ROME – Israel must respect international law in its military operation in Gaza, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave increasingly “dramatic and unjustifiable.”

Israel invaded Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, and has recently announced plans for an expanded offensive to defeat militant group Hamas.

“Over the past months I have spoken with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu on several occasions, and the conversations have often been difficult,” Meloni told a question time session in the Italian lower house of parliament.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities. The military campaign has left Gaza on the brink of famine, aid groups and international agencies say.

“I have always recalled the urgency of finding a way to end the hostilities and respect international law and international humanitarian law. A request that I renew today,” Meloni said.

Israeli strikes intensified this week, killing dozens in northern Gaza, locals have said.

French President Emmanuel Macron this week also criticized Netanyahu’s policy in Gaza, calling it shameful. The Israeli leader struck back accusing Macron of siding with Hamas.
Meloni’s government has been one of Israel’s most vocal supporters within Europe, but there has been growing unease within parts of her coalition over Israel’s relentless and long-running military campaign.

AN-REUTERS

ISLAMABAD, May 14 – At least one person was killed and 12 others injured in a hand grenade attack on Wednesday evening in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, local police said.

According to police, unknown assailants hurled two hand grenades at a political rally near Munir Mengal Road of the city. The rally was led by Ali Madad Jattak, a Member of the Balochistan Assembly and a leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Police, security forces, and rescue teams swiftly responded to the scene and transported the deceased and injured to a nearby hospital. The attack caused partial damage to a vehicle and a rickshaw.

Security forces cordoned off the area and initiated a forensic investigation to trace the perpetrators.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

XINHUA

MEXICO CITY, May 14 – A young Mexican social media influencer, known for her videos about beauty and makeup, was brazenly shot to death during a TikTok livestream, in an incident that sent shockwaves through a country that faces high levels of gender-based violence.

The death of Valeria Marquez, 23, is being investigated according to protocols for femicide – the killing of women or girls for reasons of gender – the Jalisco state prosecutor said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.

Femicide can involve degrading violence, sexual abuse, a relationship with the murderer, or the victim’s body being exposed in a public space, according to Mexican authorities.

Marquez was killed on Tuesday in the beauty salon where she worked in the city of Zapopan by a man who entered and shot her, the statement said. The prosecutor’s office did not name a suspect.

Seconds before the incident, Marquez was seen on her TikTok livestream seated at a table clutching a stuffed toy. She was heard saying, “they’re coming,” before a voice in the background asked “Hey, Vale?”

“Yes,” Marquez replied, just before muting the sound on the livestream.

Moments later, she was shot to death. A person appeared to pick up her phone, with their face briefly showing on the livestream before the video ended.

Marquez, who had nearly 200,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, had said earlier on the livestream that someone came to the salon when she was not there with an “expensive gift” to deliver to her. Marquez, who appeared concerned, said she was not planning to wait for the person to come back.

Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as the countries with the fourth-highest rates of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the latest data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, at 1.3 such deaths for every 100,000 women in 2023.

Jalisco is ranked sixth out of Mexico’s 32 states, including Mexico City, for homicides, with 906 recorded there since the beginning of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s term in October 2024, according to data consultancy TResearch.

REUTERS

TOKYO, May 14 – A Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) T-4 trainer jet crashed into a pond in Aichi Prefecture on Wednesday, leaving two crew members missing.

The T-4 took off from Komaki Air Base at 3:06 p.m. local time and disappeared from radar around 3:08 p.m., northeast of the base, national broadcaster NHK reported.

Local fire departments reported receiving emergency calls stating that an aircraft-like object had crashed into a pond in the area.

Parts of the aircraft were found around Iruka Pond, but as of 8:00 p.m., the two crew members on board had not been located. No injuries have been reported in the surrounding area.

An oil slick has been observed on the northern side of Iruka Pond, and the Self-Defense Forces and police are continuing their search for the two crew members while investigating the details of the incident.

XINHUA

PHNOM PENH, May 14 – Two Cambodian military personnel, who were on a peacekeeping mission in the conflict-torn East African nation of South Sudan, had been killed, Defense Minister Gen. Tea Seiha said on Wednesday.

Seiha, who is also a deputy prime minister, said the two peacekeepers had died on their mission in Malakal town, Upper Nile State.

“This is the loss of two outstanding military personnel, who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of maintaining peace under the umbrella of the United Nations,” he said in a post on his official Facebook page.

“I pray for their souls to rest in peace,” he added.

Cambodia sent 73 military personnel to South Sudan in February to join a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission.

The Southeast Asian nation first sent troops overseas on the UN peacekeeping missions in 2006. So far, the country has dispatched a total of 9,826 peacekeepers, including 857 women, to join UN peacekeeping missions in 10 countries, according to the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces.

Currently, the Cambodian peacekeepers have been serving in UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, Lebanon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

XINHUA

CAIRO – A strong earthquake was recorded 431 km off the coast of northern Egypt on Wednesday, according to the country’s National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research.

The earthquake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, at a depth of 76 km.

It was felt throughout the Mediterranean, with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency stating that tremors were experienced in the Dodecanese islands and eastern Crete.

There have been no reports of loss of lives or property damage.

AN

WARSAW, May 14 – Poland said on Wednesday it had uncovered what could be an attempt to interfere in its presidential election campaign using advertisements on Facebook that may have been financed from abroad, an assertion the social media platform disputed.

European governments have been on high alert for signs of electoral interference since Romania cancelled an ongoing presidential election in December due to allegations of Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

The first round of the Polish election takes place on Sunday, pitting liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a senior member of the ruling Civic Platform party, against historian Karol Nawrocki, who runs Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, and far-right nationalist Slawomir Mentzen.

“The NASK Disinformation Analysis Center has identified political ads on the Facebook platform that may be financed from abroad. The materials were displayed in Poland,” said NASK, the national research institute dealing with cybersecurity.

“The advertising accounts involved in the campaign spent more on political materials in the last 7 days than any election committee,” a NASK statement said. It did not say which country the financing might have come from.

A spokesperson for Facebook’s parent company Meta rejected the assertions of potential foreign meddling.

“Anybody who wants to run ads on our platforms related to social issues, elections or politics must go through a verification process to prove their identity and that they live in the country they are running the ads in,” the spokesperson said.

“Our investigation has confirmed that the admin associated with these pages is authentic and based in Poland. We have seen no evidence of foreign interference.”

POSSIBLE ‘PROVOCATION’

NASK said the advertisements were ostensibly supporting one of the candidates in the election, but could in fact have aimed to act to the detriment of that candidate and destabilise the situation in the country.

Andrzej Kozlowski, head of NASK’s Narrative Trend Analysis and Fact-checking Team, told state-run news channel TVP Info that the ads sought to discredit Nawrocki and Mentzen and ostensibly back Trzaskowski, but could have been a provocation.

NASK also said in its statement it had reported the accounts concerned to Meta for blocking. It had also told Poland’s Internal Security Agency and work was under way to determine the origin and financing of the advertisements.

Poland has previously said that its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022, makes it a prime target for Russian espionage, sabotage and cyberattacks.

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski recently said Poland was facing an “unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the Russian side”.

Gawkowski said on Wednesday that “hundreds of thousands of zlotys” had been spent on the advertisements but that he did not know if Russia was responsible for the campaign.

Russia has denied previous allegations of meddling in foreign elections.

REUTERS

GAZA, May 14, 2025 – At least 20 Palestinians were killed and 125 others were injured in the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide in the region, according to medical sources.

They confirmed that the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli onslaught since October 2023 has risen to 52,928 fatalities, with an additional 119,846 individuals sustaining injuries. The majority of the victims are women and children.

According to the same sources, the death toll since Israel’s resumption of the genocide on March 18 after a two-month truce has also climbed to 2,799, with nearly 7,805 reported wounded.

WAFA

GAZA, May 14 – At least 65 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on six residential buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp and the nearby town of Jabalia in northern Gaza early on Wednesday, Palestinian civil defense and medical officials said.

The strikes hit the targets while residents were asleep, according to Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense. “Most of the victims are women and children,” he told Xinhua, adding that rescue efforts were hindered by a shortage of equipment and resources. “We are witnessing scenes of destruction and casualties on a daily basis,” he said.

A medical source at the Indonesian Hospital, one of the few functioning facilities in the north, said emergency surgeries and amputations were being performed in the corridors. The hospital, the source said, was overwhelmed and struggling to cope with the influx of casualties.

Eyewitnesses said the targeted homes belonged to local families and were sheltering displaced people who had fled fighting elsewhere in the enclave.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the Jabalia strikes.

Late on Tuesday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning for residents in Jabalia town, Jabalia camp, and surrounding areas. “This is a final advance warning before the attack,” he said in a post on social media.

The strikes in Jabalia came hours after an Israeli air raid near the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, killed at least 28 people, including patients, caregivers, and people seeking shelter nearby, according to the Gaza-based health authorities.

The Israeli army said the Khan Younis strike targeted Mohammed Sinwar, a senior commander in the military wing of Hamas and the brother of the group’s former leader, Yahya Sinwar. Hamas has not commented on the allegation.

XINHUA

CANBERRA, May 14 – Authorities in South Australia (SA) have recovered the bodies of two women who were swept out to sea while fishing on Tuesday.

SA Police said that emergency services were called to a beach near the town of Streaky Bay, almost 500 km northwest of Adelaide, on Tuesday after reports that two women had gone missing in the ocean while walking the shallows.

An emergency search and rescue operation was launched and two women, aged 67 and 65, were pulled from the water but could not be revived.

Local mayor Travis Barber told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the two women had been fishing for salmon when they went missing.

“This is really devastating for our town,” he said.

“As everyone widely knows we’ve had a couple of fatalities with shark incidents of late and now this.”

Lance Appleby, 28, was surfing at a beach southwest of Streaky Bay in January when he was attacked and killed by a shark, reported by witnesses to be a great white.

Another surfer, 55-year-old Tod Gendle, was knocked off his surfboard and killed by a shark at the same spot in October 2023.

Barber said that Tuesday’s accident was a “stark reminder” that people need to take care on the region’s coastline.

XINHUA

NEW YORK, May 13 – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted 15 km S of Fry, Greece at 22:51:16 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 78.4 km, was initially determined to be at 35.28 degrees north latitude and 26.94 degrees east longitude.

XINHUA

NEW YORK, May 13 – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 jolted 235 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, Mexico at 20:43:04 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 18.72 degrees north latitude and 107.24 degrees west longitude.

XINHUA

GAZA, May 13 – Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced on Tuesday that it had launched rocket attacks on Israeli cities in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

“We attacked Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot and Israeli settlements adjacent to Gaza with rocket barrages in response to the Israeli massacres against our Palestinian people,” al-Quds Brigades said in a press statement.

A source in the movement said the attack aimed to demonstrate “the resistance’s ability to respond decisively to Israeli attacks.”

Israeli media outlets, reported that sirens sounded in several cities and towns in southern Israel, including Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Sderot.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military spokesperson, said in a statement that two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip were intercepted, while a third landed in an open area, without causing casualties or significant material damage.

Following the rocket attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday night ordered residents of the Jabalia city and refugee camp, and other surrounding neighborhoods in the central Gaza Strip, to immediately evacuate ahead of an Israeli strike.

The residents were instructed to relocate immediately to the shelter centers in Gaza City.

The rocket attack came hours after intensive Israeli airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital, which Palestinian sources said resulted in widespread destruction and heavy human losses.

At least six Palestinians were killed and 40 others injured in the Israeli airstrikes, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the IDF, the strike was aimed at an underground Hamas command and control center. The military accused Hamas of continuing to use hospitals in Gaza to conceal militant infrastructure.

Israeli state broadcaster Kan and other media outlets reported that the strike targeted Hamas figure Mohammed Sinwar, the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza in October last year. It remained unclear whether Mohammed Sinwar was among the casualties.

XINHUA

MONTEVIDEO, May 13 – Former Uruguayan President Jose “Pepe” Mujica died Tuesday at the age of 89 in Montevideo, President Yamandu Orsi confirmed.

Mujica announced in January that his esophageal cancer, first diagnosed in April 2024, had spread to his liver. He said he would not pursue further treatment.

“With deep sorrow we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica – president, activist, leader, and guide. We’ll miss you dearly, old friend. Thank you for everything you gave us and for your deep love for your people,” Orsi wrote on social media.

In an interview with local weekly Busqueda, Mujica had said, “This is the end of the road for me,” adding, “my cycle is over.” He asked to be left in peace and expressed his wish to be buried at his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo.

XINHUA

GAZA, May 13, 2025 – At least 46 Palestinians were killed and 73 others were injured in the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide in the region, according to medical sources.

They confirmed that the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli onslaught since October 2023 has risen to 52,908 fatalities, with an additional 119,721 individuals sustaining injuries. The majority of the victims are women and children.

WAFA

May 13 – Southeast Asian technology firm Sea Ltd, on Tuesday reported a 30% surge in first-quarter revenue, helped by steady growth across its diverse set of businesses, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 10% in premarket trading.

Purchases on Sea’s e-commerce platform, Shopee — available across various Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan — jumped ahead of the summer holiday and travel season.

The platform, which is a market leader in Indonesia, has attracted a large user base and become a significant growth driver for its parent company.

Shopee also offers diverse product categories, integrated digital payments, and interactive features like live streaming and in-app games.

The company had said in March it expects Shopee’s gross merchandise volume — total value of sold goods — to grow around 20% in 2025, with improving profitability.

The strong start to the year gives the confidence to achieve the full-year forecast, CEO Forrest Li said in a statement.

The company’s revenue rose 29.6% to $4.84 billion for the January to March period, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $4.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Sea’s e-commerce segment, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the company’s total business, reported a 28.3% jump in revenue in the first-quarter.

Meanwhile, it’s gross merchandise value rose 21.5% in the first quarter to $28.6 billion.

Sea’s per-share profit of 65 cents beat estimates of 63 cents.

The digital financial services segment, reported a 58% surge in quarterly revenue, the biggest jump in two years.

The segment houses Monee, formerly called SeaMoney, which provides digital payment solutions, credit services, and insurance products across Southeast Asia, and is seamlessly integrated with Shopee’s e-commerce ecosystem.

REUTERS

GAZA, May 13, 2025 – Five Palestinian citizens were killed and others injured Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes and shelling across the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources reported that a drone dropped a bomb on a gathering of civilians in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing one citizen and wounding others.

The same sources added that one person was killed by a drone strike northwest of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Three citizens were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Shuja’iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.

WAFA