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Crisis Looms in Syria Camps, Jails Holding Foreign Nationals

It was night when Zakia Kachar heard the sounds of footsteps approach her tent in a detention camp for foreigners affiliated with Islamic State group extremists. With rocks in their hands, the wives of IS fighters had come for her.

She fled with her children to another area of the Roj Camp in northeast Syria. "They wanted to kill me," she said.

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Investigators Say Emirates Flight to Washington Flew Too Low

A long-haul Emirates flight heading to Washington in December failed to properly climb and flew incredibly low and fast over the city-state before later gaining altitude over the sea, investigators acknowledged Thursday.

No one was injured in the Dec. 19 flight, but such low altitudes and high speeds can cause damage to an aircraft and increases the risk of striking a tall building. Tracking data suggests Flight No. EK231 was just 200 feet off the ground at points as it flew over Dubai's Deira neighborhood before reaching the Persian Gulf.

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Australia to List Hamas and U.S. Far-Right Group as Terrorists

Australia on Thursday said it had added the U.S.-based far-right extremist group National Socialist Order and planned to add the entirety of the Palestinian group Hamas to its list of outlawed terrorist organizations as concerns rise about radicalized children.

The National Socialist Order, formerly known as Atomwaffen Division, joins Islamist groups Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and Hurras al-Din in being added to the list, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said.

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17 Israelis Arrested over Attack on Palestinian Village

Seventeen Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a racist attack on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank last month, police said Wednesday.

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Pelosi in Jerusalem: U.S. Support for Israel is 'Ironclad'

American support for Israel remains "ironclad," U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members of Israel's parliament Wednesday, despite deep differences between the nations on Iran, peace with the Palestinians and other issues.

Pelosi stuck to what the U.S. and Israel have in common, particularly on their desires to rein in Iran's nuclear capabilities and find a path toward peace with the Palestinians.

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Bomb Blasts Military Bus in Syrian Capital, Killing 1

A bomb attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops in Damascus exploded Tuesday morning, killing one soldier and wounding 11, state TV reported.

The blast occurred during rush hour at a customs roundabout near the capital's landmark Omayyad Square, according to the report. It gave no further details. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

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Activist Jailed by Egypt Sees Wider Struggle for Rights

Ramy Shaath, who was released from an Egyptian jail last month, is an outspoken opponent of Arab dictatorships and Israeli rule over the Palestinians, and is part of a generation of activists who see them as two sides of the same coin.

He was never told why exactly Egyptian authorities confined him to a packed and filthy cell for over two and a half years. But he believes his brand of rights-based activism is clearly seen as a threat by both Israel and its growing roster of autocratic Arab allies.

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Turkish President in UAE as Relations Thaw after Icy Decade

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has traveled to the United Arab Emirates, a trip signaling a further thaw in relations long strained over the two nations' approaches to Islamists in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.

Erdogan arrived in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, following a November visit to Turkey by the country's de facto leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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Israel PM Meets Bahrain King, Jewish Community on Landmark Visit

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Bahrain's king on a landmark visit Tuesday to the small, oil-rich Gulf country, 17 months after they ended decades of tensions to normalize ties.

It was the latest diplomatic breakthrough since several Arab states under the U.S.-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords ended their isolation of Israel, despite the fact the Israel-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved.

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Iraq Court Bars Veteran Kurdish Politician from Presidency

Iraq's top court has banned a veteran Kurdish politician from the country's presidency, citing lingering corruption allegations.

Hoshyar Zebari, a former foreign minister and longtime Iraqi diplomat, had been a front-runner competing against the sitting president, Barham Salih. In Iraq's political system, parliament votes to pick the president who in turn appoints the prime minister.

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