Xinhua
18 May 2025

At least 64 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip: civil defense

At least 64 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Civil Defense in Gaza said.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told Xinhua that seven young men were killed and several others wounded when Israeli artillery shelled a group of Palestinians trying to reach their homes in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Basal added that four people, including a woman and two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the gate of Salah al-Din School, which houses displaced families in the west of Gaza City, while a fifth person was killed in an airstrike on a residential apartment north of the city.

At least 11 others were killed in attacks on a Palestinian gathering, while nine others were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a warehouse for distributing humanitarian aid in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to Basal.

The Hamas-run Gaza government condemned the attack on the warehouse, considering it "a serious and ongoing escalation of the systematic starvation policy pursued by the occupation in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas resumes indirect negotiations with Israel in Doha: official

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha, according to senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi.

Mardawi said the talks are being held under Qatari and U.S. mediation in an effort to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and finalize a hostage exchange deal, without preconditions.

A source close to Hamas told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the talks are based on a proposal submitted by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which Hamas had amended substantially.

UN chief urges permanent ceasefire, free flow of aid in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged a permanent ceasefire, unconditional release of all hostages, and the free flow of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

Guterres made the appeal when attending the 34th Arab League Summit, which kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad earlier in the day.

"We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza," the UN chief stressed, noting that "annexation is illegal. Settlements are illegal."

Guterres emphasized that "only a two-state solution can deliver sustainable peace," adding, "The world, the region, and most of all, the people of Palestine and Israel cannot afford to watch the two-state solution disappear before our eyes."

Arab leaders demand ceasefire in Gaza, reject displacement of Palestinians

Arab leaders on Saturday called for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and voiced their rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians.

In the final statement of the 34th Arab League Summit, which kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad earlier in the day, the leaders of the bloc's 22 member states demanded "an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and all hostilities exacerbating civilian suffering."

Israeli army says killed Hezbollah commander in S. Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that the Hezbollah commander was attacked by a drone while inside a car.

The IDF statement accused him of "being involved in the reestablishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area," calling such rebuilding efforts and related activity "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon."

Moody's Ratings cuts U.S. credit rating citing budgetary burden

Moody's Ratings on Friday slashed U.S. long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Aa1 from Aaa citing rising government debt and interest payment ratios.

Meanwhile, Moody's Ratings changed the outlook of U.S. sovereign rating from negative to stable.

"This one-notch downgrade on our 21-notch rating scale reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns," said a release by Moody's Ratings.

Moody's Ratings changed the outlook of U.S. sovereign rating from stable to negative in November 2023.

Trump blasts Supreme Court over blocking of deportations

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court after it blocked his administration's effort to swiftly deport Venezuelan immigrants using a wartime law.

"The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do," he wrote in a Truth Social post. "This is a bad and dangerous day for America!"

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), saying that those affected were not being given enough time to legally challenge their removal.

S. Korea's ex-president Yoon leaves party ahead of presidential election

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced departure from his conservative People Power Party on Saturday ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

"I'm leaving the People Power Party today. I bow down to my comrades in the party who believed in me and stayed with me for a long time," Yoon said in an online statement.

Yoon noted that his departure from the party, he believed, would be the best way he can to win the snap presidential election and protect the country's liberal democracy.

Duterte's loyal aides top senate race in Philippines

The Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday officially proclaimed the 12 senate race winners, including two loyal supporters of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in Monday's midterm elections.

Reelected Senator Christopher Go, a close Duterte aide, topped the polls. Fellow Duterte ally Senator Ronald Dela Rosa placed third. Other Duterte-endorsed winners include Senator Imee Marcos, Representative Rodante Marcoleta, and Camille Villar.

Villar, a "guest candidate" on the Duterte slate who also enjoys backing from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was included in the count.

Tencent to boost AI, global expansion investments

Chinese internet giant Tencent has vowed to ramp up all-round AI investments and further expand its overseas commitments, a company announcement revealed on Friday at the Tencent Global Digital Ecosystem Summit held in the city of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.

In the first quarter of 2025, Tencent's R investment surged by 21 percent year on year to 18.9 billion yuan (about 2.63 billion U.S. dollars), as the company upgraded its comprehensive AI ecosystem, spanning foundational large models, computing power, development tools and applications, said Tong Taosang, senior executive vice president of Tencent.

China's commercial rocket sends six satellites into space

A commercial rocket lifted off on Saturday in northwest China, successfully sending six satellites into space.

The rocket, coded ZQ-2E Y2, blasted off at 12:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It is a modified variant of the ZQ-2 model developed by the Beijing-headquartered private rocket maker LandSpace.

3 dead, 1 missing after south China flash flood

Three people died and one remains missing after intense rain triggered flash floods in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said on Saturday.

On Friday and Saturday, torrential downpours hit the county of Longlin, resulting in a flash flood in Yancha Township. This surge of water left four people missing, after a temporary shelter they were staying in on a hillside was swept away.

21 killed as suspected tornadoes hit U.S. Missouri, Kentucky

At least 21 people were killed as suspected tornadoes swept through parts of the U.S. states of Missouri and Kentucky from Friday into Saturday morning, said authorities.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said Saturday morning that 14 people have been confirmed dead in the state.

"Kentucky, we're starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night's storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information," Beshear said in a post on X.