CARACAS, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A pilot was killed when a Russian-made fighter jet crashed in a mountainous area in northern Venezuela during practice exercises ahead of a parade to mark the country’s independence, President Nicolas Maduro said.

“I regret to inform that during the practice manoeuvres … an aircraft of our Bolivarian Military Aviation fell to the ground, causing the physical loss of the distinguished pilot Col. Paulino Jose Millan Sabino,” the president wrote on Twitter.

03 July 2023; MEMO: Jordan called on Monday for immediate action by the international community to halt the Israeli military operation in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Six Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army earlier today, including five in Jenin, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Twenty-seven Palestinians were wounded.

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a relative respite from sweltering heat.

Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday.

Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year.

THE HAGUE, July 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent comments about payments to the Wagner group was "like direct evidence" that Wagner's mercenaries were an illegal arm of the Russian army in the war, Ukraine's top prosecutor told Reuters this week.

Putin said last week that Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had received almost $2 billion from Russia in the past year.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian command post in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.

"In the area of the settlement of Dyleyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a command post of the Ukrainian army’s 28th mechanized brigade was destroyed," the spokesman said.

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A group of militants ambushed troops during a search operation against insurgents in a remote area in southwestern Pakistan, triggering a shootout that left an army major and a junior officer dead, the military said Monday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s ambush near Balor in Baluchistan province, but Pakistani Taliban and small separatist groups have claimed similar attacks in the past.

The military identified the two killed as Saqib Hussain and Naik Baqir Ali. Another soldier was injured, the statement said.

WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to visit Beijing this week, the United States said, marking the second trip by a cabinet official to China since ties between the world’s top two economies deteriorated earlier this year.

Yellen is expected to discuss with her counterparts the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges,” said the Treasury Department in a statement.

TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - An explosion tore through a building in downtown Tokyo on Monday, scattering debris across a busy intersection and sending smoke into the air, but the fire was soon contained, Japanese media said.

Four people were injured, three seriously, but all were conscious, said public broadcaster NHK, which aired video images of flames through the windows of the shattered second floor of the building in the Shinbashi area of the Japanese capital.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear but witnesses said they had smelled gas before the explosion.

03 July 2023; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities have warned officials at Al-Aqsa Mosque against undertaking any restoration work inside the holy compound, the Palestinian Information Centre reported today.

Israeli police prevented the Al-Aqsa Reconstruction Committee from entering the mosque and carrying out work yesterday evening.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost province Monday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.4 quake was centered 135 kilometers (83 miles) southwest of Abepura, a subdistrict in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. It occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers (8 miles).

DUBAI, July 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's biggest oil exporters, deepened oil cuts on Monday, sending prices higher despite concerns over a global economic slowdown and possible further interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Saudi Arabia said it would extend its voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) for another month to include August, adding that the cut could be extended beyond that month.

ISLAMABAD, July 3 (APP): The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in an extraordinary meeting, held at Jeddah General Secretariat, has strongly condemned the recent despicable aggression against the sanctity of the copies of the Holy Quran, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, outside the central mosque in the capital city of Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden.