World Echo

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...

South Korea and Japan on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and agreed to revive joint search-and-rescue drills in a step forward for security ties between the neighbouring countries. Meeting in Seoul, South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi agreed to work on regional stability bilaterally, as well as through their partnerships with Washington, in the sixth round of talks between the two countries. "Both ministers shared the view to continue cooperation for maintaining regional peace and stability amid a grave security environment," South Korea's defence ministry said in a statement. #국민께알려드립니다 오늘(6월 28일(일)), 안규백 국방부장관과 고이즈미 신지로 일본 방위대신은 서울에서 한일 국방장관 회담을 개최하였습니다. 양 장관은 지난 1월 안규백 국방부장관의 방일, 5월의 싱가포르 회동에 이어 고이즈미 신지로 일본 방위대신의 방한이 성사되고 여섯 번째 회담을… pic.twitter.com/jQsEizq...

A light aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building on Friday killed ​the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on ‌board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted. Those injured are receiving medical treatment and authorities are ​investigating the incident, Chaoyang district government said in a statement ​on Saturday. "A single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with ⁠a high-rise building while flying near the East third ring road ​in Chaoyang, at 5:55pm (0955 GMT) on June 26," said the ​statement, which was posted on social media. "There was only one person on board, the pilot, who died," the statement added, without giving any further details of ​the possible cause of the crash. Damage to the facade of the ​skyscraper appeared to be limited to a hole caused by the loss of ‌two ⁠large glass panels. The gap had been temporarily boarded up as ...