Xi stresses building modern socialist new Xizang

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged Xizang Autonomous Region to build a modern socialist new Xizang that is united, prosperous, civilized, harmonious and beautiful.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks after listening to work reports from the CPC Xizang regional committee and the regional government.

He emphasized that Xizang should steadily advance high-quality development and continue to make solid efforts on the four main tasks of ensuring stability, facilitating development, protecting the eco-environment, and strengthening the borders.

China to display new-generation armaments in V-Day military parade

China will showcase a series of new-generation armaments during the upcoming V-Day military parade in Beijing, such as fourth-generation tanks and aircraft, unmanned intelligence and counter-unmanned equipment, and advanced missiles including hypersonic ones, said an official on Wednesday.

All the armaments to be displayed are domestically made and in active service, said Wu Zeke, a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, at a press conference.

Wu added that these armaments are composed mainly of new-type fourth-generation equipment, such as new-type tanks, ship-borne aircraft and fighter jets. Organized according to combat modules, these formations highlight the Chinese military's systems-based operational capabilities.

U.S. imposes sanctions on ICC staffers, drawing criticism from ICC, France

The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four individuals currently serving on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for having directly engaged in actions by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute U.S. and Israeli personnel with no consent from the two countries.

Two ICC judges were designated for authorizing the ICC's investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, and authorizing the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Two ICC deputy prosecutors were designated for continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel, including upholding the ICC's arrest warrants targeting Netanyahu and Gallant, according to the State Department.

Israel launches new offensive on Gaza City

Israel on Tuesday gave final approval for a new settlement in E1, a highly contentious area of the occupied West Bank.

The Higher Planning Council authorized 3,753 housing units, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighborhood of Maale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.

First proposed in the 1990s, the E1 plan has long been frozen due to opposition in Israel and abroad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered it forward in 2012 and revived it again before the 2020 election.

Israel approves new settlement in West Bank

Israel on Tuesday gave final approval for a new settlement in E1, a highly contentious area of the occupied West Bank.

The Higher Planning Council authorized 3,753 housing units, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighborhood of Maale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.

First proposed in the 1990s, the E1 plan has long been frozen due to opposition in Israel and abroad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered it forward in 2012 and revived it again before the 2020 election.

West Bank settler expansion scheme threatens Palestinian life

Israel's West Bank settlement expansion plan negatively affects Palestinians and increases the risk of displacement, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the more than 3,000 housing units scheme for settlers as part of the E1 plan would essentially cut off the northern and central West Bank from the south, leading to a devastating humanitarian impact.

OCHA said the wider occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) would feel the effect, with 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities put at a higher risk of displacement.

36 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza as intensified attacks trigger panic

At least 36 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Gaza's civil defense authority said, as ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza City sparked widespread panic among Palestinians.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's civil defense authority, told Xinhua that three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house in the town of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, while five others were killed when a tent sheltering displaced people was bombed in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.

Basal said that four people, including two children, were killed in a bombing of a tent near the Islamic University in western Gaza City. He added that another two children were killed in an attack on a house in the Sabra neighborhood, south of the city.