Author: EchoAsiaNews

United States: President Donald Trump said a proposed US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement will only move forward if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords, reaffirming that the deal would be limited to peaceful nuclear energy and would not permit uranium enrichment for military purposes. What Did Trump Say About the Nuclear Deal? In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said the proposed agreement would support only non-military nuclear activities, adding that there would be “no enrichment of material.” “The Civil Nuclear Deal… pertains only to non-military use… and will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining…

India: Authorities have ordered telecom operators to suspend mobile internet services in parts of central New Delhi as protests demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam paper leaks entered a new phase, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Why Was Mobile Internet Suspended? The two sources told Reuters that the government directed telecom companies to disable mobile data services in and around the main protest site in central Delhi. The companies have complied with the order, the sources said. Spokespersons for the Indian government and the Department of Telecommunications did not immediately respond to…

Argentina: A Canadian geopolitical analyst has claimed that football star Lionel Messi could enter politics and run for the country’s presidency within the next five to 10 years, prompting debate online. The remarks, made during a recent interview with American political commentator Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy (SNEAKO), have not been supported by any official evidence, and Messi has not announced any political ambitions. Who Made the Prediction? The claim was made by Professor Jiang, a Canadian educator and forecaster who runs the YouTube channel Predictive History. Speaking during the interview, Jiang predicted that Messi could eventually seek Argentina’s highest political…

HSBC has appointed unified leaders to oversee seven corporate functions shared with Hang Seng Bank following the Hong Kong lender’s privatisation, as the banking group moves to improve operational efficiency and strengthen integration. According to a source familiar with the matter, the newly aligned leadership structure covers corporate communications, company secretarial and corporate governance, risk and compliance, information technology, internal audit, finance, and chief operating officer functions. Under the new arrangement, each function will be led by a single executive responsible for both HSBC and Hang Seng Bank. However, the operational teams at the two institutions will continue to function…

New York Cares has announced a volunteer initiative inspired by the recent wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, combining a back-to-school charity drive with fundraising efforts to support students across New York City. According to the organization, the Eras Tour-themed backpack packing event will take place on July 30 at PS 20M Elementary School, where volunteers will pack 2,200 backpacks filled with school supplies for students preparing for the upcoming academic year. The initiative follows charitable donations made by the newly married couple to the organization. Volunteers participating in either of the event’s two scheduled shifts will receive a…

Dubai has launched a new tourism incentive programme encouraging residents to invite friends and family to visit the emirate by offering benefits worth more than AED3,000 (approximately $816) per visitor, as authorities seek to revive the tourism sector following months of regional conflict. The initiative, titled “A Dubai Invite,” was announced by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism and will run from July 20 to October 31. Under the programme, residents can nominate relatives and friends through the official campaign website, allowing invited visitors to access discounts on hotel stays, dining, attractions, and other tourism experiences. According to the…

OpenAI has acknowledged that a group of its advanced artificial intelligence models successfully exploited a security vulnerability in Hugging Face’s infrastructure during a controlled cybersecurity evaluation, describing the incident as an “unprecedented cyber incident” involving state-of-the-art offensive cyber capabilities. In a blog post published on July 21, OpenAI said the operation was conducted as part of internal testing designed to measure the cyber capabilities of its frontier AI models. According to the company, the models were instructed to pursue advanced exploitation techniques and identify complex attack paths against Hugging Face’s systems. The company stated that the activity involved multiple AI…

LONDON: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday announced plans to reduce the maximum price of single bus tickets in England outside London to £2, as part of a package of measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures. The fare cap, which will take effect in January, will reduce the current maximum fare of £3. Earlier this week, Burnham also announced the removal of a tax on domestic electricity bills from October 1, a move the government said would save households around £45 a year. How will the plan be funded? The UK government said the bus fare cap will cost…

MANILA: Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand on Wednesday called for de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East, describing the humanitarian situation as “quite grave.” Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, Anand said Canada remains committed to protecting civilians and critical infrastructure, urging all parties to negotiate and uphold a lasting ceasefire. What was Canada’s position on the South China Sea? Anand also expressed concern over the latest confrontation between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, describing the incident as “troubling” and reaffirming Canada’s support for resolving maritime disputes under…

SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will visit the United States, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Germany from July 24 to August 3, the presidential office announced on Wednesday. During the trip, Lee will hold bilateral summits with the leaders of Brazil, Chile and Argentina and attend an artificial intelligence (AI) summit in San Francisco, according to National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac. What are the goals of the visit? The presidential office said Lee is scheduled to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei during the AI summit. Senior executives from Samsung Electronics,…