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Tantawi Says Mubarak Never Ordered Army to Fire on Crowds

Ousted president Hosni Mubarak never told the army to open fire on demonstrators calling for an end to his rule, Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said on Sunday.

"The armed forces fight for Egypt and not for just anyone, whoever it may be," he said in a speech at a ceremony south of the capital.

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Berri Meets Ahmadinejad, Says Developments in Region Affecting Lebanon

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday that Israel is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty, during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

“The region is passing through a critical stage and Lebanon is affected by these developments, it’s not an island, especially since Israel still occupies part of its land, which means its sovereignty is incomplete,” Berri stressed.

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600 Tunisians Flown Home from Italy

Six hundred Tunisian illegal immigrants who arrived in Italy by boat have been deported in a week, the interior ministry announced Sunday.

They were put on several flights from Palermo, Sicily, under an agreement signed on April 5 between Tunis and Rome arranging the systematic deportation of Tunisians arriving illegally.

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Afghanistan Says Rabbani Killer Was Pakistani

The killer of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani was Pakistani, a statement from Afghanistan's presidential palace said Sunday, quoting investigators.

Evidence shows that Rabbani's death last month "was plotted in Quetta and the person who carried out the suicide attack against Rabbani was a citizen of Pakistan," the statement said.

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Fadlallah Says Cabinet Will Not Deceive Resistance

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Sunday that the cabinet is strong and takes its decisions based on consensus between all the members.

“The cabinet has a real chance to develop the country,” Fadlallah said.

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Gang Kills 18, Burns Homes in Nigerian Village Raid

Dozens of attackers suspected to belong to a gang of robbers raided a northern Nigerian village armed with guns and machetes, killing at least 18 and burning homes, a police source said Sunday.

A group of around 150 assailants attacked Ligydo, a remote farming and herding village in Zamfara state, on Saturday, killing 18 people and seriously wounding six others, a senior police officer told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

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Spy Trial of Jordanian, Israeli Begins in Egypt

The trial opened in Egypt on Sunday of a Jordanian and Israeli charged with spying for the Jewish state's intelligence services and was swiftly adjourned to next week, an Agence France Presse reporter said.

The Israeli defendant was being tried in absentia.

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Erakat Says Quartet Call Requires Settlement Freeze

The Palestinians on Sunday dismissed Israel's welcome of a Quartet call for the resumption of peace talks, saying the peace proposal requires Israel to halt settlement construction.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, speaking to Agence France Presse from Cairo, said a statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was "an exercise in deceiving the international community."

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Syrian Opposition Forms United Common Front

Syrian opposition movements meeting in Turkey said in a statement on Sunday they had formed a common front uniting all groups that oppose the regime of President Bashar Assad.

"The Syrian Council is open to all Syrians. It is an independent group personifying the sovereignty of the Syrian people in their struggle for liberty," Paris-based Burhan Ghalioun told reporters.

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Four Suspected Islamists Held in Germany Over Illegal Arms

German authorities said Sunday they had arrested four alleged Islamists on suspicion of illegally obtaining weapons ahead of a ceremony in Bonn to mark Germany's reunification.

The four men, aged between 22 and 27, were seized Saturday night and their apartments searched, said police in Cologne, near to Bonn, where the festivities were due to be attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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