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RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian officials said, amid attempts to curb surging violence from spiralling further.

A statement from Israeli border police said its undercover unit was involved in a raid early on Thursday to arrest a Palestinian man suspected of involvement in several shooting attacks. The forces surrounded the house he was in and fired at the man after he aimed a weapon at them, the border police said.

The Palestinian health ministry said 25-year-old Amir Abu Khadijeh was shot in the head in the city of Tulkarem.

A new group formed to confront Israel’s occupation under the name of the “Tulkarem Brigade” said Abu Khadijeh was one of its founders and described the killing as an “assassination”.

Thursday marked the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the Palestinian territories.

In previous years, Ramadan has occasionally seen clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians, particularly around Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site, revered as the Temple Mount by Jews. Ramadan coincides this year with Judaism’s Passover and Christian Easter.

On Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials made commitments to de-escalate violence at a meeting attended by U.S., Egyptian and Jordanian delegations in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of confrontations in recent months, with near-daily Israeli military raids and escalating violence by Jewish settlers, amid a spate of attacks by Palestinians.

Over the past year, Israeli forces have killed more than 250 Palestinians in the West Bank, including fighters and civilians. More than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have died in Palestinian attacks in the same period.

The Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Henriette Chacar; Editing by James Mackenzie and Hugh Lawson)

By Ben Blanchard and Gustavo Palencia

TAIPEI/TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) -The Honduran foreign minister is travelling to China to “promote” the establishment of diplomatic ties, an official said, signalling the end is most likely near for the country’s decades-long relations with Taiwan.

At stake is China’s growing footprint in Central America, once a steadfast base for Taiwan and where the United States is worried about Beijing’s expanding influence in its backyard.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted last week her government would seek to open relations with China.

“Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina on instructions from President Xiomara Castro travelled to China on Wednesday to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations,” presidential press secretary Ivis Alvarado said.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing welcomed the Honduran government’s positive attitude towards building relations, and was willing to develop them “on the basis of equality and mutual respect”.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned in the Honduran ambassador to express its “strong dissatisfaction” at the trip which “seriously harmed the feelings of our government and people”.

A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters Reina and his delegation left for Beijing from Panama, accompanied by Chinese officials. The source declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A senior Taipei-based diplomatic source told Reuters that Reina going to China meant an announcement on forging relations was probably near.

“The die is cast,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The move will leave Taiwan with diplomatic relations with only 13 countries.

Honduras denied on Wednesday it had demanded $2.5 billion in aid from Taiwan before its announcement to seek to open relations with China, instead saying the country had repeatedly asked Taiwan to buy Honduran public debt.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Wang called remarks about Honduras making the demand prior to its China announcement “absolutely preposterous and groundless”.

Speaking on Thursday to reporters at parliament, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the situation with Honduras was “not very good”.

“The other side demanded a high price,” he added, though he did not directly confirm the $2.5 billion number, saying only that “the facts will out”.

China, which views Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, has involved itself in the issue, Wu said, without giving details.

“The marks of Chinese involvement are very obvious,” he said.

But Taiwan will not engage in dollar diplomacy with China, Wu added.

The Honduras crisis erupted ahead of next week’s visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to Guatemala and Belize, which remain allies.

Tsai is stopping in New York on the way there and Los Angeles on the way back, where she is expected to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Wu, asked to confirm that meeting, said it was still being arranged.

“Beijing originally planned to act in the second half of the year, but because of President Tsai’s visit, it brought its plans forward,” said the source with direct knowledge of the situation, referring to getting Honduras to switch sides.

Reina said last week Honduras’ decision was partly because the Central American country was “up to its neck” in financial challenges and debt – including $600 million it owes Taiwan.

He said on Wednesday his country had repeatedly requested Taiwan to buy Honduran public debt and that the $2.5 billion figure was “not a donation,” but rather “a negotiated refinancing mechanism”.

Wu, answering a lawmaker’s question, said Honduras’ demands were beyond what Taiwan could do and that it was not just Taiwan who was owed money.

“We have said to them previously the debt they owe us can be readjusted,” Wu said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Gustavo Palencia; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei and Laurie Chen in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle and Tomasz Janowski)

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) -The student who was accused of shooting and wounding two faculty members at his Denver high school has been found dead near his vehicle in Park County.

The Park County Coroners Office confirmed in a Facebook post that the body belonged to 17-year-old Austin Lyle, who shot faculty members as they were patting him down for weapons as part of a “safety plan” devised for the youth based on previous behavioral issues.

The East High School student fled the shooting scene on foot immediately after Wednesday’s violence, which unfolded just before 10 a.m. local time (1600 GMT).

Denver Police Department had said in a tweet that a body was located near the suspect’s vehicle, adding that the identity and cause of death would be determined by the Park County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“This particular student had a safety plan that was in place where they were to be searched at the beginning of the school day every day,” Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas told reporters during a news conference earlier.

Neither police nor education authorities disclosed the specific conduct that led the school to adopt an individualized security protocol for the student. A wanted bulletin issued after the shooting included a photo of the student and of a car similar to one he might be driving.

The dean of the school and other staff members were conducting the search when several shots were fired, and the student fled, apparently still armed with the handgun used in the attack.

The two victims were taken to an area hospital where one was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery, and the other was in serious but stable condition, Thomas said.

The bloodshed came three years after the Denver school board voted to eliminate its program of assigning armed city police officers, known as school resources officers, to its public school campuses, relying instead on the school district’s own security team.

In light of Wednesday’s shooting, two armed police officers will be returned to East High School, located in Denver’s City Park neighborhood, for the rest of the current academic year, said Alex Marrero, the district superintendent.

Classes for the school’s 2,500 students will be canceled for the rest of the week, Marrero said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Steve Gorman, Cynthia Osterman, Bill Berkrot and Tomasz Janowski)

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s military said on Thursday it had monitored and driven away a U.S. destroyer that illegally entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

In a statement, the military said that the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius intruded into China’s territorial waters, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway.

“The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea,” said Tian Junli, a spokesman for China’s Southern Theatre Command.

The U.S. Navy on Thursday disputed the Chinese military statement, saying the destroyer is conducting “routine operations” in the South China Sea and was not expelled.

“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” a statement from the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet said.

Tension between the United States and China has been growing in the area.

The United States has been shoring up alliances in the Asia-Pacific seeking to counter China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing seeks to advance its territorial claims.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Gerry Doyle)

By Praveen Menon

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday outlined key details for a proposed referendum between October and December this year on recognising the nation’s Indigenous people in its constitution.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who represent about 3.2% of Australia’s population, are currently not mentioned in the constitution.

Here are five things to know about the referendum:

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

Albanese has proposed adding an additional chapter to Australia’s constitution. The new chapter will read as follows:

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Voice;  2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may makerepresentations to the Parliament and the Executive Governmentof the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander peoples; 3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, havepower to make laws with respect to matters relating to theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including itscomposition, functions, powers and procedures.

WHAT IS THE PROPOSED REFERENDUM QUESTION?

Albanese said on Thursday the referendum question would be: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

HOW DOES THE REFERENDUM WORK?

The government will introduce a bill in parliament in next week outlining the proposed changes to the constitution.

This will be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.

Once approved in parliament, it will be sent to the Governor General, the local representative of the British monarch, who issues a writ for a referendum.

HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED?

To change the constitution, the government must secure what is known as a double majority in the referendum.

That means more than 50% voters must vote in favour nationally, plus a majority of voters in a majority of the states must back the change.

Votes of people living in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Northern Territory regions, and any of Australia’s external territories, count towards the national majority only.

Poll turnout will be high as voting is compulsory.

HOW HAVE PAST REFERENDUMS FARED?

There have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only eight of these proposals have been approved.

In the last referendum in 1999, Australians voted against changing the constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the British monarch and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of members of parliament.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon in Sydney; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Lincoln Feast.)

By Steve Scherer

OTTAWA (Reuters) – A Chinese-Canadian lawmaker, cited in unconfirmed media reports as having ties to the Beijing government, forcefully denied those allegations but announced his resignation as a member of the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau last month denied a media report the party had been warned by the country’s spy agency to drop Han Dong, a Toronto-area member of parliament, as a Liberal candidate ahead of the 2019 election because he had Beijing’s support.

On Wednesday a new story by Global News, a Canadian broadcaster, reported Han had advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off freeing two Canadians held there under espionage charges.

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig returned to Canada in September 2021 after Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou was released from house arrest in Canada.

“I did nothing to cause them any harm. Like everyone in this house, I worked hard and advocated for their interest,” Han told parliament after the Global News report.

Trudeau’s office did not immediately comment.

Earlier this week, Trudeau bowed to pressure from the opposition and agreed to allow his top aide to testify before a parliamentary committee probing alleged Chinese election interference.

“What has been reported is false and I will defend myself against these absolutely untrue claims,” Han said after saying he would sit as an independent in parliament and leave the Liberal caucus.

“Sitting (in) the government caucus is a privilege and my presence there may be seen by some as a conflict of duty and the wrong place to be as an independent investigation pursues the facts,” he said.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)