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Netanyahu Slams 'Disgrace' of Tehran Summit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed the wide international participation at a Non-Aligned summit in Tehran as a "stain on humanity" following Iran's denial of Israel's right to exist.

"Today, over 120 countries are in Tehran, saluting a regime that not only denies the Holocaust but pledges to annihilate the Jewish state, brutalizes its own people, colludes in the murder of thousands of innocent Syrians and leads millions in chanting 'Death to America, death to Israel'," he said.

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Ankara to Allow Turkish MPs to Visit Syrian Rebel Camp

Turkey said Wednesday it will allow Turkish lawmakers to visit a refugee camp set up for Syrian army defectors in a bid to quash rumors that the camp morphed into an underground rebel training base.

"We are working on allowing access into all (refugee settlements), including Apaydin camp, for members of a relevant parliamentary commission," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in televised remarks.

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Damascenes Forced to Live with War

Three shopkeepers seated in front of their shops in the center of the Syrian capital remain engrossed in their conversation, oblivious to three strong explosions nearby.

Thousands of motorists speed away towards the south of the city, passing three army tanks whose barrels point at Nahr Aisha district which bears the scars of a fierce battle.

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Egypt Puts ex-PM Shafiq on Travel Watchlist

Former premier Ahmed Shafiq, who left Egypt amid a corruption probe after losing to Mohammed Morsi in a bitterly fought presidential election, has been placed on a watchlist and given a travel ban, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

Shafiq, a former air force chief appointed prime minister by president Hosni Mubarak before his overthrow early last year, is under investigation for an allegedly illegal sale of state land to Mubarak's sons.

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Abbas Welcomes French Probe into Arafat Death

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday welcomed a decision by French prosecutors to open a murder inquiry into claims the late Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned.

The probe was announced on Tuesday, a month after his widow Suha and daughter Zawra launched legal action in France following reports that experts had found traces of the radioactive substance polonium on Arafat's clothes.

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Suspected Jewish Extremists Torch Car, Spray Anti-Arab Graffiti

Vandals believed to be Jewish extremists on Wednesday torched a car and sprayed anti-Arab graffiti near a refugee camp near Ramallah, an Agence France Presse correspondent and police said.

The incident took place between Jalazoun refugee camp and Dura al-Qara village, both of which lie very close to Beit El settlement.

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Turkey Urges U.N. to Create Refugee Safe Zones in Syria

Turkey is in talks with the United Nations on ways to shelter thousands of refugees on Syrian soil and expects the world body to take concrete steps, its foreign minister said Wednesday.

"We expect the United Nations to step in for the protection of refugees inside Syria and if possible housing them in camps there," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

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Italy Hosts International Talks on Syria Future

Italy hosted international talks in Rome on Wednesday on the future of Syria after President Bashar Assad leaves power, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry's press office confirmed the talks were taking place but said they were being held behind closed doors with no access for journalists.

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Saudi Beheads Syrian Convicted of Murder

Saudi authorities beheaded by the sword a Syrian man on Wednesday after convicting him of murdering a bedouin, the interior ministry said.

Abeer Zaidan was found guilty of murdering Badr bin Murad al-Shimmari, who belonged to a nomadic tribe, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

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Gaza Woman Critical after Being Shot near Israel Border

A 42-year-old Gazan woman was in critical condition on Wednesday after being shot by Israeli troops near the border in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.

The incident occurred in an area east of the central town of Deir al-Balah.

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