STRASBOURG, France -- Maltese politician Roberta Metsola was re-elected as president of the European Parliament on Tuesday during the first plenary session of the newly elected parliament here.

Metsola secured 562 votes out of 699 in the first round of secret paper balloting, easily capturing the needed majority after the parliament's major groups agreed ahead of time to back the 45-year-old politician. Her rival, Spanish politician Irene Montero, received 61 votes. (France-European Parliament-President)

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LONDON -- Vaughan Gething announced on Tuesday that he is quitting as Wales' first minister.

"I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and, as a result, First Minister," Gething said in a statement. (UK-Wales-Resignation)

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GAZA -- At least 40 Palestinians were killed in two attacks by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Hamas-run media office said in a statement.

One attack in the UN-affiliated Al-Razi School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed 23 Palestinians, with 73 others injured, the statement said. (Gaza-Hamas-Israel)

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WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revised China's 2024 economic growth up to 5 percent in an update to its World Economic Outlook, from the 4.6-percent forecast in April.

The revision is primarily attributed to a rebound in private consumption and strong exports in the first quarter, according to the update. (IMF-China-Economic Outlook)

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MUSCAT -- The Omani police announced Tuesday that a shooting incident near a landmark mosque here in the capital resulted in four deaths and multiple other injuries.

The Royal Oman Police said in a brief statement that a gunman has been arrested for the shooting near the Sultan Qaboos Mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area in the east of Muscat, and a probe into his motive has been underway. (Oman-Shooting-Mosque) Enditem

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