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Arab ministers to meet over Syria's return to Arab league

Diplomats from Arab nations are planning an emergency meeting in Cairo over the weekend about the fighting in Sudan and the prospect of Syria's return to the Arab League more than a decade after its membership was suspended, an official said Friday.

Sunday's meeting, confirmed by Gamal Rushdy, a spokesman for the Arab League, comes as some Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have opened up relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad and their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks. Syria's foreign minister also visited Cairo and the Saudi capital of Riyadh in April, the first such visits in more than a decade.

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Iran and Syria vow to strengthen ties as Raisi wraps up Damascus visit

Iran and Syria agreed to boost ties and develop economic relations, with a focus on reconstruction, as the Islamic republic's President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday concluded a landmark visit to Damascus.

Tehran has been a key ally to Damascus throughout Syria's long-running war, offering vital economic and military assistance that has helped the Syrian government claw back most of the territory it lost at the start of the conflict.

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Israeli minister: Iran nuke enrichment could ignite region

Israel's defense minister has claimed that Iran could have enough enriched uranium for five nuclear weapons, and warned Tehran that proceeding to weapons-grade enrichment could "ignite the region."

His remarks echoed international concerns, which have mounted over the past months, on Tehran enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Experts have said that the Islamic Republic has enough fuel to build "several" atomic bombs if it chooses.

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Biden dispatching top aide to meet with Saudi crown prince

U.S. President Joe Biden is dispatching one his top advisers to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom, later this week.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with Saudi officials and will also meet with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and India during his visit.

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Palestinian woman shot dead after stabbing Israel soldier

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, in what the army called a "stabbing attack".

Iman Odeh, 26, was "killed by a bullet to the chest fired by the occupation soldiers in Huwara, south of Nablus," a ministry statement said.

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Iran's Raisi, on Syria visit, urges anti-Israel unity

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Thursday for "resistance forces" to unite against Israel on his second day in Syria -- the first such visit to Tehran's close ally in over a decade of war.

Tehran has long provided logistical and military support to many factions fighting its arch-foe Israel, including some Palestinian groups but also Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah -- a major Damascus ally.

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Arab League to meet Sunday on Sudan, Syria

Arab League foreign ministers are to hold emergency meetings Sunday on the conflict in Sudan and Syria's readmission to the bloc, a diplomat said.

The meetings come ahead of an Arab summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah on May 19, the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

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Israelis block roads in protest against Netanyahu legal plan

Israelis blocked roads and demonstrated on Thursday against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, hoping to ramp up pressure on lawmakers after parliament reconvened this week following a month-long recess.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure and the opposing sides are trying to reach a compromise agreement. But in a sign of the mistrust of his intentions, tens of thousands have continued to protest every Saturday night since.

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Israeli military kills 3 wanted Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli troops killed three Palestinians wanted in connection with a deadly attack against Israelis, the Israeli military said Thursday, the latest bloodshed in a relentless wave of violence.

The military said the men were behind an attack last month on a car near a Jewish West Bank settlement that killed a British-Israeli mother and two of her daughters.

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Aid officials say Syria conditions dire, months after quake

Three months after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, living conditions remain dire in Syria's rebel-held northwest, aid officials who visited the region said.

The Feb. 6, earthquake killed more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria, according to the United Nations, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

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