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Ghalioun Calls for U.N. Peacekeepers as Opposition Warns of Looming Homs Massacre

The former chief of the main opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) on Saturday urged the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers after U.N. observers suspended their mission in the country.

"We have to send U.N. peacekeepers to Syria on a mission with more people who would be able to protect themselves from the violence of the regime," said Burhan Ghalioun, ex-leader and current political bureau chief of the SNC.

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U.S. Hails Yemen's Qaida Offensive

The United States hailed Yemen on Saturday for retaking militant bastions in the south of the country from al-Qaida fighters.

Yemeni troops took control of the city of Shuqra on Friday, the last major stronghold of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Abyan province to fall to government forces, which launched an all-out offensive last month that has already resulted in the recapture of the towns of Jaar and Zinjibar.

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Egypt ex-President Mubarak's Health 'Stable'

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence in jail, remains in a "stable" condition, the Egyptian interior minister said on Saturday.

The former leader's health is "stable" and he "is getting progressively better," Mohammed Ibrahim told reporters, adding that a decision to transfer Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal to the same prison had "borne fruit."

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Egypt's Copts Back Shafiq as Anti-Islamist Bulwark

As Egyptians voted for a new president on Saturday, many of the country's Coptic Christians said they were backing Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister they believe can stem a rising Islamist tide.

In the working-class Cairo neighborhood of Shobra, home to a large Christian community, 30-year-old Makram was proud to declare his support for Shafiq, the last premier to serve under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

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Rocket Fired into Southern Israel

Israeli sappers on Saturday recovered the debris of a rocket fired into the south of the Jewish state late on Friday, a military spokesman said.

"Last night, an explosion in the Arava valley was heard, and this morning we recovered the remains of a device we have now identified as a Grad-type rocket," the spokesman told Agence France Presse.

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Report: Syrian General Defects to Turkey

Another general has fled Syria and joined rebels camped in southeastern Turkey with plans to confront the Damascus regime, the Anatolia news agency reported Saturday.

His identity was not disclosed for security reasons.

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Observers Mission in Syria Suspended, Regime Says it 'Understands' U.N. Move

U.N. observers suspended their mission to Syria on Saturday, blaming intensifying violence as troops reportedly rained shells down on rebel strongholds, trapping more than 1,000 families in one city alone.

The unarmed observers have been targeted almost daily since deploying in mid-April to monitor a U.N.-backed but widely ignored ceasefire, and they were likened to "sitting ducks in a shooting gallery" by Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations.

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Saudi Crown Prince Nayef Dies

Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, died on Saturday, the royal court said, leaving the oil powerhouse with no apparent successor to the throne.

Prince Nayef, a long-serving interior minister, "died outside" Saudi Arabia having recently left the Gulf state for medical treatment, said a statement carried by state media, including al-Ekhbariyah Television and SPA news agency.

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Iraq Car Bombs Targeting Shiite Pilgrims Kill 32

Two car bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims in the Iraqi capital killed at least 32 people and wounded dozens more on Saturday, marring the peak day of commemorations for a revered Shiite imam.

An interior ministry official said a car bomb exploded at about 12:15 pm (09:15 GMT) on a highway near Shuala in north Baghdad, killing 14 people and wounding 32, while a second car bomb exploded at the Aden intersection near Kadhimiyah about 2:00 pm, killing 18 people and wounding 36.

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More than 1,000 Families Besieged in Homs, NGO Calls for Ban’s Intervention

More than 1,000 families were trapped on Saturday in several neighborhoods of the central city of Homs and under bombardment by regime forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"More than 1,000 families, including women and children," are trapped in the Khalidiyeh, Jourat al-Shiah, Qarabees, old Homs and Qusour areas. "They have no food and no medical equipment," the watchdog's Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse.

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