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Arabi Urges 'Rapid Deployment' of U.N. Observers to Syria

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi demanded on Thursday the "rapid deployment" of U.N. observers to Syria to monitor a ceasefire that is becoming ever more tenuous.

"The entire world is waiting for a truce and the observers to be deployed, but unfortunately the fighting has not stopped and every day new victims die," he said at a league ministerial meeting in Cairo.

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Turkey Weighs Every Possibility if Syria Violence Continues

Turkey is considering every possibility if the continuing violence in neighboring Syria send tens of thousands of refugees pouring across the border, its foreign minister said Thursday.

"In the face of developments in Syria, we are taking into consideration any kind of possibility in line with our national security and interests," Ahmet Davutoglu told parliament during a briefing to lawmakers.

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Syrian 'Transitional Government' Set Up in Paris

Exiled Syrian businessman Nofal Dawalibi announced in Paris on Thursday the setting up of a "transitional government to answer the needs of the Syrian opposition."

"The situation in Syria is getting worse every day. Chaos is rising," said Dawalibi, whose father Maarrouf was Syrian prime minister before President Bashar al-Assad's Baath party took power in 1963.

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Kuwait TV Fined $1.8 Million for 'Insulting' Ruling Family

A Kuwaiti court Thursday fined a local television station 500,000 dinars ($1.8 million) for airing a program deemed offensive to the Gulf state's ruling family, according to the court ruling.

The program, aired in October 2010 by SCOPE TV director and former lawmaker, Talal al-Saeed, charged that ancestors of the Al-Malek branch of the Al-Sabah ruling family attempted to overthrow the government 50 years ago.

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Syria Accuses Rebels of 1,300 Truce Violations

Syria on Thursday accused "armed terrorist groups," which it blames for the unrest sweeping the country, of committing more than 1,300 violations of a truce that came into force on April 12.

"Armed terrorist groups have intensified (the number of) massacres, explosions and acts of aggression, committing more than 1,300 violations since the ceasefire came into force on April 12," Adnan Mahmoud told Agence France Presse.

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Egypt Announces Final List of Presidential Candidates

Egypt's electoral committee announced on Thursday the list of 13 candidates for next month's first post-uprising presidential poll after a tumultuous run-up that saw three leading candidates disqualified.

Ahmed Shafiq, the premier appointed by president Hosni Mubarak just before his overthrow last year, was included after the committee reversed on Wednesday an early decision to exclude him.

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Twelve Killed in Iraq Bombings

A suicide car bombing near a cafe and another bomb attack inside it killed eight people in central Iraq on Thursday, while bomb attacks in Baghdad killed four others, security officials said.

The suicide bomber attacked a cafe in the village of Garma, north of Baquba in Diyala province, police Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed al-Karkhi said.

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Meshaal to Cairo for Talks on Palestinian Reconciliation

Hamas head Khaled Meshaal is to travel to Cairo next week for talks with Egyptian officials on Palestinian reconciliation, a senior official of the Islamist movement said Thursday.

Hamas political bureau chief Meshaal "will visit Cairo early next week to discuss reconciliation and Egyptian-Palestinian relations," Ismail Radwan told Agence France Presse in Gaza City, without giving a specific date.

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Russia Denounces 'Terror' by Syria Rebels

Russia accused the Syrian rebels on Thursday of waging a wide-scale terror campaign that is designed to kill as many civilians as possible despite a formal ceasefire.

"Opposition groups have essentially reverted to waging wide-scale terror in the region," said foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

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Jordan King Accepts Prime Minister's Resignation

Jordan's Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh submitted his resignation on Thursday to King Abdullah II, barely six months after he formed a government to bring in much-needed reforms, a senior official said.

"His Majesty, the king, accepted Khasawneh's resignation Thursday morning," he told Agence France Presse without elaborating.

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