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Israel Appoints Interior Minister who Served Time for Graft

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the controversial appointment of the country's new interior minister, an ultra-Orthodox party head who had served prison time for corruption.

Aryeh Deri takes over the post after his predecessor Silvan Shalom resigned last month following allegations of sexual harassment. 

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Zarif Says Saudi Using Iran Row to Hurt Syria Peace Talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of using its row with Tehran to "negatively affect" peace talks on the Syrian conflict.

"Saudi Arabia's approach is to create tension intended to negatively affect the Syrian crisis," Zarif said in a foreign ministry statement.

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Al-Arabi Accuses Iran of Provocations amid Saudi Row

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi accused Tehran of "provocative acts" as top Arab diplomats met Sunday for talks on Saudi Arabia's diplomatic row with Iran.

Arabi was addressing Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Cairo for emergency talks requested by Riyadh on the dispute, which erupted after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

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At Least 4 Dead in Missile Strike on MSF Clinic in Yemen

Aid agency Doctors Without Borders condemned a missile strike on one of its clinics Sunday in northern Yemen, saying it had killed at least four people and wounded 10 others.

Three MSF staff members are among the wounded and two are in "critical condition", the agency said in a statement, adding that toll could rise as several buildings have collapsed.

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Saudi Executes Ethiopian Woman for Axe Murder

Saudi authorities on Sunday executed an Ethiopian woman convicted of murdering a Saudi female with an axe, the 50th death sentence carried out in the kingdom this year, the interior ministry said.

Jinat Farid was found guilty of killing Ghalia Eida al-Harithi by striking her repeatedly with an axe as the victim knelt to perform Muslim prayers, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

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Nusra Briefly Abducts Prominent Media Activists from Syria Rebel Town

Syria's al-Qaida affiliate briefly detained two of the country's most prominent media activists who worked at a radio station in the northwestern Idlib province on Sunday, their employer said.

Raed Fares and Hadi al-Abdallah were released about 12 hours after their abduction, Fresh FM said in a statement posted on Facebook.

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Turkey Arrests 3 over Killing of Anti-IS Syrian Filmmaker

Turkish authorities arrested three people over the death of a Syrian filmmaker who was assassinated in southern Turkey after producing anti-Islamic State documentaries, the state media said Sunday.

Naji Jerf, 37, was shot dead in broad daylight in Gaziantep province late December by assailants using a silencer outside a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets.

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HRW Accuses Yemen Rebels of Arbitrary Detentions

Human Rights Watch on Sunday accused Yemen's Huthi rebels of arbitrarily detaining dozens of opponents in the capital Sanaa, where they have ruled for more than 15 months.

The Iran-backed Shiite rebels detained 35 people between August 2014 and October 2015, the rights group said, adding that 27 remained in custody.

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Saudi-Led Coalition Denies Cluster Bomb Use in Sanaa

The Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen denied Sunday renewed accusations of dropping cluster munitions in the country after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said their use may be a "war crime".

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told AFP that the alliance "denies using cluster bombs in Sanaa", the Yemeni capital.

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Canada PM Condemns Pepper Spray Attack on Syrian Refugees

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday condemned an attack on Syrian refugees who were pepper-sprayed during a welcome event in Vancouver, an incident police are treating as a hate crime.

The group of newly arrived Syrians, which included children, was sprayed by an unknown bicyclist as they gathered outdoors Friday for a welcome function at the Muslim Association of Canada Center, Vancouver police said.

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