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Turkey Denies Reports of Arms Shipment to Syria

Turkey denied on Thursday local media reports that its security forces had seized a truck laden with weapons bound for Syria.

"The truck was loaded with aid for the Turkmen community in Syria," Interior Minister Efkan Ala told reporters.

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Weapons Found at Palestinian Ambassador's Prague Residence

Czech police said Thursday they had found unregistered weapons at the Prague residence of the Palestinian ambassador who was killed by an exploding safe on New Year's day.

Czech and Palestinian investigators are probing the death of ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, although police in Prague said it appeared to be accidental rather than a terror attack.

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Morocco Launches Process to Normalize Illegal Immigrants

Morocco on Thursday launched an operation to give residency permits to tens of thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally, after the king expressed concern about their harsh treatment by the police.

Hundreds of people, almost all of them sub-Saharan Africans, queued outside the governor's office in Rabat hoping to get their papers, which would officially allow them to reside and work in Morocco.

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Iraq Arrests Cleric who Claimed Saudi Shelling

Iraqi security forces on Thursday arrested a Shiite cleric who heads a pro-Iranian group which he claimed was responsible for firing mortar rounds into Saudi Arabia in November, police said.

Security forces arrested Wathiq al-Battat, the head of Jaish al-Mukhtar, on Palestine Street in Baghdad, the police colonel said.

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Trial of Morsi and Hizbullah Members over Egypt Jailbreak Set for Jan 28

Egypt's deposed president Mohammed Morsi and 130 others, including Hizbullah and Hamas members, will go on trial on January 28 over a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising, judicial sources said Thursday.

The prosecution said last month there were a total of 132 defendants, all of whom were also accused of murdering police officers.

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Kerry Arrives in Israel for Mideast Peace Push

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday as he pushed a framework for Middle East peace talks, amid growing tension with the Palestinians.

The two met in Jerusalem, launching what is expected to be an intense four days of shuttle diplomacy between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

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Security: 'Qaida' Kills Yemen Intelligence Officer

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen on Thursday killed an intelligence officer in the south Yemen port city of Aden, a security official said.

Colonel Marwan al-Maqbali was leaving his house in al-Qalua neighborhood when he was fired on from a car carrying gunmen "suspected of belonging to al-Qaida,” the official said.

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Israel ex-PM Ariel Sharon's 'Vital Organs' Failing

Israeli former prime minister Ariel Sharon's health deteriorated on Thursday, with his "vital organs" failing, said the hospital where he has been housed in a comatose state for eight years.

"In the last few days, we have seen a gradual decline in the functioning of Ariel Sharon's vital organs, which are essential for his survival," Tel Hashomer hospital director Zeev Rotstein told Israeli public radio.

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Qaida-Linked Fighters Control Parts of Two Iraq Cities

Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen battled jihadists on Thursday after they seized parts of two Sunni-majority cities following days of violence triggered by the demolition of a year-old protest camp.

Militants from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized half of the city of Fallujah, outside Baghdad, and parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi farther west.

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Report: Saudi Sentenced to Jail, Lashes over Twitter Libel

A Saudi court has sentenced a man convicted of defaming a Kuwaiti singer by accusing her on Twitter of adultery to three months in jail and 80 lashes, a news website reported Thursday.

The Saudi national, apparently a fan of a rival pop star, was sentenced for "accusing (Kuwaiti singer) Shams of adultery without providing proof," the Saudi Sabq news website cited the verdict as saying.

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