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Brahimi to Visit Syrian Refugees in Turkey

The international peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will travel to Turkey on Tuesday to visit a refugee camp near the Syrian border, a Turkish foreign ministry official told Agence France Presse.

Brahimi, who just spent four days in neighboring Syria, will meet the refugees at the Altinozu camp in Hatay province, the official said Monday on condition of anonymity.

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Palestinians Say Fasting Prisoner in Intensive Care

One of three long-term Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli detention has been moved to a hospital intensive care unit suffering from a drop in blood sugar, a spokeswoman for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners Club said on Monday.

Amani Sarahna said that Samer Barq, one of three prisoners on hunger strike for weeks to demand their release from detention without trial, was placed in intensive care at Assaf Harofeh medical centre, in central Israel, early on Monday evening.

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Gaza Hamas Leader Heads for Egypt Talks

Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya left the coastal strip for neighboring Egypt Monday, after plans for a visit there were postponed twice over the past four days.

Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nunu told Agence France Presse that Haniya would meet Egyptian premier Hisham Qandil Monday evening for talks "mainly about electricity."

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Iran Atomic Chief Says 'Explosives' Cut Power at Fordo Facility

Explosive blasts cut power lines to Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordo last month, the head of Iran's atomic agency said at a meeting of U.N. atomic watchdog member states Monday.

"On ... 17th August 2012, the electric power lines from the city of Qom to the Fordo complex ... were cut using explosives," Fereydoon Abbasi Davani told the 155-nation International Atomic Energy Agency gathering in a speech.

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Libya Sacks Benghazi Security Chiefs after U.S. Attack

Libya's interior minister has sacked Benghazi security chiefs after last week's deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city, according to official statements seen Monday by AFP.

Deputy Interior Minister for the eastern region, Wanis al-Sharef, and the head of national security for Benghazi, Hussein Bou Hmida, were both replaced, said two separate statements dated September 12, a day after the attack.

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100 U.S. Citizens Evacuated from Tunisia

Around 100 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from Tunisia since an attack on the embassy in Tunis by angry Muslim protesters that left four people dead, several sources said on Monday.

"The American nationals were evacuated on Sunday," a diplomatic source told AFP, without saying how many had left the country.

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U.N. Probe Wants 'Appropriate Action' as Syria Abuses Soar

Serious human rights violations have soared dramatically in Syria, a top U.N. investigator said Monday, calling for "appropriate action" against perpetrators of atrocities in the war-torn country.

"Gross violations of human rights have grown in number, in pace and in scale," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told diplomats gathered in Geneva, as more violence shook Damascus and Syria's second city Aleppo.

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Palestinians Protest Anti-Islam Film

Hundreds of Palestinians on Monday staged a peaceful protest in Ramallah against an anti-Islam film that has sparked violent demonstrations in the Muslim world.

Participants of the sit-in, organized by the Palestinian Authority's Waqf (religious endowment) and held outside its offices, held signs saying "We are against those who oppose you Mohammed" and "Do not touch our Prophet."

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Top U. S. General in Ankara to Discuss Syria Crisis

The top U.S. general on Monday discussed the Syrian crisis with officials in Ankara, as Turkey's premier criticized Washington for inaction over the conflict.

General Martin Dempsey's visit is part of an "operational planning" mechanism established between Turkey and the United States to prepare for the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime.

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Syria 'Contact Group' to Meet in Cairo

Foreign ministers of the Syria "contact group" were to hold their first high-level meeting on Monday in Cairo, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said.

The top diplomats of "Egypt, Turkey and Iran will meet at the foreign ministry to discuss developments in Syria on the political and humanitarian fronts," the ministry said in a statement.

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