Author: EchoAsiaNews

UNITED NATIONS: António Guterres on Tuesday appealed to member states to urgently close a $100 million funding gap facing United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warning that millions of Palestinian refugees risk losing access to essential services. Addressing a donor conference, Guterres said the agency’s financial crisis, coupled with Israeli restrictions on its operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, had placed its humanitarian mission in jeopardy. Why is UNRWA facing a funding crisis? Guterres said UNRWA is confronting a severe cash shortfall that threatens its ability to continue providing education, healthcare, food…

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents without permanent legal status, ruling that the measure violates the US Constitution. In a 6-3 decision, the court upheld lower court rulings that found the executive order unconstitutional, dealing a major setback to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. Why did the Supreme Court reject the order? Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the administration had failed to provide sufficient legal and historical grounds to overturn more than a…

LOS ANGELES: Singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo has sparked speculation about her personal life after she was reportedly seen with an unidentified man on multiple occasions in New York, months after her reported split from Louis Partridge. According to celebrity gossip outlet Deuxmoi, Rodrigo and the unidentified man were spotted together three times in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighbourhood. The reported sightings included a dinner outing, a visit to another restaurant where an eyewitness claimed the pair appeared affectionate, and a later appearance at Nightmoves, a Brooklyn nightclub. Neither Rodrigo nor her representatives have commented on the reports, and the identity of the…

LONDON: Oil prices rose in early trading on Wednesday after Iran ruled out direct talks with senior US officials, raising fresh concerns over the durability of the interim ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude futures gained 50 cents, or 0.69%, to $73.45 a barrel by 1208 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 63 cents, or 0.91%, to $70.13 a barrel. Why are oil prices rising? Investor sentiment was affected after Iran announced it would not hold direct talks with US envoys who travelled to Doha as part of diplomatic efforts to advance the ceasefire agreed after…

DOHA: Iran on Tuesday ruled out direct talks with senior US officials who travelled to the Gulf following the recent ceasefire, signalling that significant differences remain despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement. Iranian officials said both sides must first resolve outstanding issues related to the ceasefire reached two weeks ago before moving on to more contentious matters, including possible restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Why is Iran refusing direct talks with the US? Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said no meetings had been scheduled with the American delegation, despite the arrival of US envoy Steve…

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said Venezuela’s healthcare system is under significant pressure following two powerful earthquakes that killed more than 1,700 people and injured around 5,000. According to the WHO, several hospitals and health centres have been damaged, while shortages of medical staff are affecting the country’s ability to respond to the disaster. How Bad Is the Damage? WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said at least three health facilities had sustained critical damage, while six others were damaged or only partially operational. He said the remaining hospitals continue to function but are struggling with overcrowding, disrupted patient…

NAIROBI: Kenya-based Nation Media Group (NMG) said on Tuesday it was holding talks with Uganda’s military to reopen its media outlets after soldiers shut down its newspapers, television and radio stations over the weekend. Susan Nsibirwa, NMG’s managing director in Uganda, said negotiations were ongoing but staff remained unable to access company offices, which continued to be surrounded by military personnel. Why Were the Media Outlets Closed? Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, ordered the closure of the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda on Sunday, saying the outlets would remain shut until he authorised their reopening. He did not provide a…

LONDON: Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 index edged higher on Tuesday and remained on course for a sixth consecutive quarterly gain, supported by easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and strength in mining and financial stocks. The blue-chip index rose in early trading as optimism over a ceasefire in the Middle East improved investor sentiment, while lower oil prices eased concerns over inflation and energy supply disruptions. (Reuters) What Is Driving the Market Higher? Mining and banking shares led gains on the FTSE 100, benefiting from improved risk appetite among investors. Market sentiment also strengthened after crude oil prices retreated…

BEIJING: Meituan on Tuesday unveiled and open-sourced its latest large language model, saying it was trained entirely on Chinese-made chips, marking a significant step in the country’s drive for artificial intelligence self-reliance amid US export restrictions. The company said its new LongCat-2.0 model is the world’s first trillion-parameter AI system trained exclusively on a cluster of 50,000 domestically produced chips. Meituan said the model is designed for tasks including coding, website development and processing long documents of up to one million tokens. Why Does This Matter? The launch highlights China’s efforts to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor technology as US…

DOHA: Iran on Monday denied that any negotiations with the United States had been scheduled in Doha this week, despite the White House announcing that a US delegation would travel to Qatar as part of efforts to advance a ceasefire agreement reached last month. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran’s technical delegation would be in Doha but stressed that its visit was unrelated to the American delegation. Why Is Iran Rejecting Talks With the US? Baghaei said no meetings with US officials had been arranged, stating that “we will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the…