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Lone Hospital Active in Fight for Syria's Raqa, Group Says

Only one health facility remains operational in the Islamic State-held part of Raqqa, serving thousands of civilians trapped in the Syrian city with virtually no emergency services or rescue personnel as the intense U.S.-backed campaign to liberate the city continues, Physicians for Human Rights said Friday.

The New York-based group described "nightmarish" conditions in the ever-shrinking area controlled by IS militants amid an incessant bombing campaign. The wounded civilians are left under the rubble because civilians fear being struck by further airstrikes. The lone operating hospital is using salt water to sanitize wounds and treatment of traumatic injuries is limited to stopping the bleeding, the group said based on interviews it carried out with survivors, physicians and aid workers from the city.

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Rights Group Demands Probe into Yemen Airstrikes

An international rights group has denounced a Saudi-led military coalition for failing to investigate airstrikes in Yemen that led to the killing of civilians, saying members of the coalition are fearful of international legal liability.

Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday that it received no response from any coalition members to requests for information on airstrikes.

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Israel's Attorney General May Indict Netanyahu's Wife

Israel's attorney general took a step Friday toward indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife for corruption in a scandal that deepened the mounting legal problems of Israel's first family.

Attorney General Avichai Mandleblit announced he is considering charging Sara Netanyahu with graft, fraud and breach of trust for alleged overspending of over $100,000 in public funds on private meals at the prime minister's official residence.

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UK Leader Meets Detained Venezuela Opposition Chief's Mother

British Prime Minister Theresa May has met with the mother of detained Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and says she is "deeply troubled" by the jailing of political prisoners in the country.

May met Thursday at 10 Downing St. with Antonieta Lopez and with Julio Borges, president of the Venezuelan National Assembly.

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Macron Urges Greater European Investment in Greece

French President Emmanuel Macron urged European firms to step up their investments in Greece to help reduce the cash-strapped country's growing reliance on non-European countries, notably China.

Addressing a round-table of Greek and French business leaders Friday, Macron said Greece was "forced" to choose non-European investors "because the Europeans were not there."

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Aoun: Blood of Servicemen Won't Go in Vain, Truth Will Emerge

During a state funeral on Friday held in honor of servicemen slain by the Islamic State extremist group, President Michel Aoun vowed that blood of the martyrs will never go in vain and that the truth will be unveiled in the end.

“I vow to you that blood of your sons will not go in vain until the goals they died for are attained and until the truth is unveiled,” said Aoun addressing families of the servicemen.

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Trump Hails Kuwait Mediation on Qatar; Arab States React

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed efforts by the leader of Kuwait, a staunch American ally, to mediate a festering diplomatic crisis involving Qatar and its Arab neighbors that could have implications for the U.S. military presence in the region.

However, the quartet of Arab nations now boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early Friday morning dismissing some of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah's comments, signaling the diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf is far from over.

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IS 'Minister of War' Killed in Russian Airstrike, Says Moscow

Russia claimed Friday to have killed several top commanders of the Islamic State group in an airstrike in Syria, including the so-called Emir of Deir Ezzor and the "Minister of War".

"As a result of a precision airstrike of the Russian air forces in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor city, a command post, communication centre and some 40 ISIS fighters have been killed," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement on Facebook.

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Lebanon Holds State Funeral for Slain Soldiers

Lebanon bid farewell on Friday to ten of its soldiers captured and executed by the Islamic State extremist group, after DNA tests matched the identities of the servicemen who disappeared during battles with the group in 2014.

A state funeral was held during a national day of mourning at the Defense Ministry.

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Late-Season Wildfires Choke US Cities, Towns with Smoke

Heavy winter snow and a very wet spring in the Western U.S. generated predictions the 2017 wildfire season would be tame. But it's shaping up to be one of the worst in U.S. history in land burned.

Across the region, smoky haze in cities and towns prevented people from going outside except for short periods and prompted potential bans of high school football games. In some areas where homes have burned, people have stayed in makeshift shelters for weeks.

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