World Echo

Russia fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine's capital Kyiv and the surrounding region on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and destroying warehouses and logistics centres of major retailers, Ukrainian officials said. Multiple explosions ripped through the area during the night, and fires lit up the dark skies over the Ukrainian capital, which has come under missile attack every three to four days in recent weeks as Russia has escalated its air war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Ukraine's lack of missile defences had once again cost lives and urged Ukraine's foreign allies to replenish its supplies of interceptors. As of now, 44 people have been reported injured in the massive Russian strike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Another 17 people, tragically, were killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. It was a heavy strike – 24 ballistic missiles, 4 Zircon/Oniks missiles, and… pic.twitter.com/4LoHXXkt8R — Vo...

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned on Wednesday that Pyongyang would adopt "additional military options" in response to what she called Japan's transformation into a military power, after Tokyo test-fired a United States-made Tomahawk cruise missile. In a statement carried by state media KCNA, Kim accused Japan of moving beyond a defensive posture and turning its armed forces into a force capable of pre-emptive attacks and overseas military operations. She cited Japan's recent Tomahawk test from the Aegis destroyer Chokai in the Pacific Ocean, as well as test-firings of other missiles and its participation in a US-led joint military drill in the Philippines in May. Kim said that North Korea would respond in ways that made Japan feel that its security has been exposed t...

When tens of thousands of would-be migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week, Italy's right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni promptly said she would suspend a free-movement accord with Spain, even though Ceuta is excluded from the pact. And when a distressed Moroccan businessman who feared repatriation despite having lived in Italy for 36 years died after being stopped by police two weeks ago in Bologna, with viral footage showing two officers sitting on him to restrain him, the government jumped to the law enforcers' defence. Right-wing media depicted the man as another disorderly migrant causing trouble, highlighting drug convictions in his youth, while opposition politicians accused the government of racism and condoning police brutality. What few did, in public at least, was ask who Abderrahim Fakir really was, and what might have caused his distress – something that sociologists and refugee agencies say reduces an immigra...

Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East's trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Gulf officials and analysts. Rather than seeking a ​decisive military victory, Tehran is pursuing a strategy of calibrated escalation aimed at widening the conflict without triggering full-scale war. The goal, they say, is to convince the United States and its allies that ‌containing the crisis is more costly than accommodating Iran's demands over the Strait of Hormuz. The message from Tehran is that unless Washington accepts a new status quo that gives Iran a greater role in Hormuz, the conflict could spread beyond the Gulf. By putting multiple maritime chokepoints and energy assets at risk, Iran believes it can strengthen its hand in any future negotiations. "Iran, from the beginning, has tried to out-escalate the United States by stretching ou...

Italy’s fourth heat wave of the summer reached its peak on Monday, with red alerts issued for a record 25 cities as temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in parts of the country, local media reported. The Health Ministry raised the number of cities under its highest heat-risk warning from 23 on Sunday to 25 on Monday, the most recorded this summer, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper. Only Reggio Calabria and Messina were excluded from the red-alert list, though both remained under yellow warnings. Also Read: Hungary closes nuke plant due to heatwave The Po Valley and central Italy are bearing the brunt of the heat, while temperatures in inland areas and Sardinia could also rise above 40C (104F). In parts of central and northern Italy, overnight temperatures are expected to remain above 25C (77F), resulting in what meteorologists describe as “super-tropical nights.” Temperatures reached 41C (105.8) in the central province of Terni on Sunday. Experts a...

At least five people ​were killed and 41 were ‌still missing on Sunday after a ferry caught fire off ​Indonesia's Madura island, the ​country's search and rescue agency ⁠said in a statement. The ferry was carrying ​271 passengers and crew members, 225 of whom have been rescued, ​agency data showed on ​Sunday afternoon. The ferry was heading from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar ​city ​in South ⁠Sulawesi. According to Arab News, the ferry was almost completely engulfed in flames, with frightened passengers gathering on the bridge and bow as they awaited rescue. A tugboat and a passing vessel reached the scene shortly before 10 a.m. and began evacuating those on board, officials said. Read More: Thirteen die in tourist plane crash over Peru's Nazca Lines By Sunday afternoon, nearby vessels had rescued 225 passengers and crew members and recovered five bodies, while at least 41 people remained missing. Authorities said the cause of the fire was not imm...