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Saudi Arabia's crown prince named prime minister

Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been named prime minister, a post traditionally held by the king, in a government shuffle announced Tuesday.

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7 dead, 28 hurt in Iranian strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran was accused of killing seven people and wounding 28 in cross-border strikes Wednesday against Kurdish factions in Iraq that have deplored an ongoing protest crackdown in the Islamic republic.

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Three killed in Israel Jenin raid

Three Palestinians were killed Wednesday during an Israeli West Bank raid targeting alleged militants, including the brother of a man blamed for a deadly attack in Tel Aviv, the Palestinian health ministry said.

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In wealthy Dubai, poor get free bread from machines

With the cost of living surging, free hot bread distribution for the poor has been introduced in Dubai, a rich Gulf emirate where millionaires rub shoulders with hard-working migrants.

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Tunisian mayor held after fruit seller suicide

Tunisian police on Monday arrested the mayor of a town where a fruit seller committed suicide after his scales were seized by council officials, sparking protests, a judicial spokesman said.

Mohamed Amine Dridi, 25, hanged himself on Saturday two days after the electronic scales he used on his fruit and vegetable stall were taken, Tunisian media reported.

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Arafat's nephew blasts 'totalitarian' Palestinian president

A year after fleeing the West Bank, a nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has returned to Gaza and is challenging his uncle's embattled successor, 86-year-old president Mahmud Abbas.

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Egyptian cleric revered by Muslim Brotherhood dies at 96

Youssef al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian cleric who was seen as the spiritual leader of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, died on Monday at the age of 96, according to his official website.

He died in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar, where he had been living in exile following the military's overthrow of a Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt in 2013. Al-Qaradawi had been tried and sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt.

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Amid protests, Iran's Guard strikes Kurdish groups in Iraq

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard on Monday unleashed a wave of drone strikes and artillery, targeting what Tehran says are bases of Iranian Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, a semiofficial news agency reported.

It was the second such cross-border assault since the weekend, at a time when Iran is convulsing with protests over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was been detained by the nation's morality police.

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Renewed militia clashes rock western Libya; 5 killed

Militia infighting that erupted over the weekend in western Libya and killed at least five people, including a 10-year-old girl, continued on Monday, authorities said. It was the latest round of violence to rock the North African nation mired in decadelong chaos.

The fighting broke out on Sunday between rival militias in the western town of Zawiya, where armed groups — like in many other towns and cities in oil-rich Libya — are competing for influence.

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Saudi Arabia's triumphant week reclaims the West's embrace

Saudi Arabia appears to be leaving behind the stream of negative coverage that the killing of Jamal Khashoggi elicited since 2018. The kingdom is once again being enthusiastically welcomed back into polite and powerful society, and it is no longer as frowned upon to seek Saudi investments or accept their favor.

Saudi Arabia's busy week of triumphs included brokering a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, holding a highbrow summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, marking the country's national day with pomp and pageantry, hosting the German chancellor and discussing energy supply with top White House officials.

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