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400 tourists stuck on island as flights halted over Yemen fighting

Hundreds of tourists are stuck on the Yemeni island of Socotra after flights were halted over clashes on the mainland, two officials and a travel agency told AFP Monday.

The island's deputy governor for culture and tourism, Yahya bin Afrar, told AFP: "We have more than 400 foreign tourists... their flights have been suspended." Another local government official gave a similar figure.

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Syrian and Israeli officials set to resume US-mediated talks in Paris

Syrian and Israeli officials are set to resume U.S.-mediated talks in Paris in hopes of reaching a security agreement to defuse tensions between the two countries, a Syrian official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that the delegation on the Syrian side will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Hussein Salameh.

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Israel says ban on Gaza media access should stay

Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.

"Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted," said the government submission, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. "This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defence establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists."

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International aid groups grapple with Israel's ban in Gaza

Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians.

The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organizations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

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Iran accuses Israel of seeking to 'undermine national unity'

Iran accused Israel on Monday of trying to undermine its national unity after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for protests in the Islamic republic.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is determined to exploit the slightest opportunity to sow division and undermine our national unity, and we must remain vigilant," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said at a weekly press conference, before accusing Israeli and US leaders of "incitement to violence".

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Netanyahu says Israel 'stands in solidarity' with Iranians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel stood in solidarity with the people of Iran as protests rocked several cities in the Islamic republic this week.

"We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

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Syrian Kurdish leader in Damascus for talks on military integration

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said.

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At least 80 Yemeni separatists killed in fighting, strikes since Friday

At least 80 troops from Yemen's secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) have been killed in fighting with Saudi-backed forces and strikes since Friday, a military official from the group told AFP on Sunday.

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Saudi-backed forces make advances in Yemen's Hadramawt

Saudi-backed troops on Saturday made advances in Yemen's resource-rich Hadramawt province, military officials said, as confrontations between forces backed by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have triggered a deep rift between the two Gulf allies.

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Young Palestinian boy drowns in muddy water flooding his Gaza tent camp

The U.N. said Thursday that a Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip drowned in floods that engulfed his tent camp, with videos showing rescuers trying to pry his body out of muddy waters by pulling him by the ankle. It was the latest sign of the miseries that winter is inflicting on the territory's population, with many left homeless by the devastation from two years of war.

Health officials also reported the death of another 9 year-old boy in Gaza Thursday, but the circumstances were not clear.

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