNRGC. The damage to housing was extensiv...