World Echo

An Indian state ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is set to introduce contentious new common personal laws that will apply across religions next week, a template other state officials say they will look to follow. Currently, India's Hindus, Muslims, Christians and large tribal populations can follow their own personal laws and customs, or an optional secular code, for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance. Framing a national common law has been one of the three core, decades-old promises of Modi's Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). It has fulfilled the other two: building a fiercely contested grand Hindu temple, and removing the autonomy of the Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir. The northern state of Uttarakhand, nestled in the Himalayan foothills, is expected to unveil a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill next week, officials said. The move comes ahead of Modi's bid to win a rare third term in general elections to be held by May, and may further help...

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller refrained from commenting in detail on Tuesday regarding the sentencing of former prime minister Imran Khan, stating that the matter was one for the Pakistani courts. During a routine press briefing, spokesperson Miller consistently emphasised that the legal proceedings against the ex-prime minister and the PTI head were matters to be resolved by the Pakistani judicial system. "We've been closely following the cases brought against the former prime minister, but we refrain from making any comments on the sentencing," he reiterated. "The issue lies within the jurisdiction of the Pakistani courts," responded Miller. The spokesperson stressed that the prosecution of the former prime minister falls under the purview of the legal system, and the United States would defer to Pakistani courts on legal matters. However, he expressed the desire to witness the democratic process unfolding in a manner that encourages broad pa...

As the representatives from 10 regional countries gathered in Kabul for a Regional Countries Conference on Afghanistan, Pakistan reiterated its commitment to peace and prosperity in the war-torn country. The conference titled “Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative” was hosted by the Afghan caretaker government. Read also: Afghan FM calls for 'constructive engagement' with international community The international event was attended by diplomats from Pakistan, Russia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Indonesia. Ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul Ubaid Nizamani, who represented Pakistan in the moot, wrote on X that he reaffirmed his country’s commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. Represented Pakistan in Regional Countries conference on Afghanistan in Kabul. Reiterated our commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. Region must work together to harness mutually beneficial connectivity potential and address shared concerns @...

Israeli soldiers disguised themselves as doctors, nurses, and civilians raided early Tuesday a hospital in Jenin City, north of the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinians, including two brothers, with gun silencers. Ten personnel of Israeli special forces dressed in doctor and nurse uniforms, as well as ordinary civilians brandishing automatic guns, raided the Ibn Sina Hospital and used silencers to kill three youths, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing sources in the hospital. The three slain Palestinians are identified as Mohammad and Basil Al-Ghazzawi, and Mohammad Jalamna, with 25-year-old Basil receiving medical treatment in the hospital when Israeli soldiers attacked, the news agency said. In a viral video posted on the social media platform X, Israeli soldiers are seen brandishing guns and terrorizing staff and patients inside the hospital. One of the soldiers, dressed entirely in black, can be seen forcing a Palestinian to drop to his knees wi...

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday vowed the US would take "all necessary actions" to defend its troops after a deadly drone attack in Jordan by Iran-backed militants, even as President Joe Biden's administration stressed it was not seeking a war with Iran. The attack on Sunday killed three US soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. It was the first deadly strike against US troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East. "Let me start with my outrage and sorrow (for) the deaths of three brave US troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded," Austin said at the Pentagon. "The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops," Austin added at the start of meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon. "As the president said yesterday, we will res...

Complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate in the US rose by about 180% in the three months after Oct. 7 following Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza, an advocacy group said on Monday. Why is it important? Rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian bias in the US and elsewhere since the eruption of war in the Middle East. Among incidents in the US that raised alarm were a November shooting, opens new tab in Vermont where three students of Palestinian descent were shot and the fatal stabbing, opens new tab of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child in Illinois in October. By the numbers The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said on Monday it has received 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023, amid what it called "an ongoing wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate." The figure is a 178% rise from complaints in the same period from a year ...

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce plans on Monday to ban the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children, and reiterate the government's intention to introduce a law preventing younger generations from buying tobacco. Under the new powers, there would be restrictions on vape flavours, a requirement for plain packaging, and changes to how vapes, or e-cigarettes, are displayed to make them less attractive to children. "Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term," Sunak said in a statement. Smoking is Britain's biggest preventable killer, causing one out of four cancer-related deaths, or some 80,000 a year, the government says. In October, Sunak announced plans to pass a law which would mean that anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, would be unable to buy tobacco in their lif...

Ukraine's SBU security service said on Saturday it had uncovered a corruption scheme in the purchase of arms by the country's military totalling the equivalent of about $40 million. The announcement of mass procurement fraud, confirmed by Ukraine's Defence Ministry, will have a huge resonance in a country beleaguered by Russia's nearly two-year-old invasion. The fight to root out endemic corruption remains a major issue as Ukraine presses its bid to secure membership in the European Union. The SBU said an investigation had "exposed officials of the Ministry of Defence and managers of arms supplier Lviv Arsenal, who stole nearly 1.5 billion hryvnias in the purchase of shells." "According to the investigation, former and current high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence and heads of affiliated companies are involved in the embezzlement." The embezzlement, it said, involved the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells for the military. Read  Russia say...

India is seeking to distance itself from its largest arms supplier after Russia's ability to supply munitions and spares was hobbled by the war in Ukraine, but must step carefully to avoid pushing Moscow closer to China, Indian sources said. The world's biggest arms importer is slowly turning West as the United States looks to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region, hoping to contain an ascendant China by weaning the South Asian nation off a traditional dependence on Russia. Russia supplied 65% of India's weapons purchases of more than $60 billion during the last two decades, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, but the Ukraine war hastened the impetus to diversify its weapons base. "We are not likely to sign any major military deal with Russia," said Nandan Unnikrishnan, a Russia expert at New Delhi think tank the Observer Research Foundation. "That would be a red line for Washington." That view comes despite Moscow...

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees was under pressure after staff members were accused of participating in the October 7 attacks, while fighting in Gaza sent more people fleeing south towards the Egyptian border. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, to quit over the deepening row and several countries suspended funding. The agency said on Friday it had fired several employees over Israel's unspecified accusations and promised a thorough investigation. "Mr Lazzarini please resign," Katz said on social media platform X late on Saturday in response to a post by the UNRWA chief warning that the funding cuts meant the agency's operation in Gaza was close to collapse. Katz said earlier that UNRWA "must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development" in the rebuilding of Gaza after the territory's bloodiest war. Donors including Germany, Britain, ...

 NASA's rover Perseverance has gathered data confirming the existence of ancient lake sediments deposited by water that once filled a giant basin on Mars called Jerezo Crater, according to a study published on Friday. The findings from ground-penetrating radar observations conducted by the robotic rover substantiate previous orbital imagery and other data leading scientists to theorize that portions of Mars were once covered in water and may have harbored microbial life. The research, led by teams from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Oslo, was published in the journal Science Advances, opens new tab. It was based on subsurface scans taken by the car-sized, six-wheeled rover over several months of 2022 as it made its way across the Martian surface from the crater floor onto an adjacent expanse of braided, sedimentary-like features resembling, from orbit, the river deltas found on Earth. Soundings from the rover's RIMFAX ra...

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel on Friday to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. The top United Nations court for handling disputes between states was ruling in a case brought by South Africa. Here are key takeaways from the decision. What did the court rule? The court ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts in Gaza. "At least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the (Genocide) Convention," the judges said. The ruling required Israel to prevent and punish any public incitements to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and to preserve evidence related to any allegations of genocide there. Israel must also take measures to...

Alabama on Thursday executed convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who held his breath in vain as officials asphyxiated him with nitrogen gas, the first use of a new method of capital punishment since lethal injections began in the US four decades ago. Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, was a rare prisoner who had already survived one execution attempt. In November 2022, Alabama officials aborted his execution by lethal injection after struggling for hours to insert an intravenous line's needle in his body. The state has called its new closely watched protocol "the most painless and humane method of execution known to man." It predicted Smith would lose consciousness in under a minute and die soon after, although witnesses on Thursday said it appeared to take several minutes longer. Alabama has touted asphyxiation as a simpler alternative for prison systems that struggle to find either veins or the required drugs for lethal injections. Human rights groups, United Nat...

Turkey is expected to send the final instrument of ratification for Sweden's NATO membership to Washington within days, now that President Tayyip Erdogan signed it off, in a move Ankara hopes will clear the way to its purchase of US F-16 fighter jets. A source familiar with the issue said the document could be deposited as early as Friday, marking the last step in a process that began in 2022. After 20 months of delay, Turkey moved rapidly this week to ratify the Swedish bid, with parliamentary ratification coming on Tuesday and President Tayyip Erdogan signing off on the approval on Thursday. As per formal NATO rules, the final document in the process - the instrument of ratification - needs to be deposited in the U.S. State Department archives in Washington. Read Turkey approves Sweden's NATO membership bid after 20-month delay Turkey's backing, long seen as the main obstacle in securing Sweden's accession into the western military alliance, leaves Hungar...

The head of the World Health Organization called for a ceasefire and a "true solution" to the Israel-Palestinian conflict in an emotional plea to the global health body's governing body on Thursday where he described conditions in Gaza as "hellish". WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who lived through war as a child and whose own children hid in a bunker during bombardments in Ethiopia's 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, became emotional describing conditions in the bombed-out Gaza enclave where more than 25,000 people have been killed. "I'm a true believer because of my own experience that war doesn't bring solution, except more war, more hatred, more agony, more destruction. So let's choose peace and resolve this issue politically," Tedros told the WHO Executive Board in Geneva during a discussion about the Gaza health emergency. "I think all of you have said the two-state solution and so on, and hope this war will...

Donald Trump leads Democratic President Joe Biden by six percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that showed Americans are unhappy about an election rematch that came into sharper focus this week. The nationwide poll of 1,250 US adults showed Trump leading Biden 40% to 34% with the rest unsure or planning to vote for someone else or no one. The poll had a margin of error of three percentage points. That represented a gain for Trump after a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month showed him and Biden tied, though a nationwide survey does not capture the subtleties of the electoral college contest that will be decided this fall in just a handful of competitive states. As Trump handily beat his sole remaining primary challenger, Nikki Haley in New Hampshire on Tuesday, some 67% of respondents polled Monday through Wednesday said they were "tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections and want someone new." Still, just 18% said they would ...

A Japanese man was convicted and sentenced to death on Thursday for the arson and killing of 36 people at famed anime studio Kyoto Animation in 2019, public broadcaster NHK said. The deadly attack on the Kyoto-based studio, better known as KyoAni, had sent shockwaves not only through Japan where violent crime is rare, but also overseas given the studio's far-reaching fan base and the audacity of the crime. Shinji Aoba, now 45, had set the studio ablaze by dousing the entrance area of the building with petrol, also injuring 32. Aoba himself suffered heavy burns and underwent intensive treatment for nearly a year. Media have reported that Aoba held a grudge against the studio, known for the series "Violet Evergarden" and other popular works, believing that it had plagiarised his novel, an allegation that KyoAni has denied. A pillar of Japanese pop culture, anime has become a major cultural export, winning fans around the world. The incident prompted condolences from world l...

North Korea said it tested its new strategic cruise missile on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported on Thursday, confirming what the South Korean military said the day before. The missile dubbed "Pulhwasal-3-31" is currently under development and the test-firing had no impact on the security of neighbouring countries, the state media said, adding it had "nothing" to do with the regional situation. The test was also part of the process of updating the country's weapon system, the report said, citing The Missile Administration. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it believed the firing was to test upgrades of existing missiles' capabilities. On Wednesday, the South Korean military said the North had fired multiple cruise missiles towards the sea off its west coast at around 7 a.m. (2200 GMT on Tuesday) while Seoul's defence minister, Shin Won-sik, condemned the launches as a serious threat to his country. "Strategic" typically refers to ...

The US ambassador to Turkey said he anticipates that President Tayyip Erdogan will give a final sign-off on Sweden's NATO membership within days, triggering rapid steps toward US Congress endorsing a sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara. In an interview on Thursday, Ambassador Jeff Flake said that once the formal ratification document is received in Washington, the US State Department will immediately send Congress notification of the $20 billion F-16s sale. Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay. Erdogan needs to sign the legislation, which would be published in Turkey's Official Gazette. The instrument of accession for Sweden also needs to be sent to Washington. Asked whether he expected this "within days", Flake, a former US Republican senator, told Reuters: "Yes, I do." "I see no reason why, with the parliament having act...

The United Nations' top court will rule on Friday on whether it will grant emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide against Palestinians. The 15 judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, are joined for this case by a judge specially appointed by South Africa and one by Israel. Both are distinguished figures in their countries with extraordinary personal histories. The court's legally-binding decisions are made by a simple majority but it has no way to enforce them. Dikgang Moseneke - Moseneke, 76, is one of South Africa's most senior retired judges who fought against apartheid and played a key role in the country's transition to democracy. - He was imprisoned at the age of 15 for protesting apartheid and spent 10 years in South Africa's notorious Robben Island prison, where he befriended Nelson Mandela. - Moseneke studied for his univer...

Youth appeal and ambitious plans to combat climate change form the core of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's effort to become prime minister of Pakistan, which, if successful, would make him its youngest premier since his mother Benazir was in office. As general elections near on February, 8, the 35-year-old, a former foreign minister and scion of a family that gave the nation two prime ministers, called for new ideas and leadership to calm political and economic instability. "The implications of the decisions taken today are going to be faced by the youth of Pakistan," Bhutto Zardari told Reuters in Larkana, his hometown in the southern province of Sind, a family bastion. "I think it would be better if they were allowed to make those decisions." About two-thirds of Pakistan's population of 241 million is younger than 30, while its prime ministers since 2000 have been older than 61, on average. The Oxford-educated Bhutto Zardari is less than half the age of three-tim...

Turkey's parliament is widely expected to approve Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing the biggest remaining hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance. Turkey's general assembly, where President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling alliance holds a majority, is set to vote on Sweden's application about 20 months after Stockholm asked to join NATO following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Once parliament has ratified the move, Erdogan would be expected to sign it into law within days, leaving Hungary as the only member state not to have approved Sweden's accession. Hungary has said it believes NATO membership is "not a priority" for Sweden based on its actions. It had pledged not to be the last ally to ratify Sweden's membership, but its parliament is in recess until around mid-February. Read also: Erdogan says he will try to facilitate Sweden's NATO bid ratification Turkey and Hungary maintain better relations with Russia t...

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday conveyed its serious concerns regarding the recent construction and inauguration of the "Ram Temple" at the site of the previously demolished Babri Mosque in India’s Ayodhya.  Expressing its stance, the OIC's General Secretariat expressed deep worry over the actions taken to establish the "Ram Temple" and condemned the obliteration of the Islamic landmark represented by the historic Babri Mosque.  #OIC General Secretariat Denounces Opening of “Ram Temple” on Demolished Historic #BabriMosque in the #Indian city of #Ayodhya: https://t.co/lT3UYXsyqX pic.twitter.com/ao4kF6DR80 — OIC (@OIC_OCI) January 23, 2024 The mosque had stood at the site for five centuries and held significant cultural and religious value, it added.  This, the statement continued, aligns with the OIC's consistent position, as expressed by the Council of Foreign Ministers in previous sessions.  The OIC denounces actions that undermine ...

Tens of thousands of Hindus braved biting cold on Tuesday to pray at a new temple to Lord Ram in India's northern city of Ayodhya, a day after its inaugural by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a site believed to be the god-king's birthplace. Hindu groups, Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its affiliates have portrayed the opening as part of a Hindu renaissance. "I was adamant about this ... I will only leave after I have seen my Lord Ram," one of the visitors, Guddu Shukla, who queued at the temple gate at 4 a.m. in temperatures of about 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit), told news agency ANI. He was among more than 50,000 devotees who lined up before dawn on Tuesday to enter the temple, among some 200,000 who arrived in the city after the consecration, said a government official, Murli Dhar Singh. The site was bitterly contested for decades by Hindus and minority Muslims, sparking nationwide riots in 1992 that killed 2,000 people, m...

The death toll from a landslide in China's Yunnan province rose to 20 on Tuesday afternoon as rescue workers battled freezing temperatures and snow to locate dozens of missing people. Rescuers worked through the night sifting deep mounds of earth at the site of the landslide in Zhenxiong County, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday. One rescuer said large machines cannot be used due to the unstable soil, according to a report from local media outlet The Cover, owned by the Sichuan Daily Newspaper Press Group. "If the excavation is unloaded below, the top may continue to collapse. It is difficult to carry out large-scale mechanical operations, and it is very difficult to rescue on site," the worker was quoted as saying in the report. After the landslide hit on Monday, at least 47 people from 18 households were reported missing, CCTV said, adding that 20 of those people were now confirmed dead. Another 24 were still missing and three other people ...

Israel's plan to destroy Islamist Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza is not working and the European Union must pursue efforts to create a "two-state solution" despite Israeli opposition, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister had on Sunday reaffirmed a hard line against any Palestinian state as it would pose "an existential danger" to Israel. He said Israel would keep insisting on full security control over all territory west of the Jordan River, which would include Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Borrell spoke at the monthly gathering of EU foreign ministers, attended this time by counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan and the Arab League secretary-general. The talks will focus mainly on the consequences of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki were making separate appearances a...

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across towns and cities in Germany this weekend as the country enters a second week of nationwide protests against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Demonstrations have gained momentum after reports emerged from investigative news website Correctiv of a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam at which migration policies including mass deportations of people of foreign origin were discussed. The AfD, which is polling second in nationwide surveys, has denied the reported migration plans are party policy. On Sunday, rallies were held in Berlin, Munich and Cologne, as well as in more traditional AfD voting strongholds in eastern Germany such as Leipzig and Dresden, with turnout in many places far higher than expected. Organisers in Munich ended the demonstration early due to overcrowding with around 100,000 participants, according to police. Protest organisers said 200,000 people attended. At...

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing the veteran leader of mishandling the nation's security and calling for a new election. Anti-government protests that shook the nation for much of 2023 ceased after the attacks by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Political rifts were set aside as Israelis rallied behind the military and the families of those killed or taken hostage. But with the devastating war in Gaza in its fourth month and opinion polls showing lagging support for Netanyahu, calls for leadership changes are growing stronger, though there is no indication that his position is under any imminent threat. This was reflected in Saturday night's turnout in a central Tel Aviv square where many of last year's protests took place. Read: Netanyahu says Israel must control Gaza's border with Egypt, war to last months While the crowd was much smaller than those s...

A prosecutor in Uvalde, Texas, has convened a grand jury to investigate whether police were criminally liable for failing to promptly storm a classroom in a 2022 mass shooting that killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers, Texas media reported. District Attorney Christina Mitchell said the grand jury would review evidence and weigh possible criminal charges, the San Antonio Express-News reported on Friday. Mitchell, whose district includes the town of Uvalde about 80 miles (130 km) west of San Antonio, did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The 18-year-old shooter at Robb Elementary School was shot dead by police but not until they waited more than an hour before breaking into the adjoining fourth-grade classrooms, in what a U.S. Justice Department review called a critical failure. Read: Las Vegas campus shooting leaves 4 dead, including suspect Lives would have been saved if police from several agencies had followed generally accepted practices for an active s...

Turkey's first astronaut and three other crew members representing Europe were launched from Florida on Thursday on a voyage to the International Space Station in the latest commercially arranged mission from Texas startup Axiom Space. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the Axiom quartet lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket about an hour before sunset from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, beginning a planned 36-hour flight to the orbiting laboratory. The launch was shown live on an Axiom-SpaceX joint webcast. The autonomously operated Crew Dragon was expected to reach the International Space Station (ISS) early on Saturday morning and dock with the outpost orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth and currently occupied by seven regular crew members. Live video showed the two-stage 25-story-tall launch vehicle streaking into partly cloudy skies over Florida's Atlantic coast atop a fiery, yellowish tail of exhaust. Cameras inside the crew compartment beamed ...