U.S. Senate advances bipartisan spending bill toward ending longest gov't shutdown

The U.S. Senate on Sunday night advanced a bipartisan spending package in a bid to end the longest government shutdown, which has entered its 40th day and caused a series of escalating disruptions.

The upper chamber voted 60-40 in a key procedural vote to move forward a spending package, which would fund most federal agencies at current levels through Jan. 30, and fund the Agriculture Department, the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress, for the full fiscal year.

This package will provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, whose funding was put in jeopardy amid the prolonged government shutdown.

China announces suspension of special port fees on U.S. ships

China's Ministry of Transport on Monday announced a one-year suspension of special port fees for ships owned or operated by U.S. enterprises, organizations and individuals.

The suspension of such fees took effect at 1:01 p.m. on Monday.

Simultaneously, the ministry announced a one-year suspension of its probe into how the U.S. Section 301 investigation affects the security and development interests of China's shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as well as related industrial and supply chains.

COP30 summit kicks off in Belem, Brazil

The 30th United Nations climate change conference, commonly known as COP30, opened Monday in Belem, Brazil, with the aim of putting the fight against climate change back in the center of international priorities, according to local authorities.

At the opening ceremony, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev called to meet the goals of the climate summit held last year in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago thanked Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for appointing him and reiterated that COP30 must present solutions.

U.S., Syria eye reset as Trump meets al-Sharaa at White House

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday met with Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, widely seen as a crucial step in normalizing U.S.-Syria relations.

No reporters and cameras were allowed to get access to the meeting in the Oval Office.

Syria is putting the permanent repeal of U.S. sanctions as its top priority, while Washington focuses on bringing Damascus into the U.S.-led global coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, officials from both countries revealed before the Monday talks.

Official confirms 8 deaths in Delhi blast

Eight people among those who were brought to a hospital after a blast in Delhi died on Monday evening, the hospital's medical superintendent confirmed.

A total of seven injured people were still in the hospital, and three of them were in critical condition.

The blast occurred inside a car near the historic monument Red Fort. According to police, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light on the road, and then a blast took place. The explosion triggered a fire in nearby vehicles, damaging nearly two dozen.

Israel kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza amid fragile ceasefire

Israeli soldiers killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the military said, describing them as militants who crossed a demarcation line separating areas under Israeli military control.

In a statement, the army said that two "terrorists" were shot after crossing the "yellow line" and approaching Israeli troops in southern Gaza, claiming they "posed an immediate threat." An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua that the incident occurred in the Khan Younis area.

The statement added that Israeli forces remain deployed "in accordance with the ceasefire agreement" but would "continue to act to remove any immediate threat."

6 killed in U.S. military strikes on 2 boats in eastern Pacific

The U.S. military launched two strikes targeting two boats allegedly transporting narcotics in international waters in the eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing all six aboard, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday.

"Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations," Hegseth said in a post on social media.

"Both strikes were conducted in international waters and 3 male narco-terrorists were aboard each vessel. All 6 were killed. No U.S. forces were harmed," he said.