WORLD

GAZA | Xinhua | The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 19,667, and 52,586 others were wounded since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Palestinian deaths and injuries from Israeli raids in the West Bank climbed to 301 …

VLADIVOSTOK | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended a ban on transactions by foreigners from “unfriendly countries” with shares in strategic Russian banks and companies until the end of 2025, according to a decree renewed on Monday. The decree, initially published on Aug. 5, 2022, banned investors from …

NANCHANG | Xinhua | Despite external pressure and internal difficulties, China’s economy has achieved a recovery and made solid progress in high-quality development in 2023, noted the annual Central Economic Work Conference held last week. Among various factors propelling growth, consumer spending is playing an increasingly important role, accounting for …

SANAA | Xinhua |  Yemen’s Houthi militia on Monday claimed responsibility for attacks on an oil ship and a cargo ship in the southern part of the Red Sea, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. “Our naval forces carried out a qualitative military operation against two ships linked to Israel. One …

BRUSSELS | Xinhua |  More than two months into the Israel-Hamas conflict, violence in the Middle East has no end in sight and Europe as a neighbor is still struggling to unify around a call for ceasefire in Gaza. The European Union (EU) summit ended December 15  without a much-expected …

MOSCOW | Xinhua | Russia has no interest in having war with NATO countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday. In an interview with a local TV channel, Putin refuted the claims that Russia may attack NATO as “absurd and a figure of speech.” Moscow and NATO countries “have …

JIUQUAN | Xinhua | China successfully launched SQX-1 commercial carrier rocket into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sunday. The rocket blasted off at 3 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site, sending the Di’er-1 satellite into the planned orbit. It was the sixth flight …

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND | Xinhua | Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), reiterated his call on Friday for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Tedros made the appeal at an annual press conference organized by the Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations in Geneva. …

TRIPOLI | Xinhua | The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Saturday that 61 migrants have drowned at sea off the coast of the western Libyan city of Zuwara, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, while trying to reach Europe. IOM tweeted late Saturday that the migrants, …

BAGHDAD, IRAQ | Xinhua | Iraqi security personnel cast their votes on Saturday in 15 of the country’s 18 provinces ahead of the provincial elections slated for Monday following a 10-year hiatus. The voting began after 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) when soldiers and policemen lined up to cast …