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Turkey Warns of Stronger Response if Syria Shelling Goes on

Turkey's top military commander on Wednesday warned of a stronger response if Syrian shells continued to land on Turkish soil, the private NTV television network reported amid fears of a cross-border escalation of Syria's civil war.

"We have retaliated (for Syrian shelling) and if it continues, we'll respond more strongly," Armed forces chief of staff General Necdet Ozel said in Akcakale, a border town where five civilians were killed by Syrian shelling last week.

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Syrian Troops Blast Homs, Residents Plead for Help

Syrian forces on Wednesday hammered rebel belts in the central city of Homs, where besieged residents desperately pleaded for humanitarian assistance, and in the northern city of Aleppo, a watchdog said.

Shells rained down from early morning on parts of Homs and on the nearby town of Qusayr, near the Lebanon border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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Report: U.S. Military Has Syria Task Force in Jordan

The U.S. military has sent a task force to Jordan to help it handle an influx of Syrian refugees and prepare for scenarios including loose chemical weapons, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Times said the 150-strong force of planners and specialists -- led by a senior U.S. officer -- was looking at ways to prevent the increasingly bloody Syrian civil war from spilling across Jordan's borders.

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Marten Youssef Says Tueni Case May Fall within STL Jurisdiction as Berri Slams Campaign against Hizbullah

Spokesman for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Marten Youssef stated that certain conditions need to be met in order for the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni to be added to the cases tackled by the tribunal, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday.

He told the daily that the date of the assassination falls within the timeframe of the crimes that may be addressed by the STL.

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Charbel Applauds Suleiman's Performance, Says No Decision Yet to Run for Presidency

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel hailed on Wednesday the performance of President Michel Suleiman, without confirming or denying if he will run for presidency after the tenure of Suleiman ends in 2014.

“We have a president called Michel Suleiman and he will remain in his post until the last moment, I really admire his performance,” Charbel said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

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Pair Arrested in Britain over 'Terror Acts' in Syria

British police on Wednesday said they had arrested two people at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

A man and a woman, both aged 26, were detained by officers from the counter-terrorism command at 8.30 pm (1930 GMT) Tuesday after arriving on a flight into the airport, according to a Metropolitan Police statement.

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Chavez backs Assad again, Blames U.S. for War

President Hugo Chavez vowed Tuesday to keep supporting Bashar Assad, calling him Syria's legitimate president and blaming the United States for the war that has raged on for nearly 19 months.

"How can I not support the government of Bashar Assad if it is the legitimate government of Syria?" asked Chavez, who was re-elected Sunday to a third term.

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First Formal Displaced Persons Camp Opens inside Syria

The first formal camp inside Syria for civilians driven from their homes by the nearly 19-month conflict began admitting displaced families on Tuesday, Agence France Presse reported.

The new camp, just a stone's throw from the Turkish border, opened its doors amid mounting pressure from Ankara for the international community to do more for the displaced inside Syria to stem any new exodus of refugees.

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400 Syrians Flee Qusayr Bloodshed for Lebanon

Up to 400 Syrians from around the rebel-held central town of Qusayr have fled for neighboring Lebanon in the past 24 hours, a Lebanese security official said on Tuesday.

"Among them are men, women and children," the official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

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Assad Replaces Envoy to Iraq Who Defected

President Bashar Assad on Tuesday appointed Sattam Jadan al-Dandah as Syria's new ambassador to Iraq, the official SANA news agency reported. He replaces Nawaf Fares who defected in July,

"President Assad issued a decree appointing Sattam Jadan al-Dandah as Syrian ambassador to Iraq. He was sworn in by Mr. Assad," the report said.

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