Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Sept. 16

LONDON -- The labor market in the United Kingdom (UK) has seen continued weak performance, with companies refraining from hiring due to high labor costs, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Tuesday.

The country's unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was estimated at 4.7 percent during the May-July period of 2025. This marked rises both from the previous quarter and from one year ago, according to the ONS. (UK-Labor market-Unemployment)

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ISLAMABAD -- The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday warned of an exceptionally high risk of a severe dengue outbreak in the country this season, particularly between Sept. 20 and early December, due to widespread flooding and favorable weather conditions.

In its first dengue alert of the season, the department said dengue risk rises sharply when temperatures stay between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius for several weeks, relative humidity exceeds 60 percent, and rainfall surpasses 27 mm, with effects lasting up to three weeks. (Pakistan-Dengue-Flood)

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GAZA -- The Israeli army intensified its airstrikes on Gaza City early Tuesday in what some residents and observers described as a possible prelude to expanding ground operations inside the city, amid rising casualties and a worsening humanitarian crisis among the Gaza population.

Palestinian sources told Xinhua that warplanes and drones continuously targeted multiple neighborhoods, supported by artillery and helicopter fire, while the Israeli army said it had carried out "a series of large-scale attacks" that would "gradually increase in intensity" in the coming days. (Israel-Gaza-Airstrike)

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DAMASCUS -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Syria has warned that millions of Syrians could face life-threatening conditions unless international donors step up funding for critical aid programs.

Joseph Inganji, head of the OCHA Syrian office, told Xinhua in Damascus that "if we don't receive the funding, it means children and women will die, because we don't have anything to support them." (Syria-Refugee return-Funding shortfall) Enditem