Xi, Putin have tea chat in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a tea chat on Wednesday night at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi said that over the years, he and Putin have maintained frequent and close exchanges, and jointly created a new model of major-country relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, injecting the much-needed stability into a changing and turbulent world.

Noting that the two sides have reached new important consensus on promoting the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, Xi expressed the confidence that with unremitting efforts from both sides, China-Russia relations will surely build on the momentum of high-quality development and scale new heights.

Hailing the visit as pragmatic, efficient and fruitful, Putin said he and Xi have reviewed the development of Russia-China relations, held in-depth exchanges of views on a wide range of issues, and charted the course for future cooperation, which will help ensure robust momentum for the bilateral relationship.

Russia looks forward to maintaining close communication with China, strengthening strategic coordination, and making new contributions to world peace and prosperity through the certainty and stability of Russia-China relations, Putin said.

The Israeli authorities are directly involved in violent attacks by settlers in the West Bank that have killed, injured and displaced Palestinians, said a report released by the Untied Nations (UN) on Tuesday.

The Israeli government's judicial and law enforcement agencies not only failed to punish settlers who carried out violent attacks, but also provided them with financial and military support for their acts of violence, according to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.

The report warned that settler attacks continue to rise in the West Bank, with at least seven Palestinians killed and 832 injured last year, a 130 percent increase over 2024.

It found that the Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks through  financial and military support and by granting impunity from prosecution.