World Echo

At least 55 people were reportedly killed ​in a blast in Myanmar's Kaung Tat village, ‌which a rebel army said was caused by the accidental explosion of material stored for use in mining. The ​Ta'ang National Liberation Army, which has been ​engaged in bitter fighting with Myanmar's military ⁠junta and controls the village near the ​Chinese border, said there had been fatalities, without saying ​how many. The BBC and local news outlet Shwe Phee Myay News Agency said at least 55 people had died, ​including 25 women and 30 men, and ​that dozens more were wounded. According to AFP, one first responder in Shan state's Namhkan district, where the blast occurred, said 46 people were killed, including children, and more than 70 others were injured. Read More: Pakistan, Myanmar vow cooperation in religious tourism, cultural exchanges Another rescuer said 59 people were killed in total, with both speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. A ser...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on ‌Sunday he had ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle against Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago. The fighting in Lebanon has been the broadest spillover of the Iran war, displacing more than 1.2 million Lebanese through Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2, when Hezbollah began firing rockets and ​drones into Israel to back its ally Iran. The incursion has so far killed more than 3,370 people, according to the Lebanese government. Israel ​says 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period. Tens of thousands of Israelis ⁠in the country's north have also been displaced by Hezbollah rockets and drones. In the latest advance, Israeli troops seized the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and a ​strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, the military said, a day after one of the heaviest days of Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel since the Apr...

Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Sunday rejected accusations of "new militarism" by Tokyo and criticised China for rapidly expanding its military with little transparency, underscoring mounting tensions between the two countries. China continues to increase its defence spending at a high level, Koizumi said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, adding: "China's external approach and military activities are matters of serious concern for Japan and the international community at the same time." Rebutting criticism that Japan was embracing new militarism, he said: "Think about it. There's a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers. Japan has neither of such weapons, and yet Japan is labelled 'new militarism'?" Koizumi said Japan's record since World War 2 "speaks for itself...

South Korea and Japan discussed the possibility of a military-logistics support agreement on Sunday, Seoul's defense chief said, adding that Seoul remains cautious about the politically sensitive pact. "It requires the understanding and persuasion of the citizens of both nations, and I believe we should still proceed with caution," Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters after meeting his counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi at the Shangri-La Dialogue of regional defence officials in Singapore on Saturday. Read: South Korea protests Japanese event over disputed islands Ahn was referring to a potential acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, which would allow neighbouring United States allies Seoul and Tokyo to share and mutually procure military logistics such as fuel, food and ammunition. South Korea has been cautious about a deal, given persistent grievances over ...

United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in the US-Iran peace negotiations, saying that Washington and Islamabad are developing a “true friendship”. “I mentioned India here, but I very easily could have mentioned Pakistan and the role that the field marshal and the prime minister are playing in peace negotiations,” he said while responding to a question at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. “I think an unexpected development and a true friendship [are] developing there, which I think is important.” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says America and Pakistan are developing a “true friendship,” praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in peace negotiations.#USPakistan #PeteHegseth #PakistanUSA #PeaceTalks #PMShehbazSharif #AsimMunir… pic...

US Defence Secretary ​Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies on Saturday to ramp up military spending to counter China's growing power and prevent its dominance in the region, warning of "rightful alarm" ‌over its rapid military buildup. Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, said a stronger, more self-reliant network of allies is essential to deter aggression and preserve the balance of power. "There is rightful alarm regarding China's historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond," he said. "A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power," Hegseth said. "No state, ​including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question." The US expects its Asian allies and partners to increase defence ​spending to ...

A federal judge has ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to remove President Donald Trump’s name from its building and branding and temporarily halt plans to close the venue for two years, dealing a significant setback to the institution’s renovation plans. US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on Friday that Congress had established the Kennedy Center’s name and that only Congress could authorise any change to it. The ruling requires the removal of Trump’s name within two weeks. The judge also granted in part a request from Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, for a preliminary injunction blocking steps towards the planned closure. Cooper found that Beatty had demonstrated that a two-year closure could cause irreparable harm, although he left open the possibility that the board could reconsider the decision after conducting an independent review of its obligations. Beatty welcom...

Thousands of Muslims began to leave the holy city of Makkah on Friday after having completed the Haj in scorching heat and despite the shadow of war across the Middle East. This year, more than 1.7 million people from 165 countries took part in one of the world's largest religious gatherings, against the backdrop of the conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Since war erupted in February, Tehran has retaliated with waves of drone and missile strikes, hitting infrastructure and energy installations across the Gulf, including in Saudi Arabia. Muslim pilgrims touch the Kaaba's wall at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, May 18. REUTERS More than 30,000 Iranians made the journey to Makkah, about a third of the 86,000 originally expected. Iran's IRNA state news agency said the "wartime situation" explained the drop. "I can't believe I completed the Haj," said Ahmed Mamdouh, a 37-year-...

An uncrewed Blue Origin ​New Glenn rocket exploded on a Florida launchpad during a test on Thursday, in a major setback for Jeff Bezos’ space ‌venture as it seeks to narrow the gap with Elon Musk's IPO-bound SpaceX. Video posted by NASASpaceflight, which livestreams launches from Florida, showed the towering New Glenn rocket igniting on the pad at about 2100 ET (0100 GMT on Friday) before erupting into a massive fireball that billowed skyward, sending a towering plume of flames and smoke into the air. Blue Origin ​was preparing the rocket for its fourth launch, which was due to deliver 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of efforts ​to build a broadband constellation to rival Musk’s Starlink network. Amazon Leo satellites were not integrated on the rocket ⁠at the time of the incident, a source familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named due to its sensitivity. The sound of the explosion just arrived at our cams miles away. pic.twi...

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is the headline speaker at Asia's premier defence summit opening Friday, but China's top officials aren't expected, despite weighty questions like Taiwan and the war in Iran. Beijing's defence minister is to skip the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second year running, which analysts viewed as a sign of China's rising power. Yet, the forum that brings together top officials from around 45 nations has historically provided a setting for debate as well as quiet and high-profile diplomacy. Defence Minister Dong Jun's absence means no meeting there with Hegseth as China warns the US over its involvement with Taiwan and Washington seeks an end to the Mideast war. The Middle East was the source of 57 per cent of China's direct seaborne crude imports in 2025 -- 5.9 million barrels per day (mbd) -- maritime tracking firm Kpler said. Hegseth's second trip to the Shangri-La Dialogue comes after US President ...

Russia and Afghanistan signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation during the International Security Forum in the Moscow region, as Moscow continues expanding ties with the Taliban-led authorities in Kabul. The agreement was signed Wednesday evening by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob. “Interaction with Russia is important for us. Afghanistan and Russia have long-standing historical relations, and we want to continue moving in this direction. We have expanded bilateral relations,” Yaqoob said. Shoigu said Western countries should unfreeze Afghan assets and assume responsibility for rebuilding the country after two decades of military presence. Read: Russia warns Armenia over EU embrace “We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognize their responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan and bear the burden of the country’s p...

At least seven Palestinians were killed and 18 were injured in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday that targeted an apartment in a residential building in Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. It said its crews recovered seven bodies, including those of two children and two women, following the strike, which targeted a home near Al-Israa Tower on Omar al-Mukhtar Street. It added that the injured were transferred to Al-Saraya Field Hospital near the site of the strike. 🚨 7 Palestinians were killed and 18 injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment in a residential building in Gaza https://t.co/uNm8c3qGCU pic.twitter.com/E5RDa0FeV9 — Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 28, 2026 Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli warplanes carried out a violent airstrike targeting an apartment in the Farah residential building on Omar al-Mukhtar Street, a densely populated area in central Gaza City. Read: Trump Board of Peace's official Gaza...

Average global temperatures are forecast to reach near-record levels in the next five years, ‌with Arctic temperatures expected to warm faster than other regions, a report by the UN weather agency and the UK’s Met Office said on Thursday. The annual report, which gives regional predictions for temperatures and rain, predicts that annual global mean near-surface temperatures will range between 1.3°C and 1.9°C above ​the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period. "There's very clear evidence that the climate is warming and that the global average temperature ​is continuing to rise," Melissa Seabrook, a research scientist at the UK Met Office, told Reuters. In the ⁠2015 Paris Agreement, governments promised to try to prevent the average global temperature rise from exceeding 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, ​above which severe climate events were seen growing in intensity. 2024 record for warmest year seen broken The report said it is ...

New clothes for children, sacrificial sheep and Eid biscuits, the hallmarks of Eidul Azha, are all either unaffordable or unavailable in Gaza, casting a shadow over what is usually a time of celebration and joy. "I go to the market only to look around because I cannot afford to buy anything. Whenever I ask about prices, I return heartbroken," Nadia Abu Shamala, a Palestinian resident of Gaza, told AFP. "This year, Eid comes with none of the joy we once knew in Gaza because of the effects of the war, the soaring prices, and our inability to provide even the simplest needs for our children," said the 40-year-old woman from Gaza's north displaced to the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah for over two years. Many Palestinian bakers make Eid biscuits for Eidul Azha but this year many Gazans can't afford to buy them. PHOTO: AFP Despite a US-brokered ceasefire that began in October 2025, Israeli air strikes are still common in Gaza, where 80% of...

Iran's state TV on Wednesday said Tehran had obtained a draft of an initial, unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States on ending their conflict. Under the framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, while the US would withdraw military forces from Iran's vicinity and lift a naval blockade. State TV said the framework, which excludes military vessels and envisages Iran managing ship traffic through the strait in cooperation with Oman, was not yet finalised and that Tehran would take no steps without "tangible verification". It added that if a final agreement was reached within 60 days, it could be approved as a binding United Nations Security Council resolution. The emerging US-Iran MoU stems from indirect talks launched after the war that began in February, with Pakistan playing a central mediating role between Tehran and Washington. The war erup...

Muslim faithful took part in the climactic ritual of the annual Hajj pilgrimage on Wednesday, symbolically stoning the devil near Makkah. From dawn, crowds of pilgrims gathered in the valley of Mina, southeast of the holy city of Makkah, to throw pebbles at concrete pillars symbolising the devil. It reenacts Prophet Ibrahim's (AS) stoning of the devil at three places where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son, Prophet Ismail (AS). More than 1.7 million people are taking part in the Hajj this year. The pilgrimage is a requirement for all Muslims to perform at least once in their life if they have the means. Read: Pak pilgrims slam Hajj arrangements The most important festival in Islam has, for the third year in a row, been overshadowed by war — this time the United States-Israeli conflict with Iran that has drawn in the Gulf nations. A fragile ceasefire, in place since April 8, has mostly brought a halt to th...

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eidul Azha with prayers, animal sacrifice, and togetherness. The occasion commemorates the willingness and devotion of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice for the sake of Allah, teaching us lessons of obedience, patience, generosity, and faith. Across the world, Muslims gathered to observe the occasion, filling mosques and streets with activity. Eidul Azha brings the traditional sacrifice of animals such as goats, with those of the Muslim faith distributing the sacrificial meat among their loved ones, neighbours, and friends. People offer Eidul Azha prayers at the Railway Ground in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 27, 2026. Photo: Reuters A drone view shows Muslims offering mass prayers during Eidul Azha at the Great Mosque of Al Azhar in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 27, 2026. Photo: Reuters Muslims gather to perform Eidul Azha prayer in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on May 27, 2026. Photo: Reuters A drone view shows Albanian Muslims a...

Indian officials investigating last year's deadly Air India crash are preparing an ​interim report rather than a final one ahead of the anniversary of the Boeing 787 accident that killed 260 people, said a person with direct knowledge ‌of the matter. The interim report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will be "more comprehensive" than the preliminary report put out last July and will examine possible primary causes and other contributing factors, the person said. The 15-page preliminary report into the aviation industry's deadliest disaster in a decade showed the Dreamliner's engine fuel switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel shortly after the flight from Ahmedabad to London took off on ​June 12, 2025. A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, according to US officials' ​early assessment rep...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called United States State Secretary Marco Rubio to advise him to evacuate US citizens and diplomats from Kyiv, as the Kremlin plans to continue heavy strikes on the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday, Bloomberg reported. According to the report, citing the statement, the Russian foreign minister called his US counterpart at the request of President Vladimir Putin to tell him that Russia was launching systematic and consistent strikes against facilities in Kyiv as well as against the relevant “decision-making centres”. Bloomberg wrote that Russia had bombed Ukrainian cities regularly, Kyiv included, since 2022. However, it added that this Sunday, Ukraine came under a massive Russian drone and missile barrage that included an Oreshnik ballistic missile. 🇷🇺🇺🇸📞 On May 25, Russia's FM #Lavrov & US Secretary of State @SecRubio spoke over the phone Lavrov off...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that securing a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory remains a national priority. “The path to a complete Israeli withdrawal remains a steadfast national demand, one that the Lebanese state is working to achieve through negotiations,” Aoun said in a statement carried by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA). The remarks came as Lebanon marked Resistance and Liberation Day, commemorating Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 after 22 years of occupation. Read: Israel pounds Lebanon despite truce Aoun said negotiations with Israel “will not be an act of concession or surrender,” but instead represent Lebanon’s effort to assert its sovereign right to protect its territory through the country’s military and security institutions. Beirut and Tel Aviv have held three rounds of direct talks mediated by the United States since mid-April in efforts to establis...

Over 1.5 million Muslims began filling a vast tent city in the holy city of Mecca on Monday for an annual Hajj pilgrimage carried out against the backdrop of hopes for an end to the war in the Middle East. The white-robed pilgrims on buses or on foot arrived at the sprawling encampment in Mina after performing the "tawaf" — walking seven times around the Kaaba, the giant black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque. The start of the Hajj came as United States President Donald Trump continued to send mixed signals over a possible agreement to extend an uneasy ceasefire with Iran and a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This year's rites, drawing Muslim worshippers from across the world, including Iran, follow waves of Iranian attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours. Read: What we know about the possible US-Iran deal Saudi officials have been keen to keep conflict far from the minds of visitors, many of whom have travelled long distances for on...

The United States and Iran appear closer than ever to a deal that would end a war that has engulfed the Middle East and disrupted the global oil market. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the world might “get some good news” soon after President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been “largely negotiated” and would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Before Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei spoke of “a trend towards rapprochement” with Washington, but warned that “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues.” He said on state television that Iran’s “intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement,” before a final deal is reached within 30 to 60 days. What do we know about the possible agreement? Nuclear question Baghaei said that the nucle...

More than 20 people are trapped under the rubble of a building under construction in the Philippines that collapsed on Sunday, officials said, as rescue ​efforts continued. Five people were confirmed trapped, including two in contact with rescuers, ​and 18 more were feared under the rubble, officials said. "We have five ⁠confirmed trapped victims, and we have a figure of 18 workers from the list ​of construction workers on duty today, but no feedback yet from their families. This ​brings the estimated number of trapped victims to 23 as of today," Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, told a press briefing. At the site of the collapsed multi-storey building ​under construction in the city of Angeles, north of the capital Manila, rescuers were seen ​clambering over a mound of concrete slabs and mangled steel, covered in green netting, searching for ‌survivors. The ⁠number of rescued, including those in the vicinity, remai...

Iran on Saturday attributed difficulties in the Pakistan-mediated negotiations between Tehran and the United States to what it described as Washington’s repeated failure to uphold its commitments, contradictions, and excessive demands, according to Press TV. It stated that Iran's UN mission warned that the US's excessive demands and obstructionism pushed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into "free fall." The mission stressed that without genuine progress on nuclear disarmament, the NPT had no future. "The NPT Review Conference failed for the third consecutive time due to obstructionism by the United States and its allies." Iran's UN mission warns that US excessive demands and obstructionism have pushed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into "free fall," stressing that without genuine progress on nuclear disarmament, the NPT has no future. Follow: https://t.co/B3zXG74hnU pic.twitter.com/DdnthFcEtf — Press T...

A product tanker sailing within 200 nautical miles west of the Yemeni Island of Socotra was approached by a small craft carrying five people, but turned away after the vessel's armed security team was deployed, the UK maritime agency said on Saturday. "The Master of a product tanker has reported that the vessel was approached by a small craft with 5 persons onboard, closest point of approach 100m. "The vessel’s Armed Security Team were deployed, and the small craft altered course away from the reporting vessel," the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said on X. UKMTO WARNING 060-26 Click here to view the full advisory note⤵️https://t.co/WrarTo5yId#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/mpYuKuuPfX — UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) May 23, 2026 No further details were immediately available. The development came after the UKMTO said Friday that it received a report of another incident involving a tanker located 98 nautical miles nort...

Hundreds of people protested outside Ireland's parliament on Thursday to express outrage at the death of ‌a Congolese-born man after he was restrained outside a Dublin department store in an incident some compared to the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Yves Sakila was detained by security guards on one of the capital's busiest shopping streets last Friday in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident, police said. ​He became unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead. A video of the incident widely shared later on ​social media showed Sakila being pinned to the ground by at least five men for almost ⁠five minutes as bystanders watched. Two of the men held his face to the ground and at one point one of ​them appeared to kneel on his head or neck for a few seconds. "We call this a George Floyd moment," said David ​Kaliba, a 35-year-old physics student who went to a north Dublin suburban high school with Sakila, referring to a Black Minneapol...

US President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, only hours before Secretary ‌of State Marco Rubio was to meet alliance ministers in Sweden on Friday amid deep divisions over the Iran war. Trump, in a Truth Social post, cited his relationship with Poland's conservative nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, as the reason behind his decision to send additional troops. "Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, ​who I was proud to endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be ​sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump said in the post. It was a surprising turnabout after weeks ⁠in which Trump fiercely criticised NATO members for not doing more to help the US-Israeli military campaign. He has said he is considering withdrawing from ​the alliance and questioned whether Washington was bound to honour its mutu...

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Friday condemning the United States' action to sanction the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, along with several Lebanese officials and citizens. بیانیه وزارت امور خارجه در محكوميت اقدام آمریکا در تحریم سفیر ایران در لبنان و تعدادی از مسئولان و شهروندان لبنانی pic.twitter.com/FYWvXzcYN1 — وزارت امور خارجه (@IRIMFA) May 22, 2026 The statement on X read that "Washington's imposition of sanctions on representatives of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, and our ambassador in Beirut, is an incitement to sedition in Lebanon." ندين فرض عقوبات على ممثلين عن حزب الله ومسؤولين من حركة أمل وضباط عسكريين وأمنيين في لبنان. فرض واشنطن عقوبات على ممثلين عن حزب الله وحركة أمل وسفيرنا في بيروت إثارة للفتنة في لبنان. https://t.co/aJtsSHLm3W — السفارة الإيرانية- لبنان (@IranEmbassyLB) May 22, 2026 The United States on Thursday sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked individuals it accused of “obstruc...