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Iraqi judiciary says it has no powers to dissolve parliament

Iraq's top judicial body said Sunday it doesn't have the authority to dissolve the country's parliament, days after an influential Shiite cleric gave it one week to dismiss the legislature so that new elections can be held.

The decision by the Supreme Judicial Council is likely to increase tensions between followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and members of Iran-backed groups as Iraq sinks deeper into its political impasse, now in its 10th month. The impasse is the longest in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion reset the political order.

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41 dead, 55 hurt in fire at Cairo Coptic church

A fire at a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian capital on Sunday killed at least 41 people and injured 55, church officials and authorities said.

The blaze ripped through the church in Cairo’s densely populated neighborhood of Imbaba. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. An initial investigation blamed an electric short-circuit, police said.

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Palestinian wounds 8 Israelis, 2 critically, in attack on Jerusalem bus

Israeli police said Sunday they had arrested a suspect in a shooting attack on a bus in Jerusalem's Old City that wounded eight people, including two critically.

"The terrorist is in our hands," police spokesman Kan Eli Levy told public radio hours after the attack that took place not far from the Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews.

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Egypt appoints 13 new ministers in Cabinet reshuffle

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt announced a Cabinet reshuffle Saturday to improve his administration's performance as it faces towering economic challenges stemming largely from Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Cabinet shake-up, which was approved by parliament in an emergency session, affected 13 portfolios, including health, education, culture, local development and irrigation ministries.

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Israeli shelling wounds 2 near Golan Heights

Israeli shelling wounded two civilians in southern Syria's Quneitra province near the occupied Golan Heights on Friday, state media in the war-torn country said.

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Tunisia says 82 migrants intercepted or rescued

Tunisian authorities intercepted five new migration attempts overnight and rescued or intercepted 82 people, the interior ministry said on Friday.

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Saudi Arabia says wanted man blows himself up during arrest

A man wanted by security officials in Saudi Arabia killed himself with an explosive belt to avoid arrest, wounding four others in the blast, the kingdom said Friday.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency, citing the Saudi State Security Presidency, identified the dead man as Abdullah bin Zayed al-Shehri.

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Rivals rally in politically deadlocked Iraq

Supporters of Iraq's powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gathered for Friday prayers ahead of a counter-rally by their opponents later in the day.

The opposing demonstrations are the latest turn in a political standoff which has so far remained peaceful in the war-scarred country.

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Syria rebels call for protests over Turkey's 'reconciliation' call

Protests broke out in Syria's rebel-held north on Friday over a call from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for reconciliation between the Syrian government and opposition.

"We have to somehow get the opposition and the regime to reconcile in Syria. Otherwise, there will be no lasting peace, we always say this," Cavusoglu said Thursday, in remarks to diplomats.

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Death toll from weekend Israel-Gaza fighting rises to 48

The Palestinian death toll from last weekend's fighting between Israel and Gaza militants rose to 48 Friday after an 11-year-old girl and a man died from wounds they suffered during the worst cross-border violence in over a year.

Meanwhile, two wounded Gaza children, ages 8 and 14, were fighting for their lives in a Jerusalem hospital. In all, more than 300 Palestinians were wounded over the weekend when Israel struck Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza and the militant group fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.

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