Ecuadorean and US forces have launched operations against what it said were designated terrorist organisations in the South American country, the US military's Southern Command said on Tuesday.

The Southern Command said the action was aimed at tackling illicit drug trafficking, but did not provide more details in a statement on X.

The announcement comes a day after Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa said the US was among "regional allies" taking part in a "

The stage is set for China's biggest political gathering - carefully choreographed annual meetings of the political advisory body and the rubber-stamp national legislature.

The "two sessions", which start on Wednesday and typically run for one to two weeks, signal the priorities of the world's second-largest economy.

Observers will be watching if China aims for ambitious growth targets despite struggling to

Millions of people are celebrating Holi, the festival of colours, in India and across the world.

The spring festival, which celebrates the victory of good over evil, also marks the end of winter.

People offer prayers, smear bright colours on family and friends and eat traditional food and sweets to celebrate. They also gather on the streets and throw colours on each other.

Holi is based on the Hindu legend of Holika,

An eight-year-old Queensland girl has been killed after she was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident at a Japanese ski resort.

Chloe Jeffries, from the Gold Coast, was riding on a snowmobile with her mother in Hakuba Valley, Nagano prefecture, on Saturday when it overturned, trapping her underneath. She was airlifted to hospital but later died.

In a tribute from her netball club, Jeffries was remembered for her

Computer tablet screens glow inside a row of partitioned booths at a new-style Ethiopian police station.

There is no commotion. There is no front desk, no bench of anxiously waiting civilians, no officer calling out names.

It is a pilot project of what is being called a "smart" - or unmanned - police station in the Bole district of

TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption (E2EE) - the controversial privacy feature used by nearly all its rivals - arguing it makes users less safe.

E2EE means only the sender and recipient of a direct message can view its contents, making it the most secure form of communication available to the general public.

Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and X have embraced it because they say their priority is maximising user privacy.

But

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before a congressional panel investigating the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Lutnick "has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily" for a transcribed interview as part of the House Oversight Committee investigation, chairman James Comer announced on Tuesday.

Lutnick has acknowledged visiting Epstein's private island in 2012, years after the financier was convicted of sex crimes. The commerce secretary has not been accused of any wrongdoing by Epstein's victims.

The announcement comes days after former US

European allies are rushing warships and anti-drone defences to Cyprus after a British air base was hit on the island over the weekend.

The small Eastern Mediterranean nation has found itself unexpectedly drawn into the aftermath of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in a televised address that a French frigate, the Languedoc, would arrive in Cyprus on Tuesday evening.

Greece has already agreed to send four F-16 fighter jets as well as two frigates, including the ship

US President Donald Trump has threatened to halt all trade with Spain, after the country barred the US from using its military bases as part of its operation in Iran.

In comments at the White House, Trump said Spain had been "terrible" and suggested "we're going to cut off all trade". "We don't want anything to do with Spain,