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Jumblat says will visit Syria soon as tensions with Israel simmer

Former PSP leader Walid Jumblat said Sunday that he will soon visit Syria to meet its interim leader as tensions simmer between members of the minority Druze group, the war-torn country's interim government, and Israel.

"The free Syrians must be cautious of the plots of Israel," veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblat said at a news conference Sunday, accusing Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating sectarian division and chaos in the country. "In Syria there is a plot for sabotage. There is a plot for sabotage in the region and for the Arabs' national security."

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White House row with Ukraine raises stakes for European summit in London

It was supposed to cap a week of whirlwind diplomacy advancing the prospect of peace in Ukraine.

But a summit of European leaders on Sunday has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding by U.S. President Donald Trump of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday for being ungrateful for U.S. support. The London meeting has now taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continent's defenses.

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Israel tells army to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria's capital

Israel's defense ministry said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was "under attack" by Syrian forces.

The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighboring Syria's new government and the insurgent group that led last year's ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus.

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Israel cuts off aid to Gaza in attempt to pressure Hamas to accept new ceasefire proposal

Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of "additional consequences" if Hamas does not accept a new proposal for an extension of the first phase of a fragile ceasefire.

Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the truce and said its decision to cut off aid was "cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the (ceasefire) agreement." Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended.

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With flowers, tears and defiance, thousands bury nearly 100 Lebanese in mass funeral

Thousands of mourners in southern Lebanon attended a funeral for nearly 100 Lebanese killed last year during the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

It was the largest mass burial ceremony in Lebanon since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire three months ago. It followed last week's burial of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's former leader, and his top aide in Beirut attended by tens of thousands.

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Trump administration approves major nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel

The Trump administration has approved a major nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, bypassing a normal congressional review to provide the country with more of the 2,000-pound bombs that it has used in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

In a series of notifications sent to Congress late Friday, the State Department said it had signed off on the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion.

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Israel opens fire as 95 civilians and fighters killed in war are buried in Aitaroun

People mourned Friday, in the southern border town of Aitaroun, their loved ones killed in Israeli airstrikes during hostilities that lasted more than a year between Israel and Hezbollah.

The 95 civilians and Hezbollah members had been temporarily buried outside their hometown as the Israeli military remained in an area of dozens of border towns past its withdrawal deadline.

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Most Americans who experienced severe winter weather see climate change at work

Matt Ries has lived in Florida only three years, but everyone told him last summer was unusually hot. That was followed by three hurricanes in close succession. Then temperatures dropped below freezing for days this winter, and snow blanketed part of the state.

To Ries, 29, an Ohio native now in Tampa, the extreme weather — including the bitter cold — bore all the hallmarks of climate change.

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German inflation stays flat in February at 2.3%

Germany's inflation rate remained stable in February at 2.3 percent, preliminary data showed Friday, leaving the door open for the European Central Bank to ease rates at its meeting next week.

The annual inflation rate in Europe's largest economy was in line with the expectations of analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.

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F1 testing halted after shuttle bus drives on track in Bahrain

The afternoon session of Formula 1 preseason testing was briefly interrupted Friday when a shuttle bus drove on the track.

In a bizarre scene, a red flag was waved to halt testing as a white bus drove slowly on a runoff area of the track at Bahrain International Circuit.

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