Palestinian protester killed by Israelis
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing a 16-year old and wounding five people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
According to the ministry, Amjad Abu Alia was shot in the chest and pronounced dead after he was brought to the hospital. He was shot as some 250 Palestinians gathered to protest against Israeli settlement expansion in the village of Mughayer.
There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.
The protesters closed a road used by settlers with burning tires, after which scuffles erupted with the settlers, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. The Israeli military stepped in, firing stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Shortly after, both settlers and soldiers fired live shots, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.
Abu Alia was shot as he was running away with a group of protesters. The ministry said five protesters were wounded — three by live fire and two by rubber-coated bullets.
Demonstrations against Israeli settlement expansions are a weekly occurrence in several parts of the West Bank, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war.
Russia supports China, threatens U.S.
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Friday offered support to China amid the tensions over Taiwan, warning the United States against any “provocative” moves that could exacerbate the situation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against meddling in China’s dealings with Taiwan during a phone call Thursday with U.S. President Joe Biden.
Speaking in a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia staunchly supports China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“We believe that no other country has the right to call [that] into doubt or take any provocative steps,” Peskov said.
He warned the U.S. against “destructive” moves, adding that “such behavior on the international arena could only exacerbate tensions as the world is already overloaded with regional and global problems.” The Chinese government gave no indication Xi and Biden discussed possible plans by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan, which the ruling Communist Party says has no right to conduct foreign relations. But Xi rejected “interference by external forces” that might encourage Taiwan to try to make its decades-old de facto independence permanent.
German ship transports migrants to Italy
ROME — A German humanitarian organization’s maritime rescue ship was sailing Friday to the Italian mainland to disembark 438 migrants who were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, where many people smugglers are based.
Sea-Watch said the ship was expected to reach Taranto port in Puglia, the region that forms the “heel” of the Italian peninsula, by today.
The charity appealed for several days for permission to take the passengers to Italy, saying they were sweltering in temperatures that reached 104 Fahrenheit. Italian authorities gave the OK on Thursday evening.
The passengers on Sea-Watch 3 include unaccompanied minors, the organization said. A pregnant woman and a child with burns accompanied by immediate family members were already evacuated to Italy.
With a surge in arrivals, the migrant center on Lampedusa was housing hundreds more people than its capacity.
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese pledged to speed up the transfer of migrants to the mainland or the large island of Sicily. Navy, Coast Guard and Border Police boats were being deployed for that purpose along with a commercial ferry, which will sail three times weekly between Lampedusa and Sicily to ease crowding at the migrant center.
94 migrants bash out of trailer in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Authorities in Mexico said Thursday at least 94 migrants had to bash their way out of a suffocating freight trailer abandoned on a highway in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
Carlos Enrique Escalante, the head of the state migrant attention office, said migrants had to break holes in the freight container to get out, some apparently through the roof.
Some were injured when they leapt from the roof of the trailer, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Escalante said local residents near the town of Acayucan heard the noise and helped open the freight container.
A much larger number of migrants were believed to have been aboard and fled after escaping. But the 94 migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were turned over to immigration authorities.
In the southern Mexico state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, another group of migrants continued demanding temporary visas they would permit them to travel across Mexico. They were still in the town of Huixtla on Thursday after leaving Tapachula earlier this week, saying they can’t wait months for slow immigration paperwork in Tapachula.