Chinese Police Kill 13 in Xinjiang as Protesters Attack Government Building

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers practice shooting with pistols at a military base amid heavy snowfalls in Hami, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous RegionReuters

Chinese police have shot dead 13 people in the restive Xinjiang province after attackers drove into a public building and set off an explosion.

A regional government website said three police officers were injured in the bomb attack, which took place on Saturday.

"Today thugs crashed a car into the public security building of Kargilik county in Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture and set off an explosion. Police took decisive action and shot dead 13 thugs," the official Tianshan web portal said.

The state media has not revealed further details of the attack. The state news agency, Xinhua, said the attack was carried out by "mobsters".

However, the incident follows a series of knife and bomb attacks in various parts of Xinjiang, where Beijing has mounted a vigorous crackdown on Uighur separatists.

China has witnessed rising attacks from activists from the Xinjiang separatist movement in recent years and vowed to crush what the state media calls "violent terrorist attacks".

The Uighur ethnic Muslim minority in the north-western Xinjiang region has long been agitating against Beijing's authoritarian rule.

Tensions in resource-rich Xinjiang have been on the rise since the 2009 clashes between ethnic Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese. More than 200 people were killed in the riots.

Uighur separatists have scaled up their movement in recent years, launching audacious attacks on railway stations and other public places. In May, 39 people were killed in a knife attack in the regional capital Urumqi.

Another railway station attack in March had killed 29 people in Kunming city. Beijing blamed Uighur militants for the attacks.

The Turkic-speaking native people of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region have been demanding, among other things, more religious freedom and action against the influx of Han Chinese people into their territory.

Beijing, which accuses the Uighurs of terrorism, has tightened security measures in the remote region.

On Friday, China launched a fresh campaign to muzzle the internet in the restive region to prevent terror attacks.

China's State Internet Information Office (SIIO) said the aim of the campaign was to prevent the dissemination of terrorist materials produced abroad.

"Terror video and audio products have become a major instigator of the high incidence of terrorist activities at present," the SIIO said, adding that the number of "terrorist video and audio materials released by separatist forces" have shot up in recent years.

"These materials, which propagate Jihad, terrorism and religious extremism, have been spread incessantly in China ... They have had a strong instigation effect and are extremely harmful," the office said.

Pictures of the Week: Best Photos of Past Seven Days

The moon sets behind the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado hill in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilAFP

A member of the Thunderbolt Craziness band wearing a metal suit balances a football on his head as electricity is discharged from Tesla coils during a performance to celebrate the 2014 Brazil World Cup, in Changle, Fujian province, ChinaReuters

Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o gestures in the rain during their 2014 World Cup Group A match against Mexico at the Dunas arena in NatalReuters

Portugal's Pepe headbutts Germany's Thomas Mueller, earning him a red card, during their World Cup match at the Fonte Nova arena in SalvadorReuters

Bruno Martins Indi of the Netherlands lies unconscious on the pitch after being fouled by Australia's Tim Cahill during their 2014 World Cup Group B match at the Beira Rio stadium in Porto AlegreReuters

A man holds a sign reading 'Goodbye Spain' after Spain lost to Chile in the World CupAFP

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil: England fans at a bar in London react as their team plays against UruguayReuters

Chilean football fans watch the World Cup match between Chile and Australia in their makeshift tent on the hills of Las Canas in Valparaiso city. Their homes were destroyed in a fire that burned large swathes of predominantly low-income, wooden houses, in the hills above the city in AprilReuters

The Queen is reflected in the Gold Cup as she prepares to present it at Ascot Racecourse. Her horse Estimate came second behind the winner Leading Light on day three of Royal AscotGetty

Prince George toddles around at the polo match while his mother holds onto his handGetty

Camilla, Prince Charles, Princess Eugenie, the Queen, the Countess of Wessex, Prince Philip, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Prince William stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony to celebrate the Queen's official birthdayGetty

Queen Letizia kisses King Felipe VI while Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia wave from the balcony of the Royal Palace in MadridAFP

A zookeeper handles a week-old newborn baby langur at Bali Zoo. Javan langurs are found in Java, Bali and Lombok in Indonesia and are listed as a threatened species due to hunting, agricultural expansion and habitat lossGetty

A penguin chooses a ball displaying the national flag of Germany over another featuring Ghana's flag at the Spreewelten-Bad in Lübbenau, eastern Germany on the eve of teams facing each other at the World CupAFP

A baby poison dart frog sits on the end of a pencil at the London Aquarium, the first of the endangered species ever to be born thereAFP

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces fire their weapons during clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in the city of RamadiReuters

An Israeli soldier blindfolds a Palestinian suspected of throwing stones as he detains him during clashes in the West Bank City of Hebron. Israeli armed forces swept through half a dozen Palestinian town and arrested more Hamas officials, expanding a search for three teenagers into a crackdown on the Islamist group accused of abducting themReuters

Israelis take part in a mass prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, for the return of three teenagers who were abducted while hitch-hiking in the West BankReuters

An armed pro-Russian separatist stands guard at the site of the crash of the Il-76 Ukrainian army transport plane in Luhansk. Pro-Russian separatists an anti-aircraft missile to shoot down the Ukrainian army transport plane, killing all 49 military personnel on boardReuters

Ukrainian protesters take part in a rally against President Vladimir Putin in front of the Russian embassy in KievAFP

A house is deliberately set on fire, after part of the ground it was resting on collapsed into Lake Whitney, TexasReuters

A man walks past damaged cars in the city of Varna, after torrential rains and floods hit Bulgaria killing at least 10 people, cutting off electricity, blocking roads and sparking evacuationsReuters

US President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honour to Marine Corps Corporal William 'Kyle' Carpenter during a ceremony at the White House in Washington. Carpenter received the medal for taking the blast from a grenade to protect fellow Marines in Helmand, Afghanistan. He is the eighth living recipient chosen for the honourReuters

US President Barack Obama holds a baby as he poses with children at the Cannon Ball Powwow Grounds on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, his first visit to an American Indian reservation since entering the White HouseReuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stands in a hatch on the conning tower of a submarine during his inspection of the Korean People's Army Naval Unit 167Reuters

A giant statue of Marilyn Monroe is seen at the dump site of a rubbish collecting company in Guigang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The eight-metre-tall stainless steel statue, which weighs about eight tonnes, was dumped after being shown outside a business centre in the city for only six monthsReuters

Workers work on "Transformers" replicas on the outskirts of Shanghai. Li Lei, owner of a small factory, uses his spare time and money to build replicas for rent or saleReuters

A model of the Transformers character Optimus Prime is displayed on the red carpet before the world premiere of the film 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' in Hong KongReuters

Models display creations at the Sibling show during London Collections: MenGetty

West Africa Ebola Outbreak 'Out of Control'

Members of the Guinean Red Cross speak with a resident during an awareness campaign on the Ebola virus in Guinea.CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Images

An Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 330 people in West Africa is "totally out of control", Doctors Without Borders (DWB) officials said.

The deadly disease started in Guinea's Guekedou region in February and has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia infecting some 500 people.

The outbreak appeared to slow after an initial peak but health officials have since recorded a strong return for the killer virus in recent weeks.

"The reality is clear that the epidemic is now in a second wave," said DWB director of operations in Brussels Bart Janssens. "It is totally out of control."

Fourteen deaths and 47 new cases have been reported in the region in just the last week, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"I'm absolutely convinced that this epidemic is far from over and will continue to kill a considerable amount of people, so this will definitely end up the biggest ever," Janssens said.

International organisations and governments are struggling to contain the disease which has, for the first time on record, affected multiple locations across several countries.

Earlier this week, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said they were facing one of the "most challenging Ebola outbreaks ever".

The virus struck a densely populated area where people are very mobile, experts said.

Health officials said there is an urgent need to increase public awareness urging people to come forward as soon as symptoms appeared.

"There needs to be a real political commitment that this is a very big emergency," Janssens said. "Otherwise, it will continue to spread, and for sure it will spread to more countries."

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which kills up to 90% of those infected.

It is spread by close contact with symptoms including internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea and vomiting.

The WHO said 337 people have so far been killed by the virus in the region. The worst affected country was Guinea is with 264 Ebola-related deaths, followed by In Sierra Leone with 49 and Liberia where 24 people have died.

Photos Show Iraqi Special Operations Forces Battling Isis Militants in Ramadi

Photos show members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces engaged in firefights with militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in the city of Ramadi.

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces fire their weapons during clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in the city of RamadiReuters

Government forces and allied tribal militiamen have been trying since late December to dislodge militants from Ramadi and nearby Fallujah.

Much of the city is in ruins after months of shelling by Iraqi government troops.

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces engage in a firefight with the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in RamadiReuters

A member of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces fires through a hole in a wall during clashes with Isis militantsReuters

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take up positions during clashes with Isis militantsReuters

Damaged buildings are seen in the city of Ramadi after months of fighting between Iraqi government forces and militantsReuters

Al-Qaeda-linked fighters seized parts of Ramadi in late DecemberReuters

Government forces and allied tribal militiamen have been trying since late December to dislodge militants from RamadiReuters

Tanks belonging to Iraqi security forces are seen in the city of RamadiReuters

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during clashes with Isis in RamadiReuters

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Poison or Tonic - Natural Gas and the Turkey-Cyprus Standoff

The Homer Ferrington gas drilling rig, operated by Noble Energy and drilling in an offshore block on concession from the Cypriot government, is seen in a reflection during President Demetris Christofias' visit in the east Mediterranean(Reuters)

While the discovery of huge natural gas reserves off the southern coast of Cyprus represent a financial windfall-in-waiting for the heavily indebted country, the challenges to monetise those resources are fraught with political and economic risk.

The huge gas fields, discovered in 2011 by the American company Noble Energy, span both Cyprus's and Israel's territorial waters. The 2011 discovery was estimated to be around 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas within Cypriot territorial waters. Some officials estimate there is up to 60 trillion cubic feet of gas still to be discovered in Cyprus's waters, an amount that could drastically change he fortunes of the island's struggling economy.

Cyprus and Israel signed a statement of intent in June 2013 over the building of an onshore natural gas liquefaction terminal in Cyprus, to store fuel before onward transportation to Europe.

However, significant work on the next phase of development is yet to start. With the government plagued by public debt, Nicosia is struggling to provide financing for the project.

"The combined cost of the liquefaction plant and the offshore pipeline varies between $8bn and $10bn, of which Cyprus may decide to finance 51%. In this case, it is very unlikely that the nearly bankrupt island-state will be able to find the money," political scientist Dr Andreas Stergiou told Geopolitical Information Service (GIS).

The possibility of constructing a pipeline between Cyprus, Greece and Israel has been floated in recent months but the project would require serious diplomatic movement between Greece and Israel over the borders of their exclusive economic zones.

Moreover, a major challenge yet to be addressed is the dispute with Turkey over the gas discovery.

In theory, the discovery could provide a window for an historic breakthrough between Nicosia and Ankara. Cyprus remains split between Greek and Turkish communities in the south and north respectively, with the capital Nicosia divided by a demarcation line.

Companies working on Israel's gas discovery have argued for the construction of a pipeline to Turkey, in order to raise revenues for the liquefaction terminal. Dr Stergiou told GIS that option remains unlikely.

"No serious politician in Cyprus would consider that, because it would mean indirectly recognising the northern portion of the island, occupied by Turkey, without any guarantee that the profits would actually go towards building a liquefaction plant," he said.

Meanwhile, the discovery could equally widen the diplomatic gulf between Ankara and Nicosia. Turkey has claimed the blocs of natural gas south of Cyprus as its own. It has threatened military force if drilling is carried out. While Ankara is yet to make good on that threat, the likelihood will increase as Cyprus gets closer to monetising the fields.

Yaya Toure's Brother Ibrahim Dies Aged 28 After Cancer Battle

Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast was told of his brother's death after Ivory Coast lost 2-1 to ColombiaGetty

Ivory Coast stars Yaya and Kolo Toure learned of the death of their younger brother hours after their team lost 2-1 to Columbia at the World Cup.

Ibrahim Toure died away on Thursday in Manchester, aged 28, after a reported battle with cancer.

He played as a striker for ASEC Mimosas, Metalurh Donetsk, OGC Nice, Al-Ittihad Aleppo, Misr Lel Makasa, Telephonat Beni Sweif and Al-Safa SC, but, unlike his esteemed brothers, did not represent Ivory Coast at international level.

The Ivorian FA said: "The entire Ivorian delegation want to show their support to the players.

"In such a sad situation, the Ivory Coast team and the entire delegation here in Brazil, show their support to the Toure brothers and their family.

"The president of Football Ivory Coast Federation and the Executive Committee ask Ivorians for their prayers."

Manchester City and Liverpool, whom Yaya and Kolo respectively play for, have Tweeted their condolences to the family:

The Elephants, who won their first match 2-1 against Japan, will play their final Group C match against Greece on Tuesday.

Lebanon: Security Chief Escapes Suicide Car Bomb

Wreckage of a vehicle is seen at a site of an explosion at the Dahr al-Baidar area in Lebanon's Eastern Bekaa ValleyReuters

Lebanon's security chief escaped a suicide car bombing in the country's Bekaa Valley which killed a member of the internal security forces and wounded another 32 people.

The explosion happened at a Lebanese police checkpoint on the Beirut-Damascus highway while the convoy was passing through. Major-general Abbas Ibrahim told a local television station that he miraculously escaped the blast.

Security forces confirmed that the suicide bomber blew himself up after being stopped to be searched. The Interior ministry said six security personnel were among the wounded in the explosion.

The man killed was Mahmoud Jamaleddine, a warrant officer in the Internal Security Forces.

The attack came after Lebanese security forces raided a hotel in the capital Beirut looking for terror suspects with a senior security source saying that police were "working on thwarting a big security plot".

Jihadist groups fighting in Syria have claimed responsibility for previous car bombing attacks targeting Beirut's southern suburbs, in retaliation for Hezbollah's role in supporting Assad forces in the war-torn country.

World Cup Sex Ban: Spain, France and Chile Stars Banned from Scoring off the Pitch

Italy's Marco Verratti vies for the ball with England's Raheem Sterling during their World Cup Group D match at the Amazonia arena in ManausReuters

Several World Cup team bosses have ordered their players not to have sex during the tournament, to conserve their energy for the pitch.

Unfortunately the ban has done little for one of its leading proponents, Spain, who have already crashed out of the tournament after conceding seven goals in two games.

However, advocates of the prohibition might point out that four other teams which have banned World Cup sex - Mexico, Germany, Costa Rica and Chile - have made excellent starts, the latter showing notable vigour in beating Spain 2-0 on Wednesday.

The ban has also been enforced by Russia, Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose coach Safet Susic said: "There will be no sex in Brazil.

"They can find another solution. They can even masturbate if they want. I am not interested what the other coaches do, this is not a holiday trip. We are there to play football at the World Cup."

The strictest ban has been enforced by Russia, whose players have been barred from even travelling with their wives and girlfriends.

Costa Rica's players will be allowed to have sex as a reward if they reach the second round, while Nigeria's married players have been given licence to have intercourse with their wives - however this freedom does not extend to those with girlfriends.

The French are allowed to have intercourse, as long as they don't continue all night, while Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says his players can have "normal sex" with nothing "acrobatic."

While the players have no other option but to follow this rule, according to National Geographic, past studies have shown that intercourse doesn't really impact how athletes play and may even give them a boost by raising their testosterone levels.

As per a rules roundup by Quartz, certain teams including the US and the English team are not expected to follow any such rule. "Uruguay, Italy and the Netherlands are also allowed to go about their business in the bedroom," states the DailyNews report.

This article was updated June 20, 2014 13:03 PM

F

China Dog Meat Festival: Protests Begin as 10,000 Sign Petition Banning Yulin Feast

Dogs are eaten in countries across Asia.Reuters

Protestors have started targeting restaurants and businesses selling dog meat ahead of the 2014 Yulin dog meat festival in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Retailers said animal rights groups and campaigners have been entering the city in the hope of saving dogs and putting a stop to the annual event.

The feast, which includes eating dog hotpot and lychees, is due to take place on 21 June to mark the summer solstice, although some locals have had the feast early to avoid protests.

According to Xinhua news agency, activists searching for dog slaughterhouses stopped a motorcyclist carrying eight animals. He eventually agreed to sell the dogs for 1,150 yuan (£110). They also bought six puppies at a dog market for 1,200 yuan.

Dog lover Yang Yuhua, 64, said: "As long as we can save one dog, we will do it."

As well as animal cruelty issues, lawyers and health authorities have warned the dog meat could be infected and poses a health risk because of the lack of official quarantines and inspections.

Activists saving dogs from the slaughter by buying them from vendors.Reuters

While many locals have said it is their right to hold the event – there is no law against eating dog meat – retailers said the national and international condemnation has led to fewer people celebrating.

"My grandfather, my father and I all sell dog meat. I could sell dozens of dogs a day last year during this time, but I only sold a few this year," one of the retailers said.

The protesting comes as a petition signed by 10,000 people was delivered to the Chinese government calling for the Yulin dog meat festival to be banned.

Humane Society International UK delivered the petition to the Chinese Ambassador in London.

In a letter, also sent to Chinese ambassadors in the US, Canada, Yulin and Guangxi, said: "Since its inception in 2009, the Yulin mass dog slaughter for the summer solstice celebration has attracted worldwide criticism.

"Right now, dogs are being cruelly bound, confined, trucked and slaughtered over long distances. Mass transport, slaughter, and consumption of dog meat during the summer solstice are high-risk activities against which responsible governments must intervene."

Disputed Iraqi Kurdish Oil Set For Israeli Port of Ashkelon

The SCF Altai tanker has anchored near Israel's Ashkelon port(Reuters)

Iraqi Kurdistan looked ready to unload the first shipment of crude oil from its new pipeline at an Israeli port.

After weeks of seeking a buyer for the disputed crude, over which Iraq's central government claims sole sales rights, a ship carrying the cargo was tracked to waters nearby Israel's Ashkelon port.

Reuters reported that the tanker is expected to dock early on Saturday, although it was not clear whether the oil on board the SCF Altai tanker had been sold to a local refiner or was going to be stored.

Facing legal threats from Baghdad, European governments have been wary of accepting the contentious cargo that left the Turkish port of Ceyhan in early June.

The crude was exported by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) via a new pipeline from the autonomous region in Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The pipeline's construction, designed to bypass the central government's own pipeline network, is at the centre of the ongoing row.

Baghdad and the KRG have been locked in a dispute over the right to sell oil produced in the autonomous region for months. Both parties insist that Iraq's constitution allows them to export the oil independently.

The KRG, which accuses Baghdad of withholding government funds it is owed, has long sought to increase its financial independence from the central government.

The SCF Altai tanker loaded the disputed crude from the United Emblem tanker during a ship-to-ship transfer near Malta, ship tracking data showed. The United Emblem was the second shipment of Kurdish crude to leave the port of Ceyhan. The first, United Leadership, remains at sea.

"We do not comment on the origin of crude oil being imported by the private refineries in Israel," an Israeli energy ministry spokeswoman was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Ancient Parasite Egg That Lived in Human Bladders Discovered in Prehistoric Syrian Town

Eggs of the Schistosomiasis parasite were found inside a grave in Syria dating back 6,200 years.Bruce Wetzel, Harry Schaefer

An ancient parasite egg that lived inside human bladders and intestines has been discovered in a grave in a prehistoric town in Syria.

The 6,200-year-old Schistosomiasis parasite egg was found near the Euphrates river and is believed to be the first evidence that agriculture irrigation in the Middle East led to disease.

Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers from the University of Cambridge say schistosomiasis is a disease caused by a number of different species of flatworm that live in the blood vessels of the bladder and intestines. The disease can cause anaemia, kidney failure and bladder cancer.

The egg was found in the pelvic area of the remains, where the bladder and intestines would have been in life. Soil samples from the head and the foot areas did not contain the parasite, suggesting the grave had not been infested after burial.

Piers Mitchell, one of the authors of the study, said they believe the parasite arose after the first crop irrigation systems were introduced in ancient Mesopotamia, an area that once covered parts of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey.

"The individual who contracted the parasite might have done so through the use of irrigation systems that were starting to be introduced in Mesopotamia around 7,500 years ago.

"The parasite spends part of its life cycle in snails that live in warm fresh water, before leaving the snail to burrow through the skin of people wading or swimming in the water. These irrigation systems distributed water to crops and may have triggered the beginning of the enormous disease burden that schistosomiasis has caused over the past 6,000 years."

Before the grave discovery in Syria, the earliest schistosomiasis egg discovered was found in Egyptian mummies dating from 5,200 years ago.

"Schistosomiasis has become progressively more common over time so that it causes a huge burden across the world today, with over 200 million people infected," Mitchell said.

"It causes anaemia which significantly decreases physical productivity in infected people, and may also cause bladder cancer. We would expect these consequences in ancient peoples to have had a significant impact upon early civilisations in the region."

China Steps Up Oil Exploration by Sending Four More Rigs to South China Sea

A Chinese coast guard vessel passes near the Chinese oil rig, Haiyang Shi You 981 in the South China Sea(Reuters)

China is sending four more oil rigs to the South China Sea after talks with Vietnam over disputed waters yielded little but animosity and disagreement.

One rig is set to be deployed in the vicinity of Vietnam's exclusive economic zone by Friday, while two further rigs are due to be deployed between China and the Taiwanese-inhabited Pratas islands by August 12. The fourth, to be deployed by August 12, would remain close to the Chinese coast.

Beijing's decision to send more oil rigs to the mineral-rich waters, announced on China's Maritime Safety Administration website, comes just weeks after China was involved in a series of maritime clashes with Vietnam in disputed waters close to the Paracel islands.

China and Vietnam accused each other of ramming their ships and firing water cannons, sparking anti-China riots on the Vietnam mainland in which five people were killed.

Rioters mistakenly damaged a number of Taiwanese factories in the violence, believing they were Chinese-owned.

The announcement comes as regional tensions rise over fears about China's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost all of the sea, which is thought to be rich in minerals, while a host of other countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have overlapping claims.

A state-run tabloid newspaper in Beijing quoted an academic calling the rig deployment a "strategic move".

"The increase in oil rigs will inevitably jab a sensitive nerve for Vietnam and the Philippines," Zhuang Guoto, director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, was quoted as saying in the Global Times.

Palestinian Youth Killed by Israeli Troops in Missing Teenagers Search

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Israeli soldiers patrol on the West Bank village of Arura near RamallahReuters

Palestinians stand around the body of teenager Mohammed Dodeen, who shot dead by Israeli troops during clashes in the West BankReuters

A Palestinian teen has been shot dead by Israeli security forces that opened fire on protesters, as they a swept a West Bank town in the search for three missing Israeli students.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they conducted night raids in four Palestinian towns and arrested 25 suspects in connection to the alleged kidnapping of three Jewish teenage seminary students that were reported missing last week.

In Dura, near Hebron, IDF troops were met by stone-throwing Palestinian youths and opened fire.

Mohammed Dodeen, 15, was killed by a bullet in the chest, hospital officials said.

Another three Palestinians were seriously wounded by IDF gunfire in separate clashes in the Qalandiya refugee camp.

An official at a hospital in Ramallah said one was in intensive care while the other two were in serious conditions.

The IDF maintained soldiers used live fire in response to life-threatening situations and claimed Palestinians threw home-made explosives, firebombs, fireworks and stones. In Qalandiya, a soldier was slightly injured by a grenade.

Missing Israeli teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach.IDF

The confrontations erupted as IDF troops searched about 200 locations for 16-year-olds Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach who disappeared while hitchhiking from a Jewish settlement seven days ago.

Israel says the youths have been kidnapped by Islamic militant Hamas and launched a massive manhunt, involving thousands of troops.

Almost 300 people have been held, including 51 Palestinians who had been released by Israel in 2011 for a prisoner swap deal.

The crisis has caused an escalation of tension between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has condemned both the abduction and Israel sweeping response.

Hamas, which has abducted Israelis before, praised the abduction of the teenagers but has not claimed responsibility for it. No demand for ransom has been issued.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Israeli police ignored an emergency call from one of the missing teenagers.

One of the boys called the police hotline shortly after the three disappeared and whispered "I've been kidnapped" before the line went dead. The call was dismissed as prank by the police operator.