- Trump slams early voting, even while urging Pennsylvanians to do so
- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty to bribery in rare graft trial
- Major Hurricane John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- IMF says ready for talks with Sri Lanka's new leftist government
- Phillies clinch division title, eye top seed
- Bills trample Jaguars, Commanders claw Bengals
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost ailing economy
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally on China stimulus on mixed day for markets
- Back to death row? Retrial verdict due in Japan murder saga
- Rare corruption trial of Singapore ex-minister begins
- Ghana a long way off from gender equality despite new law
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost economy
- Hamas weakened, not crushed a year into war with Israel
- Israeli economy struggles under weight of Gaza war
- Israelis united in trauma, divided by war after October 7
- New York Liberty riding WNBA boom into playoffs
- Union says new Boeing pay offer 'missed the mark'
- Environmental groups urge EU 'high risk' label for Sarawak
- Argentina seeks Maduro's arrest for crimes against humanity
- Morales issues Bolivian president 24-hour ultimatum to shake up cabinet
- Armenia and Azerbaijan see progress, but peace treaty seems distant
- World leaders gather at UN as Mideast tensions explode
- Biden's UN goodbye aims to 'Trump-proof' legacy
- Singapore ex-minister set for high-profile corruption trial
- Man Utd, Spurs eye respite from domestic woes in Europa League
- Guatemala picks Supreme Court judges with focus on anti-graft fight
- Jill Biden announces $500 million for women's health research
- Injured All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett out of Australia Test
- 'Lead the future': youth challenge world leaders at UN
- Goosebumps and stars as Paris Fashion Week kicks off
- Boeing boosts pay offer in effort to end strike
- Global markets inch higher on hopes of further rate cuts
- Amazon forest loses area the size of Germany and France, fueling fires
- 'Curious' Dupont eyes position change after claiming Top 14 award
- Man Utd stadium regeneration could add £7.3bn to British economy
- At COP16, Colombia seeks to lead by example on biodiversity
- Dupont caps off Olympic gold season with Top 14 player award
- Leeds to expand Elland Road to 53,000 capacity
- Mysterious 18th century diamond necklace set for auction
- World's oceans near critical acidification level: report
- California sues oil giant Exxon over plastic recycling 'myth'
- As wars rage, UN's critics say global body is failing its mission
- Amazon forest has lost an area the size of Germany and France
- Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner in Davis Cup finals teams
- Telegram's Durov announces new crackdown on illegal content
- African players in Europe: Ice-cool Jackson strikes twice
- Man City's Rodri 'out for season' after ACL injury: reports
- Venezuelan court issues arrest warrant for Argentina's Milei
- Arsenal not yet a match for Man City-Liverpool rivalry, says Silva
- Iran's new president calls Israel warmonger as he seeks talks with West
Palestinian lawyer killed in Israel West Bank clashes
A Palestinian rights lawyer was killed in clashes Wednesday close to Nablus, the fifth day of Israeli operations in the West Bank following a spate of attacks in the Jewish state, Palestinian officials said.
Violence also erupted at a flashpoint religious site in Nablus that is sacred to Jews, Joseph's Tomb, which was vandalised days ago by Palestinians, heightening tensions.
The Israeli army said its troops were "conducting counterterrorist operations" in Nablus, the militant bastion of Jenin and several other cities in the occupied West Bank, without immediately commenting on the lawyer's death.
The Palestinian health ministry said human rights lawyer Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Assaf, 34, "died after being shot in the chest by the Israeli occupation army during the aggression on the city of Nablus".
Witnesses told AFP he was standing by the roadside, having just taken his nephews to school, when he was hit by a bullet as Israeli forces fired while pulling out after an incursion into Nablus.
He was mourned as a "fierce defender of his people" by the body he worked for, the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Asked by AFP, the Israeli army did not say whether its soldiers had opened fire in Nablus Wednesday.
Israel has poured additional forces into the West Bank and reinforced its barrier with the territory after being hit by a wave of attacks that have claimed 14 lives in Israel, most of them civilians, in the past three weeks.
The latest was a shooting rampage last Thursday in the heart of the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv that claimed three lives before the gunman, who hails from Jenin, was killed after a huge all-night manhunt.
Israeli forces have killed 16 Palestinians, including assailants, in the same period, according to an AFP count.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned Israel is now "on the offensive" and determined to arrest militant suspects.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club on Wednesday reported 14 new arrests overnight across the West Bank.
- Contested holy site -
Violence flared at Joseph's Tomb as Israeli forces escorted Jewish construction workers sent in to repair the tomb after it was vandalised over the weekend.
The army said troops securing the tomb encountered "hundreds of Palestinians" who rioted, burned tyres and hurled firebombs and stones at troops and that "soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live ammunition".
Bennett vowed on Sunday that "we will not abide such an assault on a place that is holy to us -- on the eve of Passover", the Jewish festival.
The military commander of the operation told the soldiers deployed to secure the settler-led repair works that "we get to restore the honour to this land and the people of Israel", Israeli media reported.
The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service reported 31 people injured at the site and in a nearby village, including 10 people hit by live rounds.
The site is a frequent flashpoint between Israelis and Palestinians and was partially destroyed in 2000 during the second Palestinian intifada, and also torched in 2015.
Palestinian authorities consider the wider site to be an Islamic archaeological monument where the cleric Sheikh Yussef Dweikat was buried two centuries ago.
The Israeli army said Tuesday it had arrested one Palestinian suspected of involvement in the act of vandalism.
Jewish pilgrims can usually visit Joseph's Tomb under escort by the Israeli army.
On Monday, two Israelis were shot and wounded there after entering Nablus without military protection. One of the men told public broadcaster Kan they had gone to inspect the tomb.
H.Seidel--BTB