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Xi Jinping and Chuck Schumer shake hands during Monday's meeting in Beijing. Andy Wong / AP  

Attacks take focus away from Xi and Schumer meeting on trade 

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calls on China to condemn Hamas attacks on Israel, reports Bloomberg. Schumer is critical of the lack of support and empathy from the Chinese foreign minister and the president "in these tough, troubled times."  

The call comes as Schumer visits Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping on Monday and discuss the countries' trade relationship. 

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for an immediate ceasefire between the countries but also reiterated support for "an independent Palestinian state". A statement from the ministry did not mention Hamas, but instead described the weekend's events as an "escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel." 

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The Syrian war  

Turkish airstrike on Kurdish targets – twenty dead 

At least twenty people have been killed in a Turkish airstrike on a Kurdish-controlled area of Syria, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. A further ten people have been injured. 

According to SOHR, the attack was aimed at a Kurdish police training facility in al-Malikiyy, located in the northeastern corner of Syria that borders both Turkey and Iraq.  

The attack and an undetermined number of casualties are confirmed by the Kurdish side.  

Turkey has stepped up attacks on Kurdish targets in response to an attack in the capital Ankara in which two people were injured. 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Fifa's Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladmir Putin. Hassan Ammar / AP 

Soccer World Cup Soccer World Cup 2034 

Saudi Arabia: We want to host the World Cup in 2034   

Saudi Arabia has officially notified FIFA that it wants to host the men's World Cup in 2034, reports the AP news agency.  

The Saudi Football Association submitted a letter of intent on Monday, and according to the AP, the kingdom is tipped to win a vote. 

Due to Fifa's policy that the tournament should rotate between the different continents, only countries from Asia and Oceania are eligible to host the WC 2034.  

If anyone wants to challenge Saudi Arabia, an official application must be submitted by October 31 this year.