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Egyptian Gets 3 Years Jail for Facebook Islam Insult

An Egyptian court sentenced a man to three years in jail with hard labor on Saturday for insulting Islam in postings on Facebook, the official MENA news agency reported.

The Cairo court found that Ayman Yusef Mansour "intentionally insulted the dignity of the Islamic religion and attacked it with insults and ridicule on Facebook," the agency reported.

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Turkey Keeps Up Military Strikes on Kurdish Rebels, Kills 49 in Two Days

Turkey on Saturday kept up a major offensive against Kurdish rebels on its border and in northern Iraq on the third day of operations after rebel attacks killed 24 Turkish soldiers.

The military activity continued on both sides of the border, said an AFP photographer in the southeastern town of Cizre, less than 40 miles (70 kilometres) from the Iraqi frontier.

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Wall Collapses at Pompei after Flash Storms

Part of an ancient Roman wall has collapsed at the archaeological site of Pompei in southern Italy following flash floods and storms across the country, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

The wall, built with the Roman "opus incertum" technique using irregularly shaped stones and concrete, collapsed on a stretch of the ancient city's external walls, near the Porta di Nola, in an area open to the public.

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Nayef Poised to Be Saudi's Next Crown Prince

Saudi Arabia, ever keen to preserve its stability, is likely to act quickly and appoint Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the obvious choice, as the new heir of the thrown, analysts said.

"There is only one candidate who has all the possibilities of becoming crown prince: Prince Nayef," the interior minister and King Abdullah's half-brother, Abdul Aziz al-Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Centre, told Agence France Presse.

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Russia Introduces U.S. Visa Blacklist in Lawyer Row

Russia said Saturday it had put high-ranking U.S. officials implicated in "human rights crimes" on a visa black list, saying that list would grow if Washington continued to put pressure on Moscow.

Washington had earlier outraged Moscow by banning visas for an unspecified number of Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in prison of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, which became a symbol of abuses in the Russian judicial system.

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Egypt Extends Registration for Parliamentary Elections

Egyptian election officials said on Saturday they have extended the registration deadline for candidates in upcoming parliamentary polls by two days following requests from several political parties.

Candidates began submitting their applications on October 12 and the doors were to close on Saturday, after a first extension.

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Rumba King Ros Dies Aged 100

Latin-American musician and vocalist Edmundo Ros has died at his home in Spain at the age of 100, the Grand Order of Water Rats show business fraternity said Saturday.

"He died last night peacefully at his home in Spain, two months short of his 101st birthday", said secretary John Adrian, adding that he had died of old age.

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Suspected Russian Spies Arrested in Germany

Two suspected Russian spies operating in Germany for more than 20 years have been arrested in the first case of its kind since German reunification, a report said Saturday.

Der Spiegel said the man and woman, who lived as a couple, were arrested Tuesday when police raided their home at Ballingen, between Stuttgart and Cologne in western Germany.

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Europe Reopens Greek Bailout Deal Amid Dire Crisis Warnings

European ministers embarked Saturday on overhauling a rescue package for Greece, ahead of crunch French-German talks to resolve a row over a crisis that threatens to cause global recession.

Amid dire warnings that the debt crisis is endangering all of Europe, ministers said that banks had to take a greater share of the pain in a rescue package agreed in July but already seen as insufficient to solve Greek woes.

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Egypt, Israel Add 'Final Touches' to Prisoner Swap

Egypt and Israel are adding the "final touches" to a deal to swap an Israel-American detained in Cairo for a group of Egyptian prisoners and children, the official MENA news agency said on Saturday.

"MENA has learned that the final touches are currently being made for a deal to swap Israeli spy Ilan Grapel, accused of spying on Egypt for Israel, for about 16 Egyptian prisoners and three detained children," MENA reported.

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