World Echo

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for deeper cooperation between Africa and Europe in technology, energy, and innovation as the Africa Forward Summit opened in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Speaking during a high-level youth engagement forum at the University of Nairobi alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, Macron said Africa and Europe face similar challenges in reducing technological dependence on major global powers. “A lot of solutions are made in the US or made in China,” he said. “A lot of us today are consumers. So, I think we have a common fight, a common battle together of investment, which is to build our strategic autonomy for Europe and Africa.” Macron emphasised the need for stronger investment in infrastructure and energy to support artificial intelligence and digital development across the two continents. “No chance to build any AI infrastructure and computing capacities without energy,” he said, calling for ...

The British prime minister on Monday said he takes responsibility for "not walking away" and "not plunging our country into chaos" over last week's what he called "very tough" election results. "The election results last week were tough, very tough. We lost some brilliant labour representatives; that hurts, and it should hurt. I get it, I feel it, and I take responsibility," Keir Starmer said during an event in London. He noted that he is not going to shy away from the fact that he has got "some doubters, including in my own party," adding that he has to prove them wrong, and he will. "I take responsibility for navigating us through a world that is more dangerous than at any time in my life, and I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos." Also Read: UK's Starmer vows to fight on after Labour punished in local polls During his speech, Starmer vowed to rebuild the relationsh...

Three people were killed and six others injured on Monday in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire, Lebanese media reported. The state news agency NNA said two people were killed and five others injured in an airstrike in the town of Ebba in Nabatieh. In a separate incident, a drone strike on a car in the town of Haris in the Bint Jbeil district killed one person and injured his brother, the agency said. Israeli warplanes also targeted the home of a former municipal chief in Sajd, while another strike was reported in Kfar Rumman. No casualty information was immediately available from those locations. Also Read: Israel strikes across Lebanon The Israeli army continues to conduct daily strikes in Lebanon and exchange fire with Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in place since April 17, which was later extended to mid-May. Since March 2, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed 2,846 people, injured 8,693 and displaced more than 1 million, according to the l...

President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran's long-awaited response conveyed through Pakistan to Washington's proposals for ending the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, saying that he deemed it "totally unacceptable". "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it -- TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without describing elements of Tehran's response. Earlier, Iran formally conveyed its long-awaited response to Pakistan, amid a flurry of behind-the-scenes diplomatic engagements that signalled a renewed momentum for a negotiated settlement. According to Iranian state-run IRNA, the current phase of diplomacy focuses primarily on securing a cessation of hostilities and preventing any further escalation in the region. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei had earlier said Tehran would communicate its official position once internal consultatio...

As fears of renewed conflict hang over Iran, conservationists are shoring up battered historic sites and taking stock of the damage caused by the war with the United States and Israel, though experts warn some repairs could take years. At Golestan Palace, a defining cultural landmark in central Tehran, shattered mirrors, broken doors and debris from ornate ceilings now lie scattered across parts of the site after shockwaves from strikes on the capital following the outbreak of war on February 28. The former royal residence, known for its sprawling gardens, pools and royal halls, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2013. The fragile truce in place since April 8 has allowed experts to begin gauging the scale of the damage, though the complex remains closed to the public. "The damage has been assessed at several levels, but a more detailed specialised evaluation is still underway," Ali Omid Ali, a restoration specialist and head of the technical engine...

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including two ​members of the Hamas‑run police force, ‌health officials said, in violence that underscored the fragility of a U.S.‑brokered ceasefire. Medics said an air strike killed ​one person in the Maghazi refugee camp ​in the Gaza Strip, while another killed ⁠the head of the criminal police force ​in Khan Younis, Wessam Abdel‑Hadi, and his ​aide, according to Gaza’s Hamas‑run interior ministry. Reuters has previously reported that Israel has heightened its attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police ​force that the militants have used to ​re-establish governance in areas under their control. Read More: 'No home left' for Gazans stranded in West Bank since Oct 7 The Israeli military didn't ‌immediately ⁠comment on either incident. Violence in Gaza has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks. At least 850 Palestinians ​have been ​ki...

An Israeli ministerial committee is expected to discuss a bill on Sunday that seeks to scrap the Oslo Accords and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to Hebrew media reports Saturday. Channel 12 said the Ministerial Committee for Legislation will review the proposal, which seeks to revoke the 1993 agreement signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The bill was submitted by Knesset Deputy Speaker Limor Son Har-Melech, who claimed the Oslo Accords had brought “terror instead of peace” and said it was time for what she described as a “national correction,” according to Israel’s Channel 7. Read: Gaza flotilla activists to be released from Israel detention and deported “We promised to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and now it is time to encourage settlement in Areas A and B and cancel the disastrous Oslo Accords,” Har-Melech wrote on X. She described the proposed legisla...