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Canadian Killed Fighting in Syria

A Canadian citizen who converted to Islam has been killed while fighting in Syria, Canadian media said Wednesday.

Mustafa al-Gharib, 22, was executed by the Free Syrian Army forces amid rebel infighting, after being injured in battle and captured by an unknown FSA faction in the city of Aleppo, Canada's public broadcaster reported.

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Five Palestinians Wounded in Israeli Gaza Raid

Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip against training camps used by the armed wing of the territory's Hamas rulers left four children and a woman wounded overnight, Palestinian medical sources said Thursday.

The five Palestinian civilians were hit by shrapnel but their wounds are not life-threatening, the sources said.

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Egypt Awaits Outcome of Key Electoral Test for Morsi Ouster

Egypt awaited voters' verdict Wednesday on last year's overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi after polls closed in a two-day referendum on a new constitution.

Officials have said that army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who toppled Morsi in July, will closely monitor turnout in the vote as he mulls standing for the presidency himself in an election promised for later this year.

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Bahrain's Heir, Opposition Leaders Discuss National Dialogue

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa met opposition leaders Wednesday in a bid revive a national dialogue that was suspended last week.

The meeting focused on "ways to overcome the obstacles that have hindered the national dialogue," designed to bring the country out of the current political crisis, the official news agency BNA reported.

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Ban Says U.N. Undecided over Iran Attending Syria Talks

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the international organisation has not taken a final decision on whether Iran should attend the Geneva II conference on Syria.

"As of this moment, we have not been able to finalize whether Iran should participate or not," Ban told a press conference in Kuwait where he attended a donors conference for Syria.

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U.S. Senate Report: Benghazi Attacks Were Preventable

The U.S. government could have prevented deadly attacks on its mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi by fixing "known security shortfalls," a damning Senate report concluded Wednesday.

Four American citizens, including Ambassador Chris Stephens, died in the double attack targeting a U.S. diplomatic facility and the nearby CIA annex on September 11, 2012.

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U.S. Probes Photos of Marines Burning Corpses in Iraq

The U.S. Marine Corps has launched an investigation into photos released Wednesday that purport to show troops burning corpses in Fallujah, Iraq, a spokesman said.

The probe was focused initially on verifying if the images were genuine, after the gossip website TMZ, known for its coverage of celebrities, posted eight grisly photos online.

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Iraq Unrest Toll Up to 73 Dead, 128 Wounded

A wave of violence in Iraq, including car bombs, suicide attacks and shootings, killed at least 73 people and wounded 128 on Wednesday, security and medical officials said.

The bloodshed was concentrated on Baghdad, where nine car bombs killed 37 people, but attacks also struck in restive Diyala province as well as around the main northern city of Mosul.

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Kerry Hopeful 'Local Ceasefires' Possible ahead of Syria Talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday he hoped the Syrian regime and rebels would in the next few days agree ceasefires in parts of the battle-scarred country.

Kerry said a "more positive climate" is needed ahead of the so-called Geneva II peace talks in Switzerland on January 22, which aim to resolve the nearly three-year conflict that has claimed 130,000 lives.

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Syria Opposition Says Army Attacked Rebels with Poison Gas

Syria's main opposition National Coalition on Wednesday accused troops loyal to President Bashar Assad of using poison gas in an attack on the rebel-held town of Daraya near Damascus.

At least three people were killed in the attack, the group alleged in a statement.

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