China Votes to Oust 3 Generals from Political Advisory Body

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Great Hall of the People ahead of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, which starts this week, in Beijing, China, March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Great Hall of the People ahead of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, which starts this week, in Beijing, China, March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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China Votes to Oust 3 Generals from Political Advisory Body

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Great Hall of the People ahead of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, which starts this week, in Beijing, China, March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Great Hall of the People ahead of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, which starts this week, in Beijing, China, March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

China's top political advisory body has voted to remove three generals, state media said, a week after nine military officials were ousted from its legislature.

The move comes as Beijing escalates a sweeping purge of military officials, days before thousands of delegates from across the country meet for the annual Two Sessions political conclave on Wednesday.

Simultaneous gatherings of the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and a separate political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), will be held over the course of a week.

The CPPCC voted at a Standing Committee meeting to remove retired military generals Han Weiguo, Liu Lei and Gao Jin, Xinhua said on Monday.

It also voted to remove two other members, while 10 more were officially ousted, according to AFP.

The move comes after the NPC ousted 19 of its delegates on Thursday, including nine military officials.

The reason for the removals was not specified.

Wang Xiangxi was also removed as minister of emergency management that same day after a probe by the country's anti-corruption watchdog, while Liu Shaoyun was removed from his position as head of the PLA's military court.

Since President Xi Jinping came to power more than a decade ago, he has launched a massive drive to root out graft at all levels of the Chinese Communist Party and state, with the drive targeting the military in recent years.

Xi hailed the military's "fight against corruption" last month in a rare acknowledgement of graft, weeks after Beijing escalated a sweeping purge by probing its top general.

Beijing's defense ministry said in January it was investigating Zhang Youxia, a vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), as well as Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC's joint staff department, which oversees combat planning.



Mojtaba Khamenei, Seen as Possible Next Supreme Leader, Has Survived Attacks on Iran, Sources Say

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
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Mojtaba Khamenei, Seen as Possible Next Supreme Leader, Has Survived Attacks on Iran, Sources Say

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's late Supreme Leader, has survived the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in which his father Ali Khamenei was killed, two Iranian sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Mojtaba is seen by the ‌establishment as ‌a possible successor to his ‌father, ⁠the sources said.

A ⁠mid-ranking cleric with close ties to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, hardliner Mojtaba is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment. He has for years ⁠been seen as one of ‌the top ‌candidates to succeed his father.

"He (Mojtaba) is alive ... ‌he was not in Tehran ‌when the Supreme Leader was killed," one of the sources said.

His father was killed on Saturday after the United ‌States and Israel attacked targets across Iran - one of a ⁠number ⁠of military and other influential figures killed.

Iranian state media announced Khamenei's death early on Sunday. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that the Iranian leader's body had been found, and US President Donald Trump said the United States had worked closely with Israel to target the man who led Iran since 1989.


Russia Blames Ukrainian Drones for Attack on LNG Ship in Mediterranean

A blood moon rises over the Mediterranean sea where a ship is anchored, in Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A blood moon rises over the Mediterranean sea where a ship is anchored, in Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
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Russia Blames Ukrainian Drones for Attack on LNG Ship in Mediterranean

A blood moon rises over the Mediterranean sea where a ship is anchored, in Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A blood moon rises over the Mediterranean sea where a ship is anchored, in Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Russia's transport ministry on Wednesday accused Ukrainian naval drones of attacking a Russian liquefied natural gas carrier, the Arctic Metagaz, which caught fire in the Mediterranean a day earlier.

If confirmed, it would ⁠be the first ⁠time that Ukraine has attacked a Russian LNG carrier.

The Security Service of Ukraine did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in ⁠an attempt to deprive Russia's war machine of funding.

Russia's transport ministry said all 30 crew members, who were Russian nationals, were safe.

"We qualify what happened as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law," Reuters quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.

It said the vessel, which ⁠had ⁠been carrying a cargo from the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked near international waters belonging to Malta and thanked Maltese rescue services.

Ukrainian naval drones had launched their attack from the coast of Libya, the ministry said.

The vessel's Russia-based manager LLC SMP Techmanagement and Russia's largest LNG producer Novatek have not yet commented on the incident.


‘No to War,’ Spanish PM Tells Trump

25 February 2026, Spain, Madrid: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a government control session held at the Lower Chamber of Spanish Parliament. (dpa)
25 February 2026, Spain, Madrid: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a government control session held at the Lower Chamber of Spanish Parliament. (dpa)
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‘No to War,’ Spanish PM Tells Trump

25 February 2026, Spain, Madrid: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a government control session held at the Lower Chamber of Spanish Parliament. (dpa)
25 February 2026, Spain, Madrid: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a government control session held at the Lower Chamber of Spanish Parliament. (dpa)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back on Wednesday at US President Donald Trump's criticisms of Madrid's refusal to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran.

"The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war," he said in a televised address, a day after Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.

"We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation," he added.

"We oppose this disaster," Sanchez said, arguing that his stance is shared by "many other governments" and "millions of citizens across Europe, North America and the Middle East who do not want more war or uncertainty tomorrow".

Trump called Spain a "terrible" ally on Tuesday as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.

He also pointed to Sanchez's refusal to join NATO allies in a pledge to boost defense spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by Trump, who has frequently argued that the United States shoulders too much of the alliance's burden.

Sanchez's leftist government has angered Washington with a series of other policies, including his staunch opposition to Israel's war in Gaza and the military operation to abduct and arrest President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.

US forces use the Rota naval base and Moron air base in Spain. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Spain, then led by conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, staunchly backed the United States.