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Kuwait Court Toughens Tweeter's Jail Term

Kuwait's appeals court on Wednesday toughened the jail term of an opposition tweeter to five years for calling for a coup and insulting the emir of the Gulf state.

Bader al-Rasheedi was jailed on November 28 after the lower court gave him a two-year term, but the appeals court decided to increase this to five years, director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights Mohammad al-Humaidi told Agence France Presse.

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Assad in Surprise Visit to Damascus Education Center

Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad paid an unexpected visit to an educational center in the capital Damascus on Wednesday, the presidency said on its official Facebook page.

"President Assad made a surprise visit to the Educational Center for Fine Arts where the education ministry was honoring the families of students who were martyred as a result of terrorist acts, to honor the parents himself," the presidency wrote, alongside photos of Assad at the center.

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Hagel Plans Israel Visit to Boost Defense Ties

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to visit the Jewish state in April to boost cooperation between the two countries, Israel's defense ministry said on Wednesday.

The plans were discussed during a telephone conversation between Hagel and new Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who took up the position on Monday, a ministry statement said.

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HRW Says Tunisia Must Repeal Criminal Defamation Law

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called on Tunisia to "urgently" repeal its criminal defamation law, which can lead to two years in jail and which it said has a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech.

"Tunisian authorities should urgently amend the country’s law on defamation to make it conform to international norms on freedom of expression," the New York-based press watchdog said.

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Syrian Press Slams Rebel PM Choice

Syria's state media on Wednesday slammed rebel forces for electing Ghassan Hitto as opposition premier, saying he was a pawn of foreign nations complicit in a "conspiracy" against Syria.

Al-Watan daily said Hitto had been "appointed" by Turkey and Qatar, which both back the uprising against President Bashar Assad, along with the Muslim Brotherhood organization.

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Obama Vows Peace on First Visit to Israel as President

"Peace must come to the Holy Land," Barack Obama said Wednesday as he landed in Israel for the first time as U.S. president in a bid to ease tensions with his hosts and to frame policy on Syria and Iran.

Israeli leaders showered Obama with personal praise for defending the Jewish state's security and existence, in a lavish welcoming ceremony at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at the start of a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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Iran Says Syrian Rebels Used Chemical Weapons

Iran on Wednesday accused "armed opposition groups" in Syria of having used chemical weapons on the city of Aleppo, warning against a recurrence of such attacks, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The Islamic republic of Iran strongly condemns the inhumane act by armed opposition groups in using chemical weapons in the city of Aleppo," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

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Kuwait Passes Bill to Naturalize 4,000 Stateless People

Kuwait's parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to grant citizenship to up to 4,000 foreigners in 2013 in a move to resolve the problem of stateless people in the oil-rich state.

Forty-three members, including all cabinet ministers present, voted in favor of the law while only two MPs abstained without any opposition. To take effect, the law also must be signed by the emir.

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Qaida Claims Wave of Attacks that Killed 56 in Iraq

Al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate said it was behind a wave of attacks that killed 56 people and wounded more than 220, in a statement posted on jihadist Internet forums on Wednesday.

"What you received on Tuesday is... the first stage that, God willing, will be followed by revenge for those whom you executed," the statement said.

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Kurd Rebels Set to Enter 'Historic' Ceasefire

Turkey's armed Kurdish rebellion is poised to enter a historic ceasefire on Thursday, the Kurdish New Year, at the command of a single man only a handful of people have seen since 1999.

After months of meticulous planning with Turkey's intelligence agency, jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has outlined a "historic" call for a ceasefire to be made on Thursday, Kurdish lawmakers told reporters after meeting him on Monday.

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