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Rights group: Egypt stifles environmental work ahead of COP

An international human rights group called Monday on the United Nations to ensure that countries hosting its climate conference commit to meeting human rights standards after it documented instances of repression against environmental groups in Egypt, the host of COP27 later this year.

Human Rights Watch said in a report based on interviews with more than a dozen academics, scientists and activists that government restrictions amount to a violation of basic human rights and throw into question the Egyptian government's ability to meet basic climate commitments.

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In Berlin, Lapid says 'time to move past failed negotiations with Iran'

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited Germany Monday in his latest diplomatic effort to persuade Western powers to ditch the agreement with Israel’s arch nemesis Tehran.

Israel has long opposed a revival of the 2015 accord, which has been moribund since then U.S. president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions on Tehran.

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Syria reports 2 dozen cases, 3 deaths of cholera

Hospitals in the Syrian capital have been put on alert after more than two dozen cases of cholera and at least three deaths were reported in the war-torn country, health officials said Monday.

The main cause of the spread appears to be people drinking polluted water as well as watering plants in some areas with unclean water.

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IS militants kill 6 US-backed fighters in eastern Syria

The Islamic State group killed six U.S.-backed Syrian fighters in eastern Syria saying on Monday that the killing was in retaliation for an ongoing operation inside a sprawling camp housing tens of thousands of family members of the extremist group.

The IS-linked Aamaq news agency released a video showing the shooting of the six members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces near the eastern village of Ruwaished where they were captured alive and later shot dead late Sunday.

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Toxin-spewing generators keep lights on in Lebanon, Mideast

They literally run the country.

In parking lots, on flatbed trucks, hospital courtyards and rooftops, private generators are ubiquitous in parts of the Middle East, spewing hazardous fumes into homes and businesses 24 hours a day.

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Algeria expels 800 migrants back to Niger

More than 800 migrants expelled this week by Algeria have reached the northern Niger town of Agadez, local authorities told AFP.

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Conservation plan highlights Arabs' fraught ties to Israel

Ayoub Rumeihat opened his palms to the sky in prayer as he stood among tombstones for Bedouins killed in action while serving the state of Israel.

Finishing the holy words, he gazed at the distant Mediterranean Sea across a valley full of olives and oak where his community has grazed goats for generations.

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Israel's handling of reporter's death angers media outlets

Israel's decision to absolve itself of responsibility for the shooting death of a veteran Al-Jazeera journalist drew criticism from international media Thursday, marking a further deterioration of relations between the military and reporters covering the conflict.

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Syrian airport to resume work days after Israeli strike

Syria's international airport in Aleppo is to resume business on Friday after the facility was put out of commission by an Israeli missile attack, the country's transport ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement carried by state media that the damage has been fixed and called on airline companies to resume their flights to the city in northern Syria.

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Kurd fighters killed, jihadists detained in Syria camp clashes

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said two of their fighters were killed and six jihadists arrested Thursday following clashes in a volatile Syria camp where a security operation is underway.

"Two of our fighters have succumbed to their wounds following clashes" with Islamic State group militants in the Al-Hol camp overnight, the SDF said.

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