China's GDP expands 4.7 pct in H1
China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday.
The world's second-largest economy generated around 69.57 trillion yuan (about 10.25 trillion U.S. dollars) in output during the period, the data showed. In the second quarter, the country's economy expanded 4.3 percent year on year.
The Chinese economy has "operated within an appropriate range against pressure," continuing to demonstrate strong resilience, the NBS said in a statement, pointing to bright spots such as robust growth in production and supply, stable employment and rapid expansion in new growth drivers.
Israel, Lebanon conclude Rome talks, move closer to launching "pilot zones"
Israel and Lebanon concluded a new round of talks in Rome on Wednesday, moving closer to launching a pilot project, under which control of parts of southern Lebanon would be transferred from Israeli forces to the Lebanese army, according to Italian media.
Israel and Lebanon have made progress on a mechanism for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the first two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon and agreed to continue negotiations at a later date, according to a report of the Italian news agency Agenzia Nova.
The development came after the sixth round of U.S.-mediated talks between the two sides concluded in Rome, the report said, citing sources close to the negotiations.
U.S. forces launch new wave of strikes against Iran
The U.S. military on Wednesday conducted a new round of strikes against Iran, U.S. Central Command said.
"At 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran," the command wrote in a post on X. "The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz."
Earlier on Wednesday, the command said that it had begun launching a wave of strikes against Iran at 6 a.m. Eastern Time (1000 GMT). During the 90-minute wave, the forces launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island.
35 killed, over 300 wounded in recent U.S. attacks against S. Iran
The recent U.S. attacks on southern Iranian provinces had killed 35 people and wounded more than 300 others, the Iranian Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry's public relations, said on social media platform X that two women and one teenager were among the victims.
The southern Hormozgan province and southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province recorded the highest number of casualties, with 72 of those wounded remaining hospitalized, added Kermanpour.
Trump threatens strikes on Iran's power plants, bridges next week without a deal
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States would expand its strikes on Iran to target power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran agrees to negotiate.
"Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. "We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate."
The U.S. president said that Iran's military has been "degraded to a very low level" after repeated U.S. strikes and that the attacks will continue "until I say it's enough."
DR Congo Ebola cases top 2,000 amid WHO warning of hidden toll
Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have surpassed 2,000 as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the true scale of the outbreak could be "at least two to four times" the reported caseload.
A total of 2011 confirmed cases, including 754 deaths, were reported, according to the latest report released by the country's health authorities on Tuesday.
The announcement came as the WHO warned earlier in the day that undetected transmission, community deaths and rapid geographic expansion threatened to keep the response behind the epidemic curve.
Dutch gov't backs ICC amid U.S. campaign to "dismantle court's threat"
The Dutch government reaffirmed its support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday after the United States announced a broad campaign to "dismantle the threat" posed by the Hague-based tribunal to U.S. sovereignty.
"As host nation and State Party, the Netherlands stands behind the International Criminal Court and its staff," Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen wrote on social media X on Tuesday. He stressed that international courts must be able to carry out their mandates without interference.
"The United States does not want to be held accountable," Alette Smeulers, professor specializing in international crimes at the University of Groningen, told Dutch public broadcaster NOS. It essentially wants "a license to violate international law" in countries that are parties to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, Smeulers said.■
