Xinhua
19 May 2025

Trump to speak with Putin, Zelensky on Monday

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will speak separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to push for a ceasefire deal between the two countries.

"I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m.," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the subjects of the call will be stopping the "bloodbath" that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.

Trump said he will "then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then, with President Zelensky, various members of NATO."

"Hopefully it will be a productive day" and "a ceasefire will take place," he said.

Concluding their meeting in Trkiye's Istanbul on Friday, delegations of Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold a new round of negotiations and have a large-scale prisoner exchange. As a key outcome of the two-hour talks, the two sides agreed to a prisoner exchange involving 1,000 people from each side.

Democratic Alliance wins Portugal's parliamentary elections, no majority

The center-right Democratic Alliance, led by incumbent Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, won the most seats in Portugal's parliamentary elections Sunday, according to official results.

However, the alliance, garnering 32.1 percent of the vote, or 86 seats, fell well short of the 116 seats needed for a majority in the 230-member parliament to form a government on its own.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Internal Administration, the Socialist Party placed second with 23.38 percent of the vote, securing 58 seats. The far-right Chega ("Enough") party followed closely with 22.56 percent, also winning 58 seats.

Immigration policy, the cost-of-living crisis, and housing were the dominant issues in this election, sparking widespread public debate. Polls indicated a sharp rise in voter concern over political stability and economic well-being.

Portugal is a parliamentary republic with a unicameral legislature of 230 members, elected by direct vote to serve four-year terms. On March 13, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa dissolved parliament and called a snap election for May 18, marking the country's third early parliamentary election in less than four years.

No majority winner, Poland presidential vote heads to runoff: exit polls

No candidate secured more than 50 percent of vote in the first round of Poland's presidential election on Sunday, according to exit polls.

A runoff will be held on June 1 between Civic Coalition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski and independent candidate Karol Nawrocki. The Ipsos exit polls showed that Trzaskowski garnered 30.8 percent of the vote, compared to Nawrocki's 29.1 percent.

The polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and close at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Trzaskowski has served as the mayor of Warsaw since 2018. Nawrocki, a historian and head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, is new to electoral politics, but has consistently ranked second in the polls.

Yemen's Houthis threaten to target Israeli airports in coming hours

Yemen's Houthi group announced Sunday that it would conduct military operations against Ben Gurion Airport and other unspecified Israeli airports within hours, in response to Israel's escalation of attacks in Gaza and recent strikes on Yemen.

The announcement was made by Nasruddin Amer, deputy chief of the Houthi media authority, in a statement on social media platform X.

Amer urged all airlines currently operating at Israeli airports to depart immediately and warned all passengers to evacuate before the planned Houthi operations.

Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward central Israel, where air raid sirens were triggered, prompting residents to take cover overnight.

The Houthi escalation comes after an Oman-brokered ceasefire agreement between the Yemen-based militia and the United States, which aims to end a spate of mutual attacks. However, the deal does not extend to Israeli targets or Israeli-linked shipping.

Israel to allow aid into Gaza amid famine warnings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday a decision to lift the blockade on Gaza to allow the entry of limited aid, as international criticism mounts over the severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

In a statement, Netanyahu's office said Israel will allow the entry of a "basic" quantity of food for the Gaza population to prevent a hunger crisis.

The statement did not specify when the aid would begin entering or through what mechanism. However, state-owned public broadcaster Kan reported that aid deliveries would begin "immediately," with distribution to be carried out by international aid organizations already operating in Gaza, as a new distribution mechanism, which Israel said would be implemented via a U.S. company, has not yet been launched.

It added that the move followed a recommendation by the military and was motivated by "the operational need to expand the intense fighting to defeat Hamas." The statement warned that a hunger crisis could "jeopardize the continuation of the Gideon's Chariots operation," which was launched recently with Israel's intensified airstrikes and deployment of additional ground forces in Gaza.

Israel says Doha talks with Hamas include "possible end to Gaza war"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday that an Israeli negotiation team is engaged in indirect talks in Qatar's capital Doha on a hostage release deal with Hamas, including a possible end to the Gaza war.

The negotiation team is working in Doha "to realize every chance for a deal," including one that will "end the fighting," secure the release of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza, expel Hamas militants, and disarm the Gaza Strip, the office said in a statement.

The statement came as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed on Saturday in Doha, which, as a source close to Hamas told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, are based on a proposal submitted by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which Hamas had amended substantially.

It also followed Israel's announcement on Friday night that it had escalated operations in Gaza to mark the start of a newly-initiated military operation codenamed "Gideon's Chariots," which aims to expand the scope of fighting in Gaza and advance key war objectives, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

Iran's president says agreement possible if U.S. stops coercion

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that reaching an agreement with the United States is possible if it refrains from applying coercion on Tehran.

Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Tehran, according to a statement published on the website of the president's office.

"Reaching an agreement with the United States is achievable. However, making that happen requires a fundamental condition that the American side refrains from the approach of coercion," Pezeshkian said when talking about the ongoing indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

For his part, Al Thani voiced Qatar's support for Iran and its rights, saying that pressure and coercion had proven ineffective when dealing with Iran, "as shown by experience."

110 killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, 2 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel

At least 110 people, including women and children, were killed on Sunday in intensive Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources. Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported that two rockets were fired from central Gaza toward Israel.

In southern Gaza, 40 people-including women and children-were killed and several others injured in what Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, described as a "horrific massacre" targeting displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

Local witnesses said the airstrike ignited fires among tents where displaced families were sleeping.

In central Gaza, 15 people, including children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on residential homes in the town of al-Zawayda, the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, and Deir al-Balah, Basal said.

Near Gaza City, 15 people were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed a densely populated home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of the city. Four more were killed in the Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, Basal added.