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Shiites Main Losers in Kuwait Polls as Liberals Gain

Kuwait's Shiite minority lost more than half of their seats and liberals made slight gains in the Gulf state's second polls in eight months, in a major blow to radicals.

The final results, released early Sunday by judicial authorities, showed Shiite candidates winning just eight seats in the 50-member parliament.

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At Least 72 Killed at Pro-Morsi Cairo Rallies

At least 72 people were killed during clashes in Cairo on Saturday, Egypt's Health Ministry said, after violence erupted at a demonstration in support of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

The ministry said nine others had died in violence in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, a day earlier, putting the toll in two days of unrest at 81.

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Vote Counting Starts in Second Kuwait Poll in 8 Months

Kuwait on Saturday awaited the results of its second parliamentary election in eight months, after day-long voting and early indications showing a higher turnout despite an opposition boycott.

No official figures were released when polling stations closed at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) but state-run Kuwait television broadcast partial figures indicating a higher turnout from December's record-low 40 percent.

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Turkey Condemns Egypt 'Massacre'

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday condemned the violence that left dozens dead in Egypt as a massacre.

"In Egypt, democracy was massacred, national aspirations were massacred, and now the nation is being massacred," he said.

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Israel to Free 104 Palestinians in Peace Talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel will free 104 Palestinian prisoners to coincide with the resumption of long-stalled peace talks brokered by the United States.

"I agreed to free 104 Palestinians in stages, after the start of negotiations and according to progress," he wrote on his official Facebook page.

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Iraq Prisons Chief Sacked after Mass Breakout

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Saturday sacked the head of Iraq's prisons directorate and ordered senior police officers detained after hundreds of inmates escaped during assaults by Islamist militants.

An al-Qaida front group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claimed the coordinated assaults on Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and Taji jail to the north, which began late on July 21 and sparked clashes that lasted for 10 hours.

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Over 1,000 Escape in Libya Prison Break

More than 1,000 inmates, mostly common law offenders, escaped during a prison riot and attack on Saturday in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi, a security official told Agence France Presse.

"There was a riot inside al-Kuifiya prison, as well as an attack from outside. More then 1,000 prisoners escaped. Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners," he said, asking not to be named.

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Aleppo Missile Toll Hits 29 Dead, Mostly Children

At least 29 people, including 19 children, died in a missile strike by regime forces on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a watchdog said Saturday, revising an earlier toll.

"At least 29 people, including 19 children and four women, were killed in Aleppo's Bab Nairab neighborhood in a surface-to-surface missile strike by regime forces" on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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At Least 74 Dead in Heaviest Bloodshed since Morsi's Ouster

At least 74 supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist president were shot dead during clashes with security forces, officials said Saturday, as rival rallies were staged for and against Mohammed Morsi

In the heaviest bloodshed since Morsi's July 3 overthrow, Ahmad Aref, spokesman of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, said 66 people died in the violence and another 61 were left "clinically dead."

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Ban Ki-moon to Review Syria Chemical Arms Accord

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon will review an accord struck with Syria on investigating the use of chemical weapons before any details are announced, a U.N. spokeswoman said Saturday.

Ban will meet in New York on Monday with the two envoys who struck the accord, spokeswoman Morana Song told Agence France Presse.

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