News in Brief
China replaces FM Qin after weeks of speculation
REUTERS – China removed Foreign Minister Qin Gang from his post on Tuesday after a one-month absence from public duties, replacing him with his predecessor Wang Yi, state media said, after weeks of speculation about what had happened to him.
Qin, 57, who only took up the job in December after a brief stint as envoy to the US, had not been seen in public since June 25 when he met visiting diplomats in Beijing.
After he missed an international diplomatic summit in Indonesia, his ministry later said he was off work for unspecified health reasons.
Wang, 69, who filled in for Qin during his absence, retakes the role he held between 2018 and 2022.
It came amid a flurry of international engagements and frayed ties with rival superpower the United States, which Beijing has described as at their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in Nablus
PRESS TV – Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, killing three Palestinians.
In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said the fatal shooting took place in Nablus’ Al-Tur area.
Citing security sources, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that the occupation forces closed the area for several hours and prevented medical staff and journalists from approaching the scene.
The slain Palestinians were later identified as Nour al-Arda, 32, Montaser Salama, 33, and Saad al-Kharaz, 43.
The regime’s soldiers also seized the car as well as the bodies of the victims, the report added.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that Israeli troops deliberately targeted surveillance cameras in the area in an attempt to hide evidence of their crime, it said.
The Israeli military said its forces had “engaged and neutralized” three alleged Palestinian gunmen, claiming that three assault rifles, a handgun, and other equipment were confiscated from their vehicle.
The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement said that the crime is added to the list of atrocities committed by the fascist Zionist regime.