Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, called for the "concrete implementation" of a two-state solution in Israel and "condemned" Israel's policy of settlement-building in the West Bank.The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a political settlement of the Iran nuclear issue in a joint statement published by Chinese state media on Tuesday.Xi is on a two-day visit to France as part of his first trip in five years to Europe, where he has been pressed by European leaders on trade tensions and Ukraine.

A US soldier who was detained in Russia on charges of criminal misconduct was arrested by a Vladivostok court on theft charges, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday.Citing the court's press office, RIA said that the soldier, whom the court identified as Gordon Black, is to be detained until July 2."The Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok arrested the American soldier Gordon Black ... under the 'Theft' article (of Russia's criminal code)," RIA cited the court's spokeswoman as saying.The US Army, which said on Monday it had been informed about the detention, has not officially named the soldier.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the soldier had been based in South Korea. Another US official said the soldier was accused of stealing from a woman.The Russian daily Izvestia, quoting an unnamed source, said the South Korea-based Army sergeant met a woman from Russia's far eastern port of Vladivostok on the Internet.Izvestia said the couple lived together for a time and that he stole 200,000 roubles ($2,196) from her.Reuters could not independently verify the Izvestia report.

US President Joe Biden's administration has been holding up several shipments of weapons to Israel for at least two weeks, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Politico, which broke the news, cited a US official as saying Washington wanted to send a political message to Israel.Washington has said it could not support an Israeli invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah without an appropriate and credible humanitarian plan.The delayed shipments include small diameter tail kits for unguided bombs made by Boeing that are designed to make them more accurate, the source said, adding several direct commercial sales that were in process for Israel were also being held up. A pause in new sales would impede Israel's ability to restock weapons it has used.Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rescuers searched through the debris of a multi-storey building collapse in the South African city of George early on Tuesday that has left at least five people dead and dozens still trapped.President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the families of the deceased and called for an investigation."Investigations into the cause of the incident must aim to bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster," Ramaphosa's office said in a statement.Twenty-six construction workers who were at the site of the unfinished building when it collapsed have been removed from the rubble, while 49 remained unaccounted for, the municipality of George, a coastal city east of Cape Town, said in a statement."Three teams of rescue personnel are currently working on three different areas within the site of the collapsed building," it said.A drone view of the site showed rescue workers removing debris in a bid to reach those still under the rubble."We are focusing on the areas... where we have actually been hearing people," Colin Deiner, chief of disaster management for the Western Cape province, told reporters at the scene.CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as the building crumbled on Monday afternoon.

Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel's incursion in Gaza's Rafah crossing aimed to undermine ceasefire efforts, after the Israeli army announced it took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing between Egypt and the strip.This is a developing story.