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Trapped in Shrinking Syria Holdout, IS Turns to Human Shields

On a rooftop near the front line with the Islamic State group's collapsing caliphate in eastern Syria, a U.S.-backed fighter and his comrades sip tea as they await orders to restart the battle.

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Syria Bus Attack Kills One, Wounds Four in Manbij

A roadside bomb has struck a bus carrying teachers in Manbij killing one person, the latest in a spate of attacks in the northern Syrian city since mid-January, a war monitor said.

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Algeria Ruling Coalition Backs Bouteflika for April Poll

Algeria's ruling coalition on Saturday named President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as its candidate for April polls, although the ailing incumbent has yet to officially confirm he will run.

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Iraq and Jordan Launch Oil, Trade Deals

Iraq has resumed oil deliveries to neighboring Jordan as the premiers of both countries met along their shared border as part of a bid to boost trade.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi met with his Jordanian counterpart Omar al-Razzaz at the Treibil border crossing, referred to as Al-Karameh in Jordan, which reopened in August 2017.

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Egypt Army Says Killed 8 Jihadists in Desert Air Strikes

Egypt's military says it has killed eight jihadists in air strikes in the Western Desert, as it leads a major campaign against the Islamic State group.

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Pope Urges 'Respect' for Yemen Truce ahead of Historic UAE Visit

Pope Francis on Sunday called for urgent "respect" for a ceasefire accord in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid through in the conflict-weary country.

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Yemen Govt., Rebels Meet aboard U.N. Ship

The head of the U.N. mission in Yemen launched talks between the government and Huthi rebels aboard a boat in the Red Sea on Sunday aimed at shoring up a ceasefire, a government official said.

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11 Dead as War-Damaged Flats Collapse in Syria's Aleppo

Four children were among at least 11 people killed when a war-damaged block of flats collapsed in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, state media said.

One child was pulled out alive from the rubble of the five-storey block after rescue teams toiled, many of them with their bare hands, to remove the shattered breeze blocks that had buried him, AFP photographers reported.

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Turkey Captures IS Suspects on Syria Border

Troops captured four Islamic State (IS) suspects in a Turkish town on the Syrian border while they were attempting to cross the frontier illegally,  state-run Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.

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UAE's Tolerance Embraces Faiths, Runs Up against Politics

The United Arab Emirates has branded a bridge, a new ministry, a family day at the park and even the entire year of 2019 under the banner theme of "tolerance," an elaborate effort that's in overdrive as the country prepares to host Pope Francis starting Sunday in the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula.

The state's tolerance-themed project, however, has hard limits. While allowing churches and other places of worship to exist, and marking holidays like Christmas, the Hindu Diwali and Chinese New Year with festivals and celebrations, the government has simultaneously stomped out critical political expression in the name of national security.

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