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Qatar to Enforce Key Labor Reform from November

Football World Cup 2022 host Qatar will begin enforcing a law that ensures migrant workers get paid on time from early November, labor ministry officials said on Wednesday.

The Wage Protection System (WPS) -- trumpeted by the government as a "significant" reform -- has been delayed from an initial start date of August 18 to allow companies more time to prepare for the change.

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HRW Condemns 'Serious Abuses' of Detainees in Yemen

Warring parties in south Yemen have committed "serious abuses" against civilians and fighters in their custody, including summary executions, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

The New York-based watchdog warned southern fighters loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels that they could face prosecution for war crimes.

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12 Syrian Migrants Die Off Turkish Coast

At least 12 Syrian migrants trying to reach Greece drowned Wednesday when two boats sank in Turkish waters, the Turkish coastguard and media said, as an image of a toddler's lifeless body washed ashore sparked horrified reactions on social media.

The Turkish coastguard said in a statement that two boats had sunk after separately setting off from Turkey's Bodrum peninsula for the Greek Aegean island of Kos early Wednesday.

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Gunmen Kidnap 18 Turks in Iraq Capital

Gunmen kidnapped at least 18 Turkish employees of a company building a football stadium in Baghdad on Wednesday, officials said, but it was not immediately clear who was holding them.

Dozens of Turks have been kidnapped in Iraq by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over the past 18 months and later released, but the latest abductions took place in Sadr City, a stronghold of Shiite paramilitary forces.

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Media: CIA, U.S. Special Forces Launch Drone Campaign in Syria

The CIA and U.S. special forces are carrying out a secret campaign using armed drones to target and kill Islamic State leaders in Syria, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The clandestine program is separate from America's wider military operations against IS fighters, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

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Petraeus: Nusra Front Fighters Could Tackle IS

Former CIA chief and retired general David Petraeus wants the United States to consider working with some members of al-Nusra Front to tackle the Islamic State group in Syria, he said Tuesday.

In a statement to CNN, Petraeus said some members of al-Nusra Front might be persuaded to join the coalition battling the IS group.

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Israel Opposes Palestinian Flag-Raising at the U.N.

Israel on Tuesday expressed strong opposition to a draft resolution that would allow the Palestinian flag to be raised at the United Nations ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders later this month.

Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Sam Kutesa, the General Assembly's president, to block the move, which would break with the U.N. practice of flying only the flags of member states.

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Gaza Could be 'Uninhabitable' by 2020, U.N. Warns

The Gaza Strip, ravaged by wars and nearly a decade of a grueling Israeli blockade, could become uninhabitable for residents within just five years, the United Nations development agency said Tuesday.

"The social, health and security-related ramifications of the high population density and overcrowding are among the factors that may render Gaza unlivable by 2020," the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) wrote in its annual report.

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Greek Police Find Large Weapons Stash on Libya-Bound Ship

A large weapons stash was discovered Tuesday on a cargo ship off the Greek island of Crete, a police source said, with initial information suggesting it sailed from Turkey and was headed for Libya.

Greek port police boarded the Haddad 1 and found shotguns in a shipping container, although no details were given on the other weapons found.

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Coalition Air Strikes on South Yemen Kill 20

At least 20 rebels and pro-government fighters have been killed in Saudi-led coalition air strikes targeting insurgent positions in south Yemen, military sources said on Tuesday.

The raids struck the rebel-held headquarters of the 19th Infantry Brigade and checkpoints in Baihan, a region between the provinces of Shabwa which is government-held, and oil-rich Marib which both sides are fighting to control.

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