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Egypt Islamists Reject Delay to Referendum

Egypt's main Islamist parties, including President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, rejected on Saturday opposition demands to delay a December 15 referendum on a new constitution they helped draft.

The 13 parties "insist that the referendum on the constitution take place on the scheduled date, with no modification or delay," according to a joint statement read to media by the number two of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat al-Shater.

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Meshaal Rejects Any 'Concession over Palestine'

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal rejected on Saturday ceding "an inch" of Palestinian territory to Israel or recognizing the Jewish state, in a speech in Gaza marking the 25th anniversary of the Islamist group's founding.

"Palestine is our land and nation from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river, from north to south, and we cannot cede an inch or any part of it," he said of the borders currently held by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, at a rally marking the 25th foundation of Hamas.

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African Union Urges Dialogue on Egypt Constitution Row

The African Union on Saturday called for dialogue in Egypt over the Islamist-led government plan for a referendum on a draft constitution, which opposition activists oppose..

AU chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma "underscores the imperative for all the parties to engage in dialogue and to work towards an inclusive constitution making process", said an AU statement.

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Syria Opposition Military Council by Next Week

Syria's new opposition coalition will announce the creation of a military council before a Friends of Syria meeting next week, to unify the ranks of insurgents, a top official told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

National Coalition Secretary General Mustafa Sabbagh said the group "will announce the creation of a supreme military council before the Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakesh" due to take place on December 12.

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U.N. Says More than 63,000 Syrian Refugees in Iraq

More than 63,000 Syrian refugees have fled the bloody conflict in their home country for neighboring Iraq, according to figures released by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday.

The intense fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels battling to overthrow him has sparked a huge exodus of Syrians to neighboring countries.

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Britain Sees Evidence Assad Could Use Chemical Weapons

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Saturday there is evidence that the Syrian government could use its chemical weapons stocks in its conflict with rebels fighting to oust it.

"We are extremely concerned about the stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and we are also concerned about evidence during the last couple of weeks that the regime could use them," Hague told reporters in Manama on the sidelines of a regional security conference.

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Egypt Violence Subsides as Military Warns of 'Disastrous Results' without Dialogue

Calm was restored to Egypt on Saturday as the powerful military threw its weight behind dialogue to resolve the political crisis dividing the nation, warning it would "not allow" events to take a "disastrous" turn.

A mass overnight protest against President Mohammed Morsi ended peacefully, but the underlying political crisis dividing the country persisted.

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Syria Troops Battle Rebels Around Damascus

Syrian troops battled rebels near Damascus on Saturday leaving four fighters dead as the army bombarded opposition strongholds in the south of the capital and on its northeastern outskirts, a watchdog said.

The four rebels were killed in clashes around government offices between the towns of Harasta and Irbin northeast of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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Report: Egypt Nabs Terror Suspect Linked to Benghazi Attack

Egyptian authorities have detained a suspected terror network ringleader whose operatives are believed to have carried out a deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Libya, a report said Friday.

Mohammed Jamal Abu Ahmed -- a former member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, who was freed from prison in March 2011 following the ouster of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak -- was captured in the past week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

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Bahrain Crown Prince Urges Talks with Opposition

Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa on Friday called on for dialogue with the mainly Shiite Muslim opposition in the Sunni-dominated country, urging them to condemn violence.

"We had our own experience of the so-called Arab Spring last year. It divided the nation, and many wounds are still to be healed," the prince told delegates at the annual Manama Dialogue organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

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