World Echo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country has given the United States proposals for ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. “We passed our proposals to the American side,” he said in an address on Tuesday evening. “America can help strengthen our defence, first and foremost through air defence, and it can put pressure on Russia so that its plans change – from prolonging the war to preparing to end it,” Zelenskyy added. His remarks come amid a halt in US-mediated peace efforts as the Russia-Ukraine war entered its fifth year. Under US mediation, Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of peace talks this January and February in a bid to find a settlement for the war. Read: Ukrainian prisoners recount torture, sexual abuse while in Russian detention However, negotiations have since paused, with Moscow and Kyiv attributing the halt to the US focus on Iran and the armed conflict in the Middle East, which began on February 28. The ...

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang. The missile was launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea's east coast at around 6am (2100 GMT Tuesday), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, six days after North Korea fired another ballistic missile from the same area. The launch comes ahead of South Korean and United States military drills, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, scheduled for August 17 to 27, aimed at countering Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and weapons capabilities. Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the launch was likely part of North Ko...

US President Donald Trump took a secret military flight from Turkey last month in an operation that involved him being moved between aircraft in a catering truck, an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, the Washington Post reported. The ​White House said at the time that the president was flying aboard Air Force One from Turkey, where he had attended a NATO ‌summit, to Britain. But moments after Trump had boarded the plane, he left it in secret via the catering truck and boarded another aircraft for the flight to Britain, the Post said on Monday, quoting unnamed sources. The New York Times carried a similar report, quoting unnamed US officials. Trump had taken a newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the NATO summit but unexpectedly announced he would use ​an older Air Force One when departing the country, a move that prompted questions about the newer plane's security. The trip to NATO was the first ​international tr...

A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death on Tuesday after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country's nearly 14-year war. It was the first conviction against Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended decades of his family's iron-fisted rule over Syria, and the brutal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Assad fled the capital Damascus as rebel fighters approached nearly two years ago, and is currently in Moscow. In a trial of former government officials on Tuesday, a judge handed down a death sentence to Assad over the crimes of "premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity". Read: Trump removes Syria from terror list Atef Najib, a security official under Assad, was also sentenced to death. Assad, who was born in 1965, became pr...

Rescue efforts across western Colombia carried into a second day on Tuesday as emergency workers dug through collapsed buildings and flattened homes, amid expectations that the death toll from the country's most powerful earthquake in decades could rise. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake tore through Colombia's coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, killing at least 164 people. The quake reduced multi-story buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and cracked apart one of the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales. Emergency teams aided by police, soldiers and volunteers worked through the night with excavators and, at times, their bare hands, hunting for survivors beneath debris. In Cali, home to about 2.2 million people, at least 85 people were killed. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or destroyed outright, forcing residents into the streets. Seve...

Bangladesh ‌Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told India's envoy on Monday that there was a need to create a "conducive environment" to boost ties between the neighbours, as Dhaka continues to press New Delhi ​over the politically sensitive issue of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's exile in ​India. Rahman's remarks underline his six-month-old government's efforts to stabilise relations with ⁠its largest neighbour while seeking progress on issues that have remained major irritants ​since Hasina's ouster in August 2024. While Rahman has sought good relations with India since ​coming to power, Monday’s comments are his first that stress the need to improve conditions to boost ties. Rahman made the comments during his first meeting with the new Indian High Commissioner to ​Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi. Rahman "emphasised the need to create a conducive environment to further advance ​the bilateral relations between the two countries"...

A gunman was arrested after firing shots at ‌a local government office on the outskirts of Thailand's capital on Monday, officials said, just days after a teenager's killing spree at a school in the same province reignited debate over gun control. The suspected shooter, a former lawmaker, fired at a senior provincial official and his driver, said Major General ​Dejrapee Kongdee, the police commander of Nonthaburi, which borders Bangkok. "There were two people wounded, who have been sent ​to hospital for treatment," Dejrapee told Reuters. Thailand has been reeling from a 14-year-old boy's rampage on Friday -- ⁠first at his home and then at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School -- that left nine people dead, including the shooter, and over ​20 wounded in the country's deadliest mass shooting in nearly four years. Read: Accused Thai school shooter had watched violent content online, police say Thai school children re...

Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz ​but repeated that the US must meet other conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened. A US official told ‌Reuters on Friday that Iran and Oman were close to a deal that could pave the way for restoring safe passage through the strait, a major conduit for oil and gas shipping before Iran blocked Hormuz in response to US and Israeli attacks on Tehran that began in late February. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday an agreement with Oman on the strait was in its "final stages" but reiterated comments made on Saturday that Tehran would not reopen the ​channel unless the US met certain demands made by Tehran. The deal with Iran would set out the new shipping lanes to be used once the US fulfils those c...

Israeli occupiers began moving Sunday into the newly established illegal settlement of Emek Dotan, built on Palestinian land in the town of Arraba, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank, according to Israeli media. Channel 7 reported that trucks carrying equipment arrived at the site and that the first occupier families from the settlement's founding group moved into buildings erected there. The move comes ahead of an official inauguration ceremony scheduled for Sunday set to be attended by Israeli Cabinet ministers, Knesset members, and other public figures, according to the report. Expected attendees include Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Security Cabinet Minister Zeev Elkin, Knesset members Keti Shitrit, Boaz Bismuth, and Nissim Vaturi, and Zeev Hever, secretary-general of the Amana settlement organisation. Rabbi Haim Baruch, head of the Yeshivat Beror Hayil institutions in Lod and Tiberias, is also expected to attend. Graduates of his religious school are among t...

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Iran. With Iran and the United States still arguing over the parameters for peace, the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, citing what they said was a Saudi siege on them, an allegation Riyadh denies. The Saudi energy ministry said a fire had broken out at the refinery but was later extinguished with no injuries and authorities were dealing with the incident, without giving a cause. The Houthis used a drone to target the refinery, military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on X. They had struck Aramco sites before in Jazan, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day in southwestern Saudi Arabia. They had also hit Yanbu on the Red Sea. Read: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye s...

Spain checked around 200 travellers arriving from Italy at the country's six largest airports on the first day of border controls reintroduced following a dispute with Italy over irregular migration. Spain's Interior Ministry carried out checks on a total of 199 people on 12 flights from Italy to airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia, it said late on Saturday. Spain said on Friday border controls for flights and ships from Italy would remain in force until September 7 after Rome applied its own measures, which it said were motivated by the mass migration rush by 72,000 people to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30. 👮‍♀️ Restablecidos los controles fronterizos a los viajeros procedentes de #Italia. 📌 Ante la persistente presión migratoria irregular que sufre el país transalpino. 🔛 Desde est...

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of overnight strikes Saturday that killed three people and injured 10 others on both sides, authorities said. In Ukraine's capital, three people were killed and three others injured during Russian strikes in three locations in the Brovary district, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram. Falling debris damaged a private residential building, outbuildings and cars, while a fire broke out at a nonresidential building, he said. “Rescuers and all necessary services are working on the ground. The elimination of the consequences is ongoing,” Tkachenko said. Read: 17 Ukrainians killed in Russia missile strikes Russia's Defence Ministry on Telegram confirmed the attack on Kyiv, saying its forces targeted a military-industrial facility and a fuel and lubricants depot in the capital. The ministry also said two dry cargo ships allegedly carrying weapons and military equipment to Ukra...

Two weeks after youth-led protests forced India's education minister to resign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is grappling with the fallout from one of its toughest political challenges in years. Led by the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the demonstrations spread from New Delhi to other cities, broadening from anger over exam irregularities into a wider movement over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics describe as Modi's increasingly authoritarian rule. While demonstrations are largely over after achieving key demands, AFP looks at what the protests revealed - and what could come next. Modi under pressure The resignation of the education minister on July 25 marked a rare climbdown for a prime minister who has spent more than a decade cultivating an image of unwavering resolve. The authorities have since attempted to woo the youth, and parliament has hiked penalties for leaking exam papers. Read: Cockroach movement an...

Outlining the rationale behind the Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Turkiye and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), security analysts on Friday described it as the natural evolution and formal codification of decades of historic ties among the three countries. According to the analysts, Pakistan's relationship with Turkiye predates its own independence and is rooted in the Khilafat Movement (1919–1924). Likewise, they said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long shared close strategic, political, economic and people-to-people contact based on mutual trust and common interests. A changing regional environment Security analysts said the region is undergoing a major strategic transformation and faces multiple threats. Regional conflicts, security challenges and the changing character of warfare, they argued, underscore the need for greater cooperation among countries sharing common aspirations based on stability. According to the sources, a trilateral framework offer...

US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday in a new but narrower attempt to curtail birthright citizenship, once again challenging a provision of the US ​Constitution even though the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort. Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president's crackdown on immigration, with the ‌White House taking particular aim at what it calls "birth tourism," in which pregnant foreigners travel to the US to give birth. After his June 30 setback in the Supreme Court, Trump called on Congress to act, but on Thursday he opted for executive orders, which set policy but do not carry the same weight as laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court had struck down as unconstitutional Trump's earlier executive order, which targeted a wide swath of immigrants in the country ​illegally or temporarily. The administration argues the new directive falls outside the pur...

The Israeli army withdrew from the Qalandia refugee camp north of occupied East Jerusalem late Thursday after a nearly two-day military raid that left 51 Palestinians injured, Palestinian authorities said. The Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces pulled out after an operation involving widespread raids, searches and detentions. Several homes and other buildings were seized and turned into detention and field interrogation centres during the operation, it added. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the number of Palestinians injured since the raid began early Wednesday had risen to 51. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said earlier Thursday that Israeli forces had detained or subjected more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, to field interrogation. Read: Over 60,000 children orphaned in Gaza since October 2023: Palestinian ministry The Israeli army launched the large-scale operation early Wednesday in Qalandia and the nearby town ...

Five months into the US war with Iran, Americans who expect the Middle East to slide toward chaos outnumber those who see the war bringing more stability ​by three to one, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The six-day poll concluded on Monday, as Republican President Donald Trump again backed away from threatened "massive attacks" on ‌Iran, underscoring uncertainty surrounding a conflict he initially predicted would bring a swift victory. Fifty per cent of poll respondents said they thought US military action in Iran would destabilize the Middle East over the next year, about three times the 17% who said the war would lead to more stability in the region. Another 16% said stability would stay about the same and 17% said they were unsure or didn't answer the question. Americans were also pessimistic about gasoline prices, which ​have risen as Iran has choked off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies. Some 58% said they...

Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday while Lebanese ​authorities said Israeli retaliatory attacks killed at least one person, a ‌flare-up in violence that coincided with the latest round of talks between the two countries. The Rome talks, which began on Tuesday and are expected to continue through Thursday, come after ​the two countries agreed in June to a US-brokered security arrangement ​intended to ease hostilities along the border. Despite the ceasefire, Israel ⁠declared a buffer zone in southern Lebanon where its troops continue to operate ​to eliminate what it says is the threat of the Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, on ​its border. The two soldiers were killed and four others wounded by an explosion in a building they had entered as part of a security sweep, according to Israel's Army Radio ​on Thursday. Citing a security source, Army Radio said that it was still ​unclear when the explosive device had been planted in the bui...

FBI Director Kash Patel says he has forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia, two longtime United States rivals, over the past year in hopes of gaining allies in combating transnational crime including fentanyl, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation. The partnerships have involved personnel exchanges in which Chinese law enforcement officials have visited the US and FBI agents have traveled to China to work on cases together and share intelligence. Separately, FBI and Chinese officers have carried out joint raids and arrests under the arrangement. Patel returned from a trip to Beijing in late July, and a similar trip to Russia has been tentatively planned for October, according to FBI officials. In exclusive interviews with Reuters, Patel described the FBI's initiatives with what he called "non-traditional partners...

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...