Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi was unanimously elected Arab League chief on Sunday to succeed Amr Moussa, embarking on a challenging task as political upheaval sweeps the region.

The surprise announcement of his candidacy came after Egypt withdrew diplomat Mustafa al-Fikki from the race just moments before voting for the head of the 22-member body was due to start.

Israeli gunfire killed three people and wounded hundreds Sunday as Palestinians marched on Israel's borders with Syria and Gaza in a mass show of mourning over the creation of the Jewish state.

Tensions along the Israeli-Syrian frontier spiraled as thousands of protesters from Syria tried to force their way into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, prompting the army to open fire in one of the worst incidents of violence there since a 1974 truce accord.

Egypt's ex-first lady Suzanne Mubarak has responded well to treatment for "a panic attack" she suffered after being told she would be detained by the government for further questioning on corruption allegations, a hospital official said Saturday.

The official said the 70-year-old wife of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak was visited Saturday by a cardiologist who found "noticeable improvement in her condition."

A Christian man in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk has been kidnapped and is being held for a $100,000 ransom, police said Saturday.

Kirkuk deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman said the victim is a construction worker who did not come home from work Friday night. When officials called his mobile phone on Saturday, the kidnappers answered and demanded the money.

Six Yemeni soldiers were killed in a tribal revenge attack on Saturday in the southeastern province of al-Baida, a tribal leader and a security official said.

"Gunmen attacked an army checkpoint near Radaa, killing six soldiers," the tribal leader said, describing it as a "revenge killing."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday dismissed three ministers whose portfolios are being merged with other ministries as part of a cabinet streamlining, his office's website announced.

Those who lose their jobs include Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi whose responsibilities are being merged with the energy ministry. Iran is OPEC's second largest crude exporter and currently holds the cartel's presidency.

Syrian troops shot dead three people and wounded several others on Saturday in the western border town of Tall Kalakh, a witness told Agence France Presse.

"The security forces, who had been encircling Tall Kalakh since the morning, fired machine guns. At least three people were killed and several were wounded," the witness said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday that he had "no information" on the whereabouts of an American journalist working for al-Jazeera after Damascus said she was sent to Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"I have no information," Salehi said when asked whether Syria, Iran's main Arab ally, had handed over the journalist.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Friday denied reports suggesting that he had been wounded in conflict and said NATO bombs could not reach him, in an audio message broadcast on state television.

"I want to tell you that your bombing will not reach me because millions of Libyans bear me in their heart," said Gadhafi, who also thanked heads of state who had asked about his health after a NATO air strike on Thursday.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini drew a distinction between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi, saying Assad had proposed reforms and played a strong diplomatic role.

"Assad made promises for reforms that he didn't keep. Gadhafi never promised reforms," Frattini said in an interview with Corriere della Sera daily.