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Gulf Leaders Agree to Discuss Further a Union Proposal

Gulf leaders agreed Monday to allow more time for further discussions over a Saudi proposal to turn the six-nation council into a union likely to start with the kingdom and unrest-hit Bahrain.

The leaders who met in Riyadh have instructed their foreign ministers to "continue studying the report of the special commission," said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

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Egypt Police Raid Iran TV Office in Cairo

Egyptian police raided the Cairo office of Iranian television channel, Al-Alam, confiscating its equipment after it was found to be operating without license, a security source said on Monday.

The raid was carried out on Sunday and the head of Al-Alam's Cairo office, Ahmed Sioufi, was charged with working without an official permit, the source said.

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EU Harshly Slams Israel over Settlements, Settler Extremism

EU foreign ministers on Monday issued a harsh critique of Israel, saying the gathering pace of settlement-building, settler extremism and ill-treatment of Palestinians threatens a two-state solution.

"The EU expresses deep concern about developments on the ground which threaten to make a two-state solution impossible," the bloc's 27 ministers said in a statement issued during talks in Brussels.

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Iranian MPs Blast Saudi-Bahrain Union Plan

Iranian MPs on Monday condemned a planned union between Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni-ruled Bahrain, news agencies reported.

"Bahraini and Saudi rulers must understand that this unwise decision will only strengthen the Bahraini people's resolve against the forces of occupation," they said in a letter, referring to Saudi military support for Manama.

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Palestinian Hunger Strikers Ink Deal to End Fast

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike have agreed a deal with Israel to end their fast in exchange for an easing of their conditions, Palestinian and Israeli officials said on Monday.

"All of the factions signed an agreement to end the strike," Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club told Agence France Presse after several hours of negotiations between prison officials and the senior detainees at Ashkelon jail.

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Analysts: Obscure Jihadists Enter Syrian Conflict

The Syrian conflict has bred the emergence of obscure jihadists carrying out bloody attacks, either acting independently or manipulated by the regime seeking to tarnish the image of its opposition, analysts say.

"Al-Qaeda does not exist in Syria. But there are at present several splinter groups of jihadists who employ the same strategies," said Mathieu Guidere, a France-based analyst who specializes in the Arab and Muslim world.

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Barak Says World Demands of Iran are 'Minimalist'

World powers are only making "minimalist" demands of Iran which would never be enough to make it halt its disputed nuclear drive, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday.

His remarks were made a week after top Israeli officials met in Jerusalem with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to discuss the upcoming talks between the so-called P5+1 group of world powers and Iran which are due to take place in Baghdad later this month.

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Russia Says Qaida behind Syria Attacks

Al-Qaida and its associates are behind the recent bomb attacks in Syria, the Russian foreign ministry said Monday.

"For us it is absolutely clear that terrorist groups are behind this -- al-Qaida and those groups that work with al-Qaida," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters.

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HRW Says NATO Must Acknowledge Libya Civilian Deaths

NATO's bombing campaign in Libya left 72 civilians dead last year, a leading human rights group said Monday, accusing the military alliance of failing to acknowledge the deaths.

In a 76-page report, Human Rights Watch urged NATO to provide "prompt and suitable compensation" to families for the civilian deaths, injuries and loss of property.

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Iraq Bombings Kill Six

Six people were killed in attacks in central and northern Iraq on Monday, including five who died in a spate of bombings in the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah, officials said.

In Fallujah, just west of Baghdad, three bomb attacks in close succession killed five people and wounded 18 others.

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