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Spain Seeks Removal of Ads for Rentals in Israeli Settlements

This picture shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, (foreground) in the northern area of East Jerusalem and Israel's controversial barrier separating the Palestinian neighborhood of al-Ram (background) in the occupied West Bank on December 27, 2025 (AFP)
This picture shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, (foreground) in the northern area of East Jerusalem and Israel's controversial barrier separating the Palestinian neighborhood of al-Ram (background) in the occupied West Bank on December 27, 2025 (AFP)
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Spain Seeks Removal of Ads for Rentals in Israeli Settlements

This picture shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, (foreground) in the northern area of East Jerusalem and Israel's controversial barrier separating the Palestinian neighborhood of al-Ram (background) in the occupied West Bank on December 27, 2025 (AFP)
This picture shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, (foreground) in the northern area of East Jerusalem and Israel's controversial barrier separating the Palestinian neighborhood of al-Ram (background) in the occupied West Bank on December 27, 2025 (AFP)

Spain's leftist government has ordered seven online platforms to remove more than 100 listings for vacation rentals in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The consumer affairs ministry said Tuesday it has identified 138 listings on platforms operating in Spain and notified the companies to "immediately remove or block" the content.

If they fail to comply, the platforms could face further government action, the statement said without specifying what the consequences would be.

The move is part of measures adopted by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government backing Palestinians and condemning Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

A decree approved by lawmakers in October includes an arms embargo on Israel and a ban on the advertising of products "coming from illegal colonies in Gaza and the West Bank".

Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy said the listings help "normalize and perpetuate a colonial regime considered illegal under international law".

In October, France's Human Rights League filed complaints against Airbnb and Booking.com accusing them of promoting "occupation tourism" by featuring properties in settlements.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, while Israel views them as largely legal.

Spain recognized a Palestinian state in 2024 and has become one of the most outspoken European critics of Israel's actions in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.

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World

Russia: Man Suspected of Shooting Top General Detained in Dubai

An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
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Russia: Man Suspected of Shooting Top General Detained in Dubai

An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Sunday that the man suspected of shooting top Russian military intelligence officer Vladimir Alexeyev in Moscow has been detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, ⁠Russia's military intelligence arm, was shot several times in an apartment block in Moscow on Friday, investigators said. He underwent surgery after the shooting, Russian media ⁠said.

The FSB said a Russian citizen named Lyubomir Korba was detained in Dubai on suspicion of carrying out the shooting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said was designed to sabotage peace talks. ⁠Ukraine said it had nothing to do with the shooting.

Alexeyev's boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, has been leading Russia's delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.

World

Factory Explosion Kills 8 in Northern China

Employees work on an electric vehicle (EV) production line at the Volkswagen Anhui factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Florence Lo
Employees work on an electric vehicle (EV) production line at the Volkswagen Anhui factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Florence Lo
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Factory Explosion Kills 8 in Northern China

Employees work on an electric vehicle (EV) production line at the Volkswagen Anhui factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Florence Lo
Employees work on an electric vehicle (EV) production line at the Volkswagen Anhui factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Florence Lo

An explosion at a biotech factory in northern China has killed eight people, Chinese state media reported Sunday, increasing the total number of fatalities by one.

State news agency Xinhua had previously reported that seven people died and one person was missing after the Saturday morning explosion at the Jiapeng biotech company in Shanxi province, citing local authorities.

Later, Xinhua said eight were dead, adding that the firm's legal representative had been taken into custody.

The company is located in Shanyin County, about 400 kilometers west of Beijing, AFP reported.

Xinhua said clean-up operations were ongoing, noting that reporters observed dark yellow smoke emanating from the site of the explosion.

Authorities have established a team to investigate the cause of the blast, the report added.

Industrial accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards.
In late January, an explosion at a steel factory in the neighboring province of Inner Mongolia left at least nine people dead.

World

Iran Warns Will Not Give Up Enrichment Despite US War Threat

Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran Warns Will Not Give Up Enrichment Despite US War Threat

Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran will never surrender the right to enrich uranium, even if war "is imposed on us,” its foreign minister said Sunday, defying pressure from Washington.

"Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear program and for uranium enrichment," Abbas Araghchi told a forum in Tehran.

"Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behavior," he said, two days after he met US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman.

The foreign minister also declared that his country was not intimidated by the US naval deployment in the Gulf.

"Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," Araghchi said.