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Report: U.S. is Warned of Russia Arms Sale to Syria

Israel has warned the United States that Russia plans to sell sophisticated missile systems to Syria that would complicate any foreign intervention there, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal reported late Wednesday that Israel had provided information to Washington about the imminent sale to Syria of Russian S-300 missile batteries, advanced ground-to-air weapons that can take out aircraft or guided missiles.

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Kerry Says Assad Cannot be Part of Syria's New Government

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Thursday Syrian President Bashar Assad will have to step down as part of any political solution in Syria, as he held a third day of talks on the bloody conflict.

Speaking as he met Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Kerry said all sides were working to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgment President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government."

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Nusra Front Denies Chief Wounded in Syria

The powerful jihadist group Al-Nusra Front has denied that its chief Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani was wounded in fighting near the Syrian capital of Damascus.

"Dear brothers, please note that what is being reported by some channels about the injury to Sheikh al-Jawlani in Damascus is not true, thank God," Nusra leader Al-Ghareeb al-Muhajir al-Qahtani said in a tweet late on Wednesday.

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New Settler Homes 'Israeli Bid to Sabotage Peace Moves'

Israeli plans to build 300 new homes in a West Bank settlement near Ramallah prove that Israel is trying to "sabotage" U.S. efforts to revive peace talks, a top Palestinian official said on Thursday.

"We condemn this new decision which is proof that the Israeli government wants to sabotage and ruin the U.S. administration's efforts to revive the peace process," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told Agence France Presse.

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Vatican Prepares for Historic Coptic Leader Visit

Coptic Orthodox leader Tawadros II arrives in Rome on Thursday for a historic four-day visit to meet Pope Francis -- a sign of growing rapprochement between the Vatican and the Orthodox world.

The meeting on Friday will be the first between an Egyptian patriarch of Alexandria and a head of the Roman Catholic Church since 1973 when pope Paul VI met with Tawadros' predecessor Shenouda III.

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Influential Muslim Cleric Qaradawi Visits Gaza

Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi on Wednesday started his first visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, crossing into the Palestinian territory at Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

An Agence France Presse photographer said Egyptian-born Qaradawi, who is a citizen of Qatar and close to the Muslim Brotherhood, arrived in the territory shortly after 9:30 pm (1830 GMT).

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Jihadist Al-Nusra Chief Wounded near Damascus

The leader of the powerful jihadist rebel force, Al-Nusra Front, was wounded by army bombing near the Syrian capital on Wednesday, a watchdog said.

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani was wounded with other members of his group in southern Damascus province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing militants in the area.

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U.N. Pulls Back Golan Peacekeepers after Abductions

The United Nations on Wednesday pulled peacekeepers back from an observation post in the Golan Heights ceasefire zone where four Philippine troops were abducted by Syrian rebels, a spokesman said.

The move came as countries which contribute troops to the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) expressed renewed concern about security in the zone between Israel and war-stricken Syria.

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Libya to Reshuffle Govt within Days

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan announced on Wednesday a cabinet reshuffle "in the coming days," against the backdrop of a political crisis sparked by gunmen besieging two ministries.

"There will no doubt be a ministerial reshuffle in the coming days," he told a press conference, without specifying which portfolios would change.

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U.S. Unveiling Extra $100 Million for Syrian Refugees

The United States is to donate another $100 million (76 million euros) in humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees boosting its total to $510 million, the State Department said Wednesday.

The additional funds, to be officially announced Thursday by Secretary of State John Kerry, will fund U.N. programs for shelter, food and help to refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as well as inside Syria, it said in a statement.

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