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Israel Army Chief: Syria 'Terrorist' Groups Getting Stronger

Israel's military chief Benny Gantz said on Monday that "terrorist" groups fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad alongside other insurgents were becoming stronger.

"The situation in Syria has become exceptionally dangerous. The terrorist organisations are becoming stronger on the ground. Now they are fighting against Assad but in the future they could turn against us," Gantz said.

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U.N.: Human Rights Abuses Spiral in Iran

Human rights violations in Iran spiraled in 2012, a United Nations monitor said Monday, spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions.

"The prevailing situation of human rights in Iran continues to warrant serious concern," Ahmed Shaheed told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

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Barak: Iran Question Likely to Be Answered in 2013

Whether Iran will rein in its nuclear program or push ahead with its suspected bid for a weapons capability is likely to become clear by the end of 2013, Israel's Ehud Barak said on Monday.

"Iran remains the central challenge this year, and it is possible we’ll see the direction determined by the end of the year," the outgoing defense minister told members of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense.

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French FM: EU May Need to Rethink Syria Arms Embargo

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday said the European Union may need to rethink its Syria arms embargo to help insurgents fighting the Damascus regime.

"It seems obvious to me that the question of lifting the arms embargo will be increasingly on the table due to the evident imbalance between Bashar Assad, who is being supplied with powerful weaponry from Iran and Russia, and the National Coalition, which does not have such weapons," Fabius said after talks with his 26 European Union counterparts.

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At Least Three Killed in Damascus Mortar Attack

At least three civilians were killed and 28 others wounded on Monday when mortar shells slammed into a neighborhood in southern Damascus, Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported.

"A mortar shell fired by terrorists fell behind a shop on Duwaliya road, killing three civilians and wounding 28 others," SANA said, adding that another shell slammed into nearby Bab Sharqi district causing further casualties.

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EU anti-Terror Chief Warns of Continued Threat

The EU's anti-terror chief warned Europe on Monday to remain on its guard, especially against the threat of European jihadists who are finding new safe havens from Syria to Mali.

Gilles de Kerchove, marking a day of remembrance for victims of terror, said the threat remained real whether "it stems from terrorist organisations or lone actors."

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Ukraine Journalist 'Escapes from Captors' in Syria

A Ukrainian journalist held for several months by kidnappers in Syria is safe in Damascus after fleeing from her captors on Monday, her family said.

Ankhar Kochneva, an Arabic speaker who was working as an assistant for Russian media, was kidnapped in early October. She has reportedly said she was held by opposition forces who treated her poorly.

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Egypt Copt 'Tortured to Death' in Libya

An Egyptian Christian jailed in Libya has been tortured to death in custody, an Egyptian human rights lawyer told Agence France Presse in Cairo on Monday, with demonstrators attacking the Libyan embassy in protest.

Ezzat Hakim Attallah "died after being tortured with other detainees" in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, said Naguib Guebrayel, a Coptic Christian lawyer who heads the Egyptian Union for Human Rights watchdog.

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Assad 'Will Fight to the End' despite Setbacks

Syria's President Bashar Assad comes across as a remorseless autocrat ready to go to any lengths to stay in power, despite military setbacks and growing ever more isolated from much of the world, observers found.

"He appears relaxed and confident, and certainly doesn't give the impression of being about to quit," said Hala Jaber, a Sunday Times reporter who recently interviewed Assad.

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Shortages of Food, Fuel, Power as Syria Battered by War

"Yesterday I did not make anything to eat as there was no electricity for the entire day," says Umm Fadi, a resident of Artuz district near Damascus that has been caught up in the fighting between rebels and regime forces.

Like most Syrians, the mother of four faces a shortage of oil and gas and has to resort to cooking on a wood fire or, when there is power, an electric stove.

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