Author: EchoAsiaNews

QUETTA: At least 14 people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were martyred and several others injured in a blast near a railway track close to Chaman Phatak in Quetta on Sunday, officials said. According to Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, the explosion targeted civilians near the railway track, leaving multiple women and children among the injured. The injured were shifted to hospitals in Quetta, where an emergency was declared and additional doctors and medical staff were called in to handle the situation. Rind said security forces cordoned off the area immediately after the blast, while investigators and forensic teams…

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: The United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement that would extend a ceasefire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and allow Tehran to resume oil exports under limited sanctions relief, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a US official. According to the report, the proposed arrangement would include negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme during the 60-day period. Iran would also clear mines it allegedly deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing commercial shipping to move freely through the strategic waterway without tolls. In return, the United States would ease restrictions on Iranian ports and issue…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will not attend the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, citing official government duties and ongoing diplomatic priorities. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had wanted to attend the wedding of Donald Trump Jr and Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson but could not do so due to “government business” and responsibilities at the White House. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Junior, and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government,…

UNITED NATIONS: Talks at the United Nations aimed at reaffirming global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament commitments ended without agreement on Friday after four weeks of negotiations, conference officials said. The negotiations focused on reviewing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the central international framework governing nuclear weapons control. Conference president Do Hung Viet said delegates were unable to reach consensus on a final substantive document. “Despite our best efforts, it is my understanding that the conference is not in a position to achieve agreement on its substantive work,” Viet said. “I do not intend to put the…

WASHINGTON: SpaceX successfully completed a major test flight of its latest-generation Starship spacecraft on Friday, with the vehicle splashing down in the Indian Ocean after a largely successful mission despite several technical glitches. The massive rocket lifted off shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time from SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Texas. The company had not planned to recover either the Super Heavy booster or the upper-stage spacecraft during the mission. The final splashdown occurred in a controlled descent, which SpaceX confirmed on social media platform X. The flight marked Starship’s 12th overall test and the first launch in seven months.…

ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency said on Friday it had dismantled an organised network in South Punjab accused of selling sensitive personal data of key individuals, with four suspects arrested so far. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, NCCIA Director General Syed Khurram Ali said the group had been leaking and selling information linked to important personalities for small amounts of money. According to Ali, investigations revealed that individuals within various institutions were facilitating the illegal access and transfer of data. “We have learnt that individuals in various departments were providing details for data leakage,” he said. Ali…

BEIJING: At least 90 miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in northern China, state media reported on Saturday, marking the country’s deadliest mining disaster in 17 years. According to state news agency Xinhua, 247 workers were underground when the blast occurred at 7:29 p.m. local time on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province. Most of the miners were brought to the surface by Saturday morning, while authorities confirmed that at least 90 people had died. Xinhua reported that 345 emergency personnel were deployed to the site, with rescue teams continuing intensive…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for China on Saturday for a four-day official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation and expanding economic engagement between the two countries. According to the Government of Pakistan, the prime minister left for Hangzhou in the first phase of the visit, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi. In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the visit holds special significance as the two countries mark the 75th anniversary…

United States: Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio woman convicted in 2023 of murdering her boyfriend and his friend in a deadly car crash, said in a jailhouse phone call that she wanted media personality and legal advocate Kim Kardashian to represent her. According to an undated call log obtained by PEOPLE, Shirilla told another speaker while detained at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, “I want Kim Kardashian to be my lawyer.” During the conversation, Shirilla and the other caller discussed media attention surrounding her case, including interviews given by the father of one of the victims, and speculated that Kardashian might…

UK / Mexico: Dua Lipa released her new concert film and live album, Dua Lipa: Live From Mexico, marking the latest milestone in her ongoing Radical Optimism Tour. The concert film premiered on YouTube while the live album was released across streaming platforms, documenting performances from the singer’s sold-out shows at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City. The project captures the finale of Dua Lipa’s global Radical Optimism Tour and features live renditions of several of her hit songs, including tracks from her latest album. Following the release, the Grammy-winning singer shared a series of congratulatory messages from friends and…