World Echo

A plane carrying hundreds of hajj pilgrims back to Indonesia from the Middle East was diverted Saturday after a bomb threat, the transport ministry and police said, the second such incident in a week. Saudia Airlines flight SV5688 had flown from the Saudi city of Jeddah to the Omani capital Muscat before travelling on to Indonesia where it was due to land in Surabaya, a city on the main island Java. But air traffic control officers in the Indonesian capital Jakarta received a call about a bomb threat for the flight, prompting its diversion to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan city Saturday morning, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Read More: Domestic Indian flight makes emergency landing in Nagpur after bomb threat Regional airport authority head Asri Santosa said in a statement officers were checking the plane after its arrival but the airport on Sumatra island remained operational. All 376 passengers, hajj pilgrims from Java, and 13 crew members were safe at...

Russia has repeatedly told Israel that there is no evidence Iran is aiming to get nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia on Saturday quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying in an interview. “Russia, as well as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), has never had any evidence that Iran is preparing to obtain nuclear weapons, as we have repeatedly put the Israeli leadership on notice,” Sky News Arabia quoted Putin as saying. Russia is ready to support Iran in developing a peaceful nuclear programme, Putin was quoted as saying, adding that Iran has the right to do so. Speaking at an economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday, Putin said Russia was sharing its ideas on how to stop the bloodshed in the Iran-Israel conflict with both sides. He did not give details of those ideas. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/W6AnZfO

India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use, Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with Times of India on Saturday. India put into "abeyance" its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, after 26 civilians in Indian Ilegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir were killed in what Delhi described as an act of terror. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80% of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord remains dormant despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month following their worst fighting in decades. "No, it will never be restored," Shah told the daily. "We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifia...

Israeli armed and security forces have once again been included in the United Nations Secretary-General’s annual list of parties committing grave violations against children, according to the Children and Armed Conflict report released Thursday. The listing comes amid what the report describes as “an alarming rise” in violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza. The UN verified 8,554 grave violations against 2,959 children in 2023, of which 7,188 were attributed to Israeli forces. Among the verified violations were the killings of 1,259 Palestinian children in Gaza, mostly due to Israeli air strikes and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. In the Occupied West Bank, 97 Palestinian children were killed, the majority by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces. Additionally, 1,561 Palestinian children were maimed—many by Israeli air strikes, live ammunition, and tear gas. Read more: Gaza rescuers say 33 killed by Israel fire The repo...

One person was killed and at least 14 were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, damaging high-rise buildings and railway infrastructure, local authorities and prosecutors said on Friday. Odesa is Ukraine's largest Black Sea port, key for imports and exports, and has been under constant missile and drone attacks by Russia since the war began. "Despite the active work of air defence forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, a higher education institution, a gas pipeline and private cars," local governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger. Kiper released photos of burning houses and charred high-rise buildings. Local emergencies service said that during the attack there were at least 10 drone strikes on residential buildings, causing massive fires. Ukraine's air force said on Friday that Russia had launched 86 drones on Ukraine overnight. The military noted its air defence unit...

Pro-Palestinian activists infiltrated Royal Air Force Brize Norton early morning on June 20, spraying red paint on two military aircraft. Footage posted on social media by direct action group Palestine Action shows two individuals inside the secured Oxfordshire airbase. One activist is seen riding a scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker, appearing to spray paint into one of its jet engines. BREAKING: Palestine Action break into RAF Brize Norton and damage two military aircrafts. Flights depart daily from the base to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. From Cyprus, British planes collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/zzmFqGKW8N — Palestine Action (@Pal_action) June 20, 2025 The group claimed responsibility for the incursion and said it used repurposed fire extinguishers to deploy red paint onto the aircraft. It alleged that further damage was inflicted with crowbars, though no such actions are visible in th...

A US appeals court let Donald Trump retain control on Thursday of California's National Guard while the state's Democratic governor proceeds with a lawsuit challenging the Republican president's use of the troops to quell protests in Los Angeles. Trump's decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on US soil and inflamed political tension in the country's second most populous city. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals extended its pause on US District Judge Charles Breyer's June 12 ruling that Trump had unlawfully called the National Guard into federal service. Trump probably acted within his authority, the panel said, adding that his administration probably complied with the requirement to coordinate with Governor Gavin Newsom, and even if it did not, he had no authority to veto Trump's directive. "And although we hold that the president likely ...