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EU Criticizes U.S. Labelling Yemen Rebels 'Terrorists'

The European Union on Tuesday hit out at the decision by the United States to label Yemen's Huthi rebels as "terrorists", warning it could hinder peace efforts and aid deliveries. 

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Leading Human Rights Group Calls Israel an 'Apartheid' State

A leading Israeli human rights group has begun describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single "apartheid" regime, using an explosive term that the country's leaders and their supporters vehemently reject.

In a report released Tuesday, B'Tselem says that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

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Bahrain Accuses Qatar of Seizing Bodybuilder on Boat Trip

Bahrain has accused Qatar of seizing one of the kingdom's champion bodybuilders during a fishing trip even as Manama normalised its relationship with its neighbour.

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Yemen's Huthis Condemn US Move to Brand them Terrorists

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthis on Monday condemned the United States' move to brand the rebels as a terrorist organisation and said they reserved the right to respond.

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Aid Group: US Terrorism Designation for Yemen Rebels a Blow

A leading aid organization on Monday warned that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's move to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization would deal another "devastating blow" to the impoverished and war-torn nation.

In his announcement late Sunday, Pompeo pledged that U.S. measures would help absorb the impact on aid groups and allow humanitarian assistance to continue to flow to the Arab world's poorest country.

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First Qatar to Saudi Flight to Take off after Thaw

Air travel between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will resume on Monday, according to the countries' airlines, a major landmark as Doha's former rivals normalise ties under a landmark agreement.

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Pompeo Says US Designating Yemen's Huthis a Terrorist Group

The United States will designate Yemen's Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, a late-term move that aid groups fear will worsen a humanitarian crisis.

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Israel Records Four S. African Covid-19 Variant Cases

Israel's health ministry said four people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus strain first detected in South Africa, with the new British variant already recorded.

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Algerian ex-PM Admits Selling Gold Bars on Black Market

Former Algerian premier Ahmed Ouyahia, on trial for corruption, has admitted to receiving gold bars from Gulf donors then selling them on the black market, the official APS news agency reported.

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Omanis Revive Memory of Village Swallowed by Desert

Encroaching sands have left little evidence that the Omani village of Wadi al-Murr ever existed, but former inhabitants and curious visitors are coming to rediscover the hamlet engulfed by the desert.

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