Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel has barred a Palestinian photographer allegedly shot in the eye by an Israeli soldier from entering east Jerusalem for specialist treatment, he told AFP on Wednesday.

Nidal Shtayyeh, who works for Chinese news agency Xinhua, was wounded while covering a small demonstration at Huwarra checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on May 16.

As he was covering the rally, Shtayyeh was hit in the face by a rubber bullet which entered his eye, causing serious damage, he told AFP.

"The march was peaceful and no stones were thrown, no photographers were taking any pictures," he said, accusing soldiers of firing sound bombs at the photographers without any provocation.

"I raised my camera to my right eye to take a picture, but a soldier shot me in my left eye with his rifle, and the rubber bullet went through my gas mask's glass eye cover and into my eye."

An Italian camerawoman was also injured during the same demonstration which came as Palestinians marked the "Nakba", or "catastrophe" that befell them when Israel was established in 1948.

At the time, the army said at least 100 Palestinians had been throwing stones and petrol bombs, and that troops had responded with "riot dispersal means".

Shtayyeh was rushed to Rafidiya hospital in Nablus for initial treatment but was prescribed specialist help at St John's eye hospital in annexed east Jerusalem.

As a Palestinian living in the West Bank, Shtayyeh had to apply for an Israeli permit to enter Jerusalem.

But Israeli authorities turned down his request.

He tried again two more times -- once through the Red Cross and once through a private Israeli lawyer. But both requests were rejected.

A spokesman for the Shin Bet internal security agency did not have an immediate response.

Shtayyeh's lawyer, Itai Matt, told AFP that his client had been informed it was the Shin Bet preventing his entry, despite his having been granted such permission in the past.

According to Matt, Israeli security services "regularly bar entry to anyone wounded by the army".

"They even bar entry to wounded children seeking treatment in Jerusalem, because they are worried that anyone wounded will try and take revenge after their treatment," he said.

Xinhua did not respond to AFP's requests for a comment on the incident.

Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Three female suicide bombers died in the flashpoint Nigerian state of Borno when the explosives strapped to their bodies detonated, police said Wednesday, adding no one else was killed.

State Police Commissioner Aderemi Opadokun said the bombers died on Tuesday on their way to the state capital Maiduguri, which has been hit multiple times by Boko Haram suicide attacks.

"All three suicide bombers were killed and there were no other casualties," he said.

It is unclear whether Boko Haram was behind the attempted attack but the militant group has previously used female suicide bombers and homemade explosives in its bloody six-year insurgency.

News of the deaths came as Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari, who has made stopping the group's insurgency a top priority, prepares to meet his regional counterparts on the issue.

Heads of state from Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin are due in the capital Abuja on Thursday to discuss plans for an enhanced multinational force to take on the militants.

Since Buhari took office on May 29, Boko Haram attacks have gathered pace in northeast Nigeria, with a total of 109 people reportedly killed.

Moscow (AFP) - Russia on Thursday warned the United States of consequences if it moves to deploy land-based missiles in Europe in contravention of a key Cold-War era arms control treaty.

"It is clear that such actions would mean complete destruction by the American side of the regime of the treaty with all its attendant consequences," the Russian foreign ministry said, referring to the 1987 INF treaty on intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

"We urge the United States to ensure the full implementation of the INF, (and) not to threaten the feasibility of this document," the ministry said in a statement.

The two countries have accused each other of violating the treaty signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.

US defence officials said last week Washington is considering a range of moves to counter Russia's alleged violation of the treaty, including bolstering missile defences or deploying land-based missiles in Europe.

The INF agreement eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate range of 500-5,500 kilometres (300-3,400 miles). The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals.

A US State Department report last week said Russia in 2014 "continued to be in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 kilometres to 5,500 kilometres, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles."

The Russian foreign ministry said that statement was not "consistent with reality", challenging the United States to provide firm evidence.

Moscow for its part took issue with Washington's plans to deploy in Poland and Romania systems capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles.

"Such deployment would directly contravene the INF treaty," the foreign ministry said.

Ties between Russia and the United States sank to their post-Cold War lows after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine last year and supported Russian-speaking rebels fighting Kiev government forces.

CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge said Thursday that enough evidence exists to charge two white policemen in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old black boy who was holding a pellet gun, a largely symbolic ruling because he can't compel prosecutors to charge them.

Municipal Court Judge Ronald Adrine ruled there's probable cause to charge rookie officer Timothy Loehmann with murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide or dereliction of duty in the November shooting death of Tamir Rice. And he ruled there's evidence to charge Loehmann's partner, Frank Garmback, with reckless homicide or dereliction of duty.

The judge made his ruling after a group of activists submitted affidavits asking the court to charge the officers.

"This court reaches its conclusions consistent with the facts in evidence and the standard of proof that applies at this time," the judge wrote.

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department recently completed its investigation and gave its file to the county prosecutor, whose staff is reviewing the case while preparing to take it to a grand jury to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said Thursday that this case, like all other fatal use-of-deadly-force cases involving law enforcement officers, will go to the grand jury.

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FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, Samaria Rice, center, speaks about the investigation into th …

"Ultimately," he said, "the grand jury decides whether police officers are charged or not charged."

Footage from a surveillance camera shows Tamir being shot by Loehmann within two seconds of a police cruiser, driven by Garmback, skidding to a stop near the boy. The officers had responded to a 911 call about a man pointing and waving a gun at a playground next to a recreation center. Footage from the surveillance camera shows Tamir reaching for the gun, which was a realistic-looking toy, from his waistband when Loehmann shot him once in the abdomen.

Police officials have said Loehmann ordered Tamir three times to put his hands up, and Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Jeff Follmer said the officers had no way of knowing Tamir was carrying an airsoft gun that only looked like a real firearm.

The shooting of Tamir raised questions about how police treat blacks and spurred protests around the city.

The city released the surveillance video showing the shooting of Tamir.

Much of the footage showed what appeared to be a bored kid alone in a park on an unseasonably warm November afternoon. Tamir was seen pacing, occasionally extending his right arm with what appeared to be a gun in his hand, talking on a cellphone and sitting at a picnic table with his head resting on his arms.

But the gun wasn't real — it can be bought at sporting goods stores for less than $20. Tamir's was lacking the bright orange tip that is usually put on such weapons to indicate they're not real guns.

Tamir's family said it had seen the video of his shooting.

"It is our belief that this situation could have been avoided and that Tamir should still be here with us," the family said shortly after the shooting in a statement released by its attorneys. "The video shows one thing distinctly: the police officers reacted quickly."