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Iran Says it Developed Laser-guided Artillery Rounds

Iran has developed laser-guided artillery rounds designed to home in on stationary or moving targets at a distance of up to 20 kilometers (12 miles), Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state media Monday.

State television showed images of artillery being fired, saying it showed the precision-guided ammunition in action.

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Saudi Beheads Pakistani Drug-Smuggler

Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani man who was arrested as he tried to smuggle drugs into the ultra-conservative kingdom, the interior ministry said on Monday.

"Salman Khan Taj Mohammed, a Pakistani... was arrested as he was caught smuggling a large amount of heroin" into the country, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

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Organization of Islamic Cooperation Urges End to Syria Bloodshed

The head of the world's largest Muslim body urged the international community on Monday to take up its responsibilities in protecting Syrian civilians and ending bloodshed there.

"I renew my calls to the international community, especially the U.N. Security Council, to take up its responsibilities in protecting civilians and taking all measures to end bloodshed in Syria," the secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, told Agence France Presse.

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Violence Kills 103 across Syria as 'Terrorists' Attack Homs Gas Pipeline

At least 95 civilians, six members of the security forces, and two deserters were killed in violence across Syria on Monday, activists and a rights group said.

Security forces killed 95 people, including eight children and a woman, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said.

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Israeli Forces Demolish E. Jerusalem Home

Israeli forces on Monday demolished a home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, residents told Agence France Presse.

The home, a makeshift structure in the Arab neighborhood, was knocked down by bulldozers that moved in around 6.30 am (04:30 GMT), according to the Samara family, who had been living in the building.

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New York Times: Iraqis Outraged by Use of U.S. Drones

Iraqi officials have expressed outrage at the United States' use of a small fleet of surveillance drones to help protect the U.S. embassy, consulates and American personnel in Iraq, The New York Times reported late Sunday.

The newspaper said the State Department began operating some drones in Iraq last year on a trial basis and stepped up their use after the last U.S. troops left the country in December.

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Yemeni Elite Troops Open Fire as Soldiers Protest

Troops at the headquarters of Yemen's elite Republican Guard opened fire on Sunday at a protest by soldiers demanding the ouster of their brigade chief over corruption charges, a military source said.

Soldiers from the fourth brigade of the Republican Guard were demanding the removal of Abdul Malek al-Arar and another top officer named Abdullah al-Hamiya, the source said, adding that no casualties were reported in the shooting.

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Highly Advanced Israeli Drone Crashes in Field

One of the most sophisticated drones in the Israeli military crashed by accident in a field on Sunday, without causing casualties, an army spokeswoman said.

"An Eytan (meaning "strong" in Hebrew) crashed by accident into a field today in Israel during a test being carried out jointly by the army and Israel Aerospace Industries. There were no injuries," the spokeswoman told Agence France Presse.

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Bahrain Detained Protesters to Begin Hunger Strike

Bahraini detainees and activists convicted for taking part in anti-government demonstrations last year will begin a hunger strike Sunday protesting a new crackdown on demonstrators, a rights group said.

The strike was announced as the Gulf kingdom's interior minister called for punishment against those "attacking policemen" to be toughened to 15 years in prison.

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Iraqiya Bloc to End Iraq Parliament Boycott

A secular bloc which won the most seats in Iraq's March 2010 vote will end a boycott of parliament that it began in mid-December, a spokeswoman said on Sunday.

"Iraqiya decided its deputies would return for parliament meetings," Maysoon al-Damluji told a news conference after a gathering of Iraqiya leaders and MPs.

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