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Israeli Forces Kill 'Unarmed Gazan' on Egypt Border

Israeli border police killed a man and wounded another when the two tried to cross the Egyptian border into Israel, the army said on Friday, with a security source saying the two were unarmed Gazans.

"Overnight, Israeli border police identified two suspects infiltrating Israel through the Israel-Egypt border," an army spokesman said.

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Syrian Regime Blames 'Bloodthirsty Media, Terrorists' for Massacre

Syria's regime blames "bloodthirsty media" and "terrorist gangs" for a massacre in the village of Treimsa in the central province of Hama that rights activists say left at least 150 people dead, state-run SANA news agency said Friday.

"The bloodthirsty media in collaboration with gangs of armed terrorists massacred residents of Treimsa village ... to sway public opinion against Syria and its people and provoke international intervention on the eve of a U.N. Security Council meeting," SANA said.

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Annan to Meet Lavrov for Syria Talks Monday

U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is set to hold talks on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Annan’s spokesman confirmed.

Ahmed Fawzi told Agence France Presse that the two will meet on Monday in Moscow.

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Syria Opposition Urges U.N. for a Binding Resolution after Massacre

Syria's main opposition alliance Friday urged the U.N. Security Council to pass a binding resolution against Damascus following reports by activists that regime forces massacred at least 150 villagers.

"To stop this bloody madness which threatens the entity of Syria, as well as peace and the security in the region and in the world, requires an urgent and sharp resolution of the Security Council under Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) which protects the Syrian people," the Syrian National Council said.

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U.S. Warns of Accountability amid Syria Chemical Weapon Fears

The U.S. said Friday that Syrian officials would be "held accountable" if they failed to safeguard the country's chemical weapons after a report suggested some were being moved out of storage.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that intelligence reports suggested some chemical weapons were on the move, but the reasons for the transfers were unclear.

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Assad Troops Accused of New Massacre in Syria

Syrian troops with tanks and helicopters slaughtered more than 150 people in a central village, rights activists said Friday, casting a dark shadow over efforts to stop the bloodshed.

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Ruling Islamists Urge Tunisia Consensus at Congress

The head of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda called on Thursday for national consensus at the launch of its first congress at home in 24 years, held at a time of political and religious tensions.

"We want to convey a message from this congress, this congress of a union of the Tunisian people. We are a united people," Rached Ghannouchi told around 10,000 supporters.

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Russia's Tartus Base: Symbol of Kremlin Power

The Russian naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, its only such facility outside the ex-USSR, is a symbol of Moscow's lingering influence in the Middle East even if its military significance is small.

Russia's unwillingness to abandon the facility has long been seen by analysts as one reason why it has defied Western calls to turn against the regime of President Bashar Assad despite the escalating conflict in Syria.

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Syria's PLA Condemns Killing of 17 Soldiers

The head of the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) in Syria condemned on Thursday the kidnapping and killing of 17 of his troops by "armed terrorist groups," state news agency SANA reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that the bodies of 13 PLA soldiers had been found after they were kidnapped days earlier while en route to Aleppo in northern Syria.

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Moscow Threatens to Veto West's 'Unacceptable' U.N. Resolution on Syria

Russia rejects as unacceptable the text of a Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria and will use its veto if the draft is brought to a vote later Thursday, a deputy foreign minister said.

"If they decide this (a vote on Thursday) -- knowing that for us the text is unacceptable -- then we will not allow it to pass," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency.

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