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Palestinian Kids Lined Up for Photo in Israeli Raid

A video has emerged showing an Israeli soldier lining up school-aged Palestinian children and photographing them in a nighttime raid on their home. The video shines a light on the military's tactics in the occupied West Bank, which activists say violate Palestinian rights.

The video was released Wednesday by the Israeli rights group B'tselem and shows soldiers in a Palestinian home after dark. The Palestinian adults are seen gathering up the children from the home — some of them appearing to have been roused from sleep — and ushering them onto a balcony. A girl is seen crying, and a woman comforts her by saying "it's just routine."

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Worker for Israel Defense Minister Accused of Iran Espionage

Israel has charged a domestic worker employed by the country's defense minister with espionage for allegedly offering to use his proximity to the minister to relay information to Iran, Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet said Thursday.

The man, identified as Omri Goren, worked at Defense Minister Benny Gantz' home as a cleaner and caretaker. The Shin Bet said he initiated contact with an unnamed "Iranian entity" though social media, sending photos of different items around the house including pictures of the minister's computer.

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Iraq to Evacuate Migrants Stranded at Belarus-Poland Border

More than 400 Iraqis sought to fly home from Belarus on Thursday, abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union following more than a week of tensions at the bloc's eastern border where hundreds of migrants remain stuck.

A plane carrying an unknown number is expected to depart from Minsk in the early afternoon and make two stops — one in the city of Erbil and another in the capital, Baghdad. A total of 430 Iraqis have registered for flights home, and most of those were already at the airport, according to Iraq's consul in Russia Majid al-Kilani.

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Turkey again Cuts Interest Rates despite Pinch of Inflation

Turkey's Central Bank cut interest rates again Thursday, a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke out against high borrowing rates and raising increasing concerns about the impact of soaring consumer prices on families and businesses.

The bank's monetary committee announced it was reducing the policy rate to 15% from 16%, even as inflation runs at close to 20%. It was the bank's third interest rate cut in as many months.

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Britain's Prince Charles in Cairo, First Visit since 2006

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, arrived in Cairo on Thursday for the first time in 15 years, hoping to promote tolerance and cement bilateral ties. The visit is part of the royal couple's first tour since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is also their first visit to Egypt since the country was rocked by a popular uprising in 2011 that was followed by years of political turmoil.

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Israeli Couple is Home after Weeklong Detention in Turkey

An Israeli couple held by Turkey on suspicion of espionage returned home on Thursday after they were released from a weeklong detention.

Mordi and Natalie Oknin arrived to their home in central Israel where they were greeted by family and a crowd of reporters. From her apartment's balcony, Natalie thanked all those involved in securing their release.

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Libya's Parliament Speaker Announces Run for President

Libya's influential speaker of parliament announced late Wednesday that he will be running for president, making him the latest candidate to join the race for the country's highest office after years of civil war.

Aguila Saleh, 77, who has led the country's House of Representatives since 2014, announced his candidacy in a video statement. The elections are supposed to be held Dec. 24, but face growing uncertainty after two controversial candidates declared they are running. In the past week, a son of the country's late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter have submitted their bids to run.

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Study Shows Mental Health Toll Surged in Lebanon, 18 Other Countries

Fears of infection. Loneliness. Worries about physical health.

As the coronavirus spread across borders early in the pandemic, calls to global helplines showed a striking similarity in the toll on mental health — from Lebanon to China, Finland to Slovenia.

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Iran-Backed Hackers Accused of Targeting Critical U.S. Sectors

Hackers linked to the Iranian government have been targeting a "broad range of victims" inside the United States, including by deploying ransomware, according to an advisory issued Wednesday by American, British and Australian officials.

The advisory says that in recent months, Iran has exploited computer vulnerabilities exposed by hackers before they can be fixed and targeted entities in the transportation, health care and public health sectors. The attackers leveraged the initial hack for additional operations, such as data exfiltration, ransomware and extortion, according to the advisory. The group has used the same Microsoft Exchange vulnerability in Australia, officials say.

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Exonerations for 2 Men Convicted in Malcolm X's 1965 Death

Two men who for decades steadfastly maintained their innocence in the 1965 assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X are set to be exonerated Thursday, after a nearly two-year-long re-investigation.

Muhammad Aziz, now 83, and the late Khalil Islam were convicted in 1966, after a trial in which authorities withheld evidence favorable to the defense, said their attorneys, the Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies.

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