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IMF: Saudi Aid to Arab Spring Countries $3.7 Bn

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has distributed $3.7 billion in aid to countries touched by the Arab Spring, most of it to Egypt and Jordan, a report by the International Monetary Fund showed Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's wealthiest country, has pledged nearly $17.9 billion in support for fellow Arabs since the pro-democracy revolt erupted in Tunisia in January 2010 and spread throughout the region, toppling and shaking authoritarian governments.

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U.S. Warns Israeli Strike on Iran May Wreck Arab Treaties

Egypt and Jordan could annul their peace treaties with Israel if it carries out a preemptive strike against Iran, U.S. officials have warned the Jewish state, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

Quoting a high-level Israeli official, Yediot Aharonot said Washington had warned the Jewish state that Arab leaders would not be able to control an angry public backlash if Israel were to mount an attack on Iran.

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Syria Refugees in Jordan Stone U.N. Envoy's Convoy

A group of Syrian refugees threw stones at U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's convoy on Tuesday as he left the Zaatari camp in Jordan where he pledged help despite the "worsening" conflict.

"Unfortunately, the situation in Syria is not likely to improve," Brahimi said during a brief visit to the camp in northern Jordan close to the Syrian border.

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Greece Must Prepare against Syrian Migration Wave

Greece must "fortify" itself against illegal immigration, fearing a new wave from conflict-torn Syria, the public order minister said on Monday as officials reported pressure on maritime borders.

"Measures were discussed... to fortify the Aegean Sea," Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that also included the ministers of defense and shipping.

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Jolie Checks on Syrian Refugees in Iraq

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie met Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Saturday to discuss measures to care for Syrian refugees in Iraq, the foreign ministry said.

They discussed "the situation of Syrian refugees in Iraq and steps taken by the Iraqi government to ensure a decent life for them," the ministry said.

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Actress Jolie Visits Syrian Refugees in Turkey Camps

Hollywood star and U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie on Thursday visited Turkey's largest camp for Syrian refugees near the border, where overjoyed thousands welcomed her, Turkish media reported.

Jolie, accompanied by U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonia Guterres, met with some of the 12,000 refugees at Oncupinar camp in southeastern Kilis city, which lies right on the border with their conflict-wracked homeland.

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Israel Denies Blocking Jordan Nuclear Program

An Israeli official on Wednesday dismissed charges by Jordan's King Abdullah II that the Jewish state was trying to foil his country's nuclear energy program, calling the accusation "a hollow excuse."

"Every time that we were consulted on this we adopted a positive approach," the official told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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Jolie Visits Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Meets Miqati

U.N. refugee agency's special envoy and actress Angelina Jolie arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday to visit the Syrians who fled the turmoil in their country.

Jolie expressed concern for the alarming humanitarian situation the Syrians are passing through.

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King Accuses Israel of Disrupting Jordan Nuclear Plans

King Abdullah II on Wednesday accused Israel of disrupting Jordan's nuclear energy plans and warned of sectarian violence spilling across the border from Syria, in a wide-ranging interview with Agence France Presse.

The king, whose country needs atomic energy to meet its energy needs and power water desalination plants, said "strong opposition to Jordan's nuclear energy program is coming from Israel."

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U.N. Says More than 250,000 have Fled Syria

The number of refugees who have fled Syria has reached more than 250,000, the United Nations said Tuesday, calling the humanitarian problems sparked by the conflict "our biggest crisis".

"Latest figures show that more than a quarter of a million Syrian refugees (253,106 people) have now been registered in the surrounding region, or are awaiting registration," U.N. Refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said.

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