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Two Beheaded Saudis Bring 2014 Execution Tally to 82

Two Saudis were beheaded on Tuesday for drug trafficking and murder, official media reported, bringing to 82 the number of executions this year.

The sentence against Abdulrahman bin Bakheit al-Lugmani was carried out in the western city of Mecca, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

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312 Egypt Islamists to Face Military Courts

Egypt has referred 312 Islamist backers of ousted President Mohamed Morsi to military trial accused of torching a court complex in the city of Ismailiya, a judicial source said Tuesday.

Since ex-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi deposed Morsi in July 2013, his followers have been the target of a relentless crackdown by the authorities, who are also accused of exploiting the judiciary in their fight against them.

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Israel Arrests 10 in Anti-Arab Extremist Swoop

Israeli police on Tuesday arrested 10 members of extremist anti-Arab group Lehava which has been linked to an attack last month on a Jewish-Arab school.

The attack, which incited violence against Arabs and equated them to a "cancer", sparked a wave of condemnation and came amid months of rising tensions and unrest in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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Tired of Talks and under Pressure, Palestinians Turn to U.N.

With peace talks exhausted, pressure building on the streets and increasing international support, the Palestinians are hoping the time has finally come for a U.N. resolution on ending the Israeli occupation.

Jordan is expected to submit an Arab-backed draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council as early as Wednesday, seeking a two-year timetable for Israel to withdraw its forces from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

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Nearly 200 Dead as Syria Bases Lost to Qaida

Nearly 200 combatants on both sides were killed in 24 hours when the Syrian branch of Al-Qaida took two regime bases in Idlib province, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain but gleans its information from a wide network of activists and medics on the ground, said Al-Nusra Front attackers also captured more than 100 regime soldiers.

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Seven Held in Spain, Morocco in Probe on Women Jihadists

Seven people were arrested in Spain and Morocco on Tuesday for allegedly recruiting young women via the Internet to join the jihadist Islamic State group fighting in Iraq and Syria.

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British Embassy in Cairo Reopens to the Public

The British embassy in Cairo said on Tuesday it has resumed services to the public, nine days after they were suspended over security concerns about the mission's main building.

The Canadian embassy next to the British embassy, which also suspended services, remains shut to the public.

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Palestinian Killed in Israeli Military Operation in West Bank

A Palestinian was killed overnight during an Israeli military operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp near Ramallah in the West Bank, medical and security sources said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old man was killed when troops entered the camp to make an arrest, triggering clashes with residents, the sources said. 

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Iraq Jihadists Release Pictures of Mass Execution

The Islamic State (IS) group on Monday released pictures of the execution of 13 men described as anti-jihadist Sunni tribal fighters near the northern city of Tikrit.

Three pictures published on a jihadist forum and pro-IS social media accounts show the execution of the men wearing orange jumpsuits.

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Jordan Says No Plan to Push for Quick U.N. Vote on Palestine

Jordan said Monday it had no immediate plans to push for a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories despite Palestinian statements that the move was imminent.

Jordan's U.N. Ambassador said she was awaiting the outcome of meetings that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is having with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and European governments on the next step at the United Nations.

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