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U.N. Urges Libyans to Prioritize National Interest in November Talks

The U.N.'s Libya envoy has urged rival parties to place the national interest before political ambitions when they meet for talks next month aimed at ending a decade of bloodshed.

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Turkey Hits Out at European 'Arrogance' over Syria

Turkey on Tuesday slammed what it called "arrogant" EU calls for Ankara to withdraw from Syria, accusing the bloc of "double standards."

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Israel-UAE Flights 'Delayed to January'

Direct flights between Israel and the UAE, slated to begin in October after a landmark normalisation deal, are to be postponed until January because of coronavirus, an Israeli official said Tuesday.

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Assad Makes Rare Visit to Areas Hit by Fires in West Syria

Syrian President Bashar Assad has made a rare public visit to the coastal province of Latakia where he toured areas that suffered heavy damage in last week's wildfires that killed three people, state media reported Tuesday.

Assad's public visits to areas around Syria have been rare since the country's conflict began in March 2011. The conflict has killed nearly 400,000 and displaced half of Syria's population including more than five million who became refugees, mostly in neighboring countries.

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Israel, UAE Leaders Hold Post-accord Phone Talk

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan have spoken by phone to build on their countries' normalisation accord, Sheikh Mohammed said in a tweet Monday. 

In the call initiated by Netanyahu, the two leaders agreed that the deal signed at the White House on September 15 "opens the way to a new era of cooperation", he wrote.

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Israel's Army Opens Coronavirus Unit to Ease Burden on Hospitals

Israel on Sunday opened a new coronavirus treatment facility co-run by the army's medical corps, an unprecedented move for the military unit, aimed at bolstering an embattled healthcare system.

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Libyan Political Dialogue to Resume Next Month

The U.N. mission in Libya has announced a face-to-face dialogue between the country's rivals to be held early next month in neighboring Tunisia.

Tunisia will host "the first face-to-face meeting" of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) "in early November, following preparatory virtual consultations", the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement Saturday. 

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Gas Blast Kills Five in Algeria

A gas explosion on Saturday killed five people and injured 16 others in the western Algerian city of El Bayadh, the civil defense said, adding that two houses were destroyed.

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New Anti-Netanyahu Demos in Israel despite Virus Rules

Israelis kept up weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, defying lockdown restrictions imposed by authorities aimed at stemming a surge in coronavirus cases.

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Algeria Expels Thousands of Migrants to Niger

Algerian security forces have arrested thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, cramming them onto trucks and buses before expelling them across the border in Niger, Human Rights Watch said Friday.

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